Other names that have been mentioned or we’ve been asked about:
• Justin Wilcox (former UT/USC defensive coordinator): He was one of the few bright spots of Derek Dooley’s tenure and he recently wasn’t retained at USC with Clay Helton taking over full-time there. He does seem to be more of a West Coast guy and we’re not sure he or UT would want to give it another go in Knoxville.
• Lovie Smith (former Bucs head coach): Smith, who was an assistant for the Vols in the 90s, was surprisingly fired by the Bucs on Monday evening. He’s probably more an NFL defensive coordinator/head coach type of candidate, but crazier things have happened.
• Tim Banks (former Central Michigan/Illinois DC): Banks was Butch Jones’ defensive coordinator at Central Michigan, but he had a rough stint at Illinois in 2015 before being let go, so it’s hard to see him as a serious candidate at this point.
• Willie Martinez (UT defensive backs coach): We don’t expect Jones to promote from within, though Martinez does have four years of SEC defensive coordinator experience at Georgia (2006-09).
• Josh Conklin (DC at Pitt): Conklin had a short stint at Tennessee in 2012 as the safeties coach. He moved on to be the defensive coordinator at Florida International and was a Broyles Award (top assistant in CFB) nominee in 2014 there. He had a decent year at Pitt in 2015 and is clearly a name on the rise in coaching circles, though he probably isn’t ready to be a top choice for the Vols quite yet.
