After finding offensive success in 2025, Josh Heupel and Tennessee football have signed two key staff members to new deals. Along with wide receivers coach Kelsey Pope getting a new contract and adding passing game coordinator to his duties, offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Joey Halzle also got a new deal.
According to a report from Chris Low, Halzle is on a new two-year deal that will pay him $1.45 million annually. Pope will make $825,000 in 2026 and $850,000 in 2027.
Halzle has been with Heupel for his entire career. Formerly an Oklahoma quarterback under Heupel’s watch as the quarterbacks coach, Halzle joined the staff as quality control, then a graduate assistant with the Sooners. When Heupel took a job at Utah State in 2015, Halzle followed him as an assistant quarterback coach.
When Heupel took the offensive coordinator job at Missouri in 2016, Halzle again followed him as an assistant quarterback coach. However, he would step away from coaching following that season.
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In 2019, Halzle returned to coaching under Heupel. He was an assistant quarterbacks coach in his first year, but Heupel promoted him to quarterbacks coach in 2020. In 2021, when Heupel got the head coaching job at UT, he brought Halzle with him as his quarterbacks coach.
In 2023, with Alex Golesh leaving for the head coaching job at USF, Halzle was promoted to offensive coordinator. That first season and 2024 saw the offense take a significant step back, though. While the team made the playoffs in 2024, it was primarily due to a lights-out defense.
In 2025, the staff took a look in the mirror and adjusted its system. While keeping a lot of the same principles, there was still an overhaul that resulted in a dramatic step in the right direction. Tennessee’s offense produced 482 yards and 40.8 points per game. This ranked second and first in the SEC, respectively.
The full offensive staff for Tennessee now features Halzle as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, Pope as wide receivers coach and passing game coordinator, De’Rail Sims as running backs coach, Alex Abeln as tight ends coach and Glen Elarbee as the offensive line coach.
