Former Tennessee defensive coordinator Tim Banks looks to be staying in the SEC. According to a report from Justin Hokanson of Auburn On3 Sports, Banks is lined up to become the Auburn Tigers’ new safeties coach. This move reunites Banks with former Tennessee offensive coordinator Alex Golesh, who took the job as the Tigers’ head coach in late November.
In addition to being Tennessee’s defensive coordinator for the last five seasons, Banks also served as UT’s safeties coach. His move to Auburn will keep him with his familiar position group on the defensive side of the field. Banks also served as the safeties coach, in addition to his role as the co-DC, on Penn State’s staff from 2016 to 2020.
Auburn and Golesh worked quickly to bring Banks to the Tigers’ staff. The two served under Josh Heupel in Knoxville in 2021 and 2022, before Golesh left to become the head coach at South Florida.
It won’t be long before Banks steps back into Neyland Stadium. Golesh, Banks, and the Auburn Tigers are set to play at Tennessee during the 2026 football season, setting up a reunion game of sorts on Rocky Top. The scheduled date of that game will be released on Thursday night.
More From RTI: Could a Current (or Fired) SEC Coach Land Michigan Football’s Open Job?
The 53-year-old coach from Detroit has been on the defensive side of the ball nearly his entire coaching career. After position coaching jobs at Ferris State, Bowling Green, Memphis, and Maryland from 1997 to 2006, Banks first became a defensive coordinator with Central Michigan, his alma mater, in 2007 until 2009. He then served as the defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach at Cincinnati from 2010 to 2011 and at Illinois from 2012 to 2015. Banks was then hired to the Penn State staff in 2016 and was eventually hired by Heupel in 2021.
Banks orchestrated Tennessee’s stellar defensive unit in 2024, which helped the Vols earn their first berth in the College Football Playoffs in program history. That prompted Tennessee to sign Banks to a new three-year contract in January 2025. But after significant regression during the 2025 season, Tennessee felt the need to go in a different direction. On Monday, Tennessee officially parted ways with Banks.
Tennessee, meanwhile, appears to be honing in on its next defensive coordinator. According to a report from ESPN’s Pete Thamel on Wednesday, Tennessee is expected to hire Jim Knowles as its next DC. Knowles spent the 2025 season as Penn State’s defensive coordinator. Before that, he was the DC at Ohio State for three seasons, including the Buckeyes’ championship-winning season in 2024.
Stay tuned to Rocky Top Insider for more Tennessee Football coverage.
