Josh Heupel finalized Tennessee football’s on-field coaching staff Friday as the transfer portal officially opened. Heupel made a number of changes to his defensive staff. After hiring Jim Knowles as the new defensive coordinator, Tennessee brought in three new defensive assistant coaches all who had previous ties to Knowles.
Anthony Poindexter is the new co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach, Michael Hunter is the new cornerbacks coach and Andrew Jackson is the new LEO (outside linebackers coach).
“We are excited about the experienced defensive staff we have assembled as we start the New Year,” Heupel said in a statement. “This group has a long, distinguished track record of outstanding recruiting, player development and coaching technique in either the Big Ten or SEC. They are already in our facility and working hard with Coach Knowles to help restore the standard of defense we expect to play at Tennessee. We would like to formally welcome Anthony, Andrew and Michael to Rocky Top.”
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Anthony Poindexter, Co-Defensive Coordinator and Safeties Coach
Poindexter comes to Tennessee after spending the previous five years as safeties coach and co-defensive coordinator for the Nittany Lions. He was also a candidate to land the Louisville defensive coordinator job earlier this offseason.
A former star safety at Virginia, Poindexter has spent time on staff with the Cavaliers, Purdue and UConn. Poindexter coached four NFL draft pick safeties during his time at Penn State including Kevin Winston Jr, Jaylen Reed, Ji’Ayir Brown and Jaquan Brisker.
“It’s a tremendous honor to rejoin Coach Knowles at a place that has as rich of a tradition as Tennessee,” Poindexter said. “I want to thank Coach Heupel for this opportunity. Tennessee has a storied tradition of elite defensive backs starting with Eric Berry. I look forward to building relationships with our current players and future Vols as we build a championship culture in our secondary.”
Poindexter and Knowles coached together last season at Penn State with the exact same titles. It should give Poindexter a level of familiarity with Tennessee’s new system.
“Dex is an expert on defensive back play and builds amazing relationships with his players,” Knowles said.
Michael Hunter, Cornerbacks Coach
Hunter comes to Tennessee after spending the last two seasons as an assistant defensive back’s coach on Ryan Day’s staff at Ohio State.
He brings a strong history as a player beginning his playing career at Indiana, where he was at from 2011-14. He rounded out his career with Oklahoma State in 2015 before going undrafted. He still carved out an NFL career that lasted until 2019.
“I couldn’t be more excited about being here at Tennessee,” Hunter said. “Thanks to Coach Heupel and Coach Knowles for giving me this opportunity. I take great pride in building relationships with our players and helping them become the best they can be on and off the field.”
Hunter has two years of experience working with Knowles. He was the defensive backs coach at Oklahoma State in 2021 when Knowles was defensive coordinator. Knowles hired Hunter as an assistant secondary coach at Ohio State ahead of the 2024 season.
“Michael invests deeply in his players and works tirelessly on their behalf.”
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Andrew Jackson, LEO Coach
Jackson replaces Levorn “Chop” Harbin as Tennessee’s outside linebackers coach. He was an assistant defensive line coach for Penn State last season and spent the four seasons before that as the defensive line coach at West Virginia.
The New York native landed at Penn State after West Virginia fired head coach Neal Brown and replaced him with Rich Rodriguez. Jackson has a year of SEC experience as a defensive quality control coach at Mississippi State.
“My family and I fired up to be on Rocky Top and back in the SEC,” Jacksons said. “I want to thank Coach Knowles and Coach Heupel. I have great respect for what has been accomplished here, and we want to continue to help elevate this program. I can’t wait to get to work with our guys, as well as get out on the road and build relationships with coaches and recruits.”
During his final year at West Virginia, the Mountaineers ranked first in the Big 12 with 33 sacks and second in the Big 12 with 84 tackles for loss. West Virginia’s defensive line was responsible for 16 of those sacks and 33 of the tackles for loss. He worked one year with Knowles at Penn State.
“AJ is a tremendous pass rush technician and does a great job teaching the game,” Knowles said.
