In his first season as Kennesaw State’s head coach, former Tennessee football running backs coach Jerry Mack became a hot name on the coaching carousel. However, he’s seemingly not going anywhere anytime soon. Mack and the Owls have agreed to a new six-year contract, according to Pete Thamel.
This comes after a dramatic turnaround of the Kennesaw State program in just one year. Taking over a 2-10 team, Mack led the squad to a 10-3 record, including a win in the Conference USA Championship game.
Mack left the Vols after joining Josh Heupel in the 2021 season and staying through the 2023 campaign to coach running backs for the NFL’s 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.
Sources: Jerry Mack and Kennesaw State have agreed to a new six-contract. Mack led Kennesaw State to a 10–3 record and won the Conference USA championship this year. That came in his first year after taking over a team that went 2-10 in 2024. pic.twitter.com/JdS5MzkY8i
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) December 10, 2025
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This also means Mack will be returning to Knoxville next season. Tennessee will host Kennesaw State and Mack on Sept. 19, 2026, with a kickoff time and TV designation yet to be determined.
The Vols already know their nine SEC opponents that they 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.
