Update on 12/4 at 5:10 p.m. ET: Halzle will not be the next OC with Florida. Georgia Tech OC Buster Faulkner will.
New Florida head coach Jon Sumrall is working on assembling his first Gators coaching staff after being hired on Sunday. The former Tulane coach is building his staff from the outside rather than bringing his staff with him from his previous school.
In a message that On3’s Pete Nakos posted on Sunday, Sumrall made a definitive statement that finding a capable offensive coordinator was at the top of his priority list.
“One of my first priorities will be to assemble an incredible staff, including an offensive coordinator who understands that, at Florida, having an explosive offense isn’t optional,” Sumrall said. “It’s mandatory!”
It looks as though Tennessee offensive coordinator Joey Halzle could be on the short list of candidates that Sumrall has been looking at. According to a report from Nakos on Monday, Halzle was tabbed as a name to watch for Florida’s coaching search. There’s been no update on Halzle’s status as a potential candidate through Thursday, but the position has not been filled yet at the time of this publication.
Halzle was hard at work during Tennessee’s signing day festivities on Wednesday. Halzle’s work on the recruiting trail has helped Tennessee sign a 2026 class that currently ranks No. 7 in On3 Sports’ 2026 team rankings. Tennessee Football’s signing day social media video showed Halzle speaking with recruits as they signed to the Tennessee roster.
What a day. 😏
signing day details ⤵️https://t.co/QWDBVuBHrc#RockyTop26 | #GBO 🍊 pic.twitter.com/hF9n508sLQ
— Tennessee Football (@Vol_Football) December 4, 2025
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“I don’t hire a staff off of who are my buddies,” Sumrall said during his opening press conference on Sunday. “I hire a staff based upon what is the absolute best group of people we can put together to serve and develop our players and win championships at that place.”
Halzle has been with Josh Heupel for quite some time now. Hazle was a quarterback for Oklahoma when Heupel was the quarterbacks coach, and the two spent time on the same Sooners staff when Halzle moved to being a quality control coach and a graduate assistant. The pair also spent time on the same staff at Utah State in 2015, at Missouri in 2016, and at Central Florida from 2019 to 2020 until their move to Tennessee.
Halzle began his Tennessee tenure as the quarterbacks coach in 2021 and 2022, and added the title of offensive coordinator in 2023 with the departure of Alex Golesh to South Florida. He’s held the same two assistant positions with the Volunteers ever since the promotion in 2023.
“Early names to know as Sumrall evaluates the offensive coordinator market are Pitt’s Kade Bell, Georgia Tech’s Buster Faulkner and Tennessee’s Joey Halzle,” Nakos wrote in his report on Monday. “The Yellow Jackets rank No. 12 in team offense, and Faulkner has developed quarterback Haynes King.”
Tennessee boasted the top-scoring offense in the SEC this past season. The Vols hung 31 points on the Gators in a win over Florida in the penultimate game of the regular season.
