Football coach Butch Jones always says how “committed” he is to Central Michigan University.

He said in a news report that his focus has been with CMU all along, and that he’s not looking to go anywhere.

Those comments need to stop. That’s because when he says it, we all know he’s not telling the truth.

Jones may enjoy being coach at CMU. But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have one eye on what other jobs are popping up around the college football world. Someone who is committed to his or her job does not start looking for another one.

Jones was a serious candidate for the West Virginia, where he was an assistant for two years. WVU officials came to Mount Pleasant to interview Jones once, then Jones went to Morgantown, W.Va., on Dec. 27 for a second interview.

ESPN reported he was the top candidate for the job. But in the end, the Mountaineers hired interim coach Bill Stewart over Jones on Jan. 3. Jones then signed a new five-year contract at CMU that runs through 2012.

We’re not saying that Jones should have passed up an interview with West Virginia. Not at all.

At WVU, the money is greater and the glory is grander. Jones was just trying to make a business decision.

But never again should Jones say he is committed to CMU, say ‘I’m happy to be here at this time’ or ‘I enjoy being CMU’s coach.’ It leaves the door open for him to bolt, but that’s OK. At least he’s being up front with everyone.

If Jones continues to have success, he will be gone anyway. Central is, and always will be, a stepping stone job.

The prospect of a coach leaving after a successful year to a bigger school always will be there. We concede that.

But saying how committed you are to a university, and then interviewing with another school is going back on your word.

We saw it with coach Brian Kelly. He, if you remember, continued to say he was staying, then left as soon as Cincinnati started calling.

It all seemed so familiar when Jones’ name was brought up after Rich Rodriguez accepted the Michigan coaching position. Nightmares of Brian Kelly reappeared.

The football program couldn’t afford to lose another coach so soon. It couldn’t continue to grow if a there was a carousel of coaches.

Luckily for CMU, Jones is staying. Perhaps with this new contract, he will stay a bit longer.

But from now on, coach Jones, be careful what you say. Because everyone is paying attention to what you actually are doing.

If you do the opposite of what you’re saying, then that puts you in a bad perception.

And we don’t want to have another bad taste in our mouths.

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