UPDATE..
After his on-field coaching staff underwent just two changes during his first three years at Tennessee, Josh Heupel was in the unfamiliar territory of having to fill two vacancies in short order last month.
Two of his original assistant coaches left for other jobs with running backs coach Jerry Mack heading to the NFL to join the staff of the Jacksonville Jaguars and linebackers coach Brian Jean-Mary returning to Michigan,
from where the Vols hired him three years ago. Tennessee moved quickly to get their replacements into their new jobs ahead of spring practice, tabbing De’Rail Sims from Cincinnati as Mack’s successor and William Inge from Washington – or, more recently, Alabama – to follow Jean-Mary, and Heupel is excited about what the two new coaches will bring to his program entering Year 4.
Heupel made external hires after three instances of internal promotions the past two offseasons.
When Kodi Burns left for the NFL’s New Orleans Saints in 2022, the Vols elevated analyst Kelsey Pope to wide receivers coach. After Alex Golesh was hired as the head coach at South Florida last year, Tennessee promoted quarterbacks coach Joey Halzle to offensive coordinator and elevated analyst Alec Abeln to tight ends coach.
During his appearance on Tennessee’s “Everything Orange” podcast, Heupel discussed the two new coaches and expressed excitement about the impact they can make for the Vols.
