Former Tennessee coach Butch Jones has been named the next head coach at Arkansas State.

Jones is currently a special assistant to Alabama head coach Nick Saban. Jones was an offensive analyst on Alabama's staff the previous two seasons.

"It is truly an honor and privilege to be the head football coach at Arkansas State University," Jones said in a statement. "It is a position that I take great pride in, and I look forward to connecting with our student-athletes to build upon the strong tradition of excellence both on and off the field of play."

Jones spent five seasons as coach of the Volunteers, going 34-27, though just 14-24 in the SEC. Jones led the Vols to consecutive nine-win seasons in 2015 and 2016, but was fired with two games left in the 2017 season with a 4-6 record. Tennessee would finish that season 0-8 in SEC play.

Before that Jones had successful stints at Cincinnati (23-14 in three seasons, including a Big East conference championship in 2011) and Central Michigan (27-13). Jones' teams have gone to bowl games in eight of his 11 seasons as a head coach.

"Butch Jones' outstanding record of success at both the [Group of 5] and [Power 5] levels is evident, and we're excited to having him leading our football program into the future," Arkansas State athletic director Terry Mohajir said in a statement. "He is the only coach over the last 12 years to lead Tennessee to back-to-back nine win seasons, and he led Cincinnati and Central Michigan to four conference championships over a six-year period.

"Butch has also worked with one of the most-well-respected coaches in history in Nick Saban the last three years at Alabama. Our candidate pool was fantastic, but following extensive and positive conversations with Butch, while also looking at his winning history, coaching and leadership abilities and vision for our program, we became confident he was the clear choice to be our next head coach."

Jones replaces Blake Anderson at Arkansas State. Anderson left to take the Utah State head-coaching job after seven seasons with a 51-37 record and two Sun Belt championships. The Red Wolves have been one of the most consistent programs in the conference, though they slipped to 4-7 this year.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.