Former Tennessee football assistant coach Jerry Mack is hoisting a conference title trophy in his first season leading Kennesaw State. Formerly Josh Heupel’s running back coach from 2021-23, Mack has led the Owls to a 19-15 win over Jacksonville State in the Conference USA Championship.
The win came after KSU converted a 4th-and-14 with the game on the line. The next play, it scored a touchdown to take the lead with just 52 seconds left to play.
Mack left the Vols after the 2023 season to coach running backs for the Jacksonville Jaguars. After just one season, he was hired to take over Kennesaw State a year after it finished 2-10 (2-6 CUSA) in its first year as an FBS program.
Mack also has prior head coaching experience at North Carolina Central. From 2014-17, he won three MEAC championships and posted a 31-15 overall record.
As a result of his turnaround at Kennesaw State, his name was placed in rumors around coaching searches that have popped up. However, many schools have already filled their vacancies. A natural fit that is open if he did decide to leave is Memphis, though. He was born in the city before playing at Jackson State and Arkansas State.
YOU DON’T WANNA GO TO WAR WITH THE OWLS
CONFERENCE USA CHAMPIONS#SeeUs | #HootyHoo pic.twitter.com/U5LUsvCDH2
— Kennesaw State Football (@kennesawstfb) December 6, 2025
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Next season, Tennessee will host Kennesaw State and Mack. The game will be played on Sept. 19, 2026, with a kickoff time and TV designation yet to be determined.
The Vols already know their nine SEC opponents that it will face during the 2026 slate of games, as well. They will play Alabama, Auburn, Kentucky, LSU and Texas at home. On the road, Tennessee will play Arkansas, South Carolina, Texas A&M and Vanderbilt.
Other out-of-conference games on UT’s slate for 2026 are Furman (Sept. 5) and Georgia Tech (Sept. 12).
The conference slates of game days will be revealed on Thursday, Dec. 11, at 8 p.m. ET on the SEC Network. We already know that the annual three opponents for the Vols are Alabama, Kentucky and Vanderbilt, as well.
