For the first time under Josh Heupel, Tennessee football made moves at the coordinator and position coach spots due to firings. This included defensive coordinator and safeties coach Tim Banks being fired and replaced by Penn State’s Jim Knowles.
As Knowles and his new defensive staff look to bolster the roster through the transfer portal, CBS went through and ranked the top 10 coordinator hires across college football from this coaching carousel cycle. In the ranking, the pick up of Knowles ranked as the No. 4 hire.
“Knowles’ scheme is relatively simple, built around putting playmakers in position to execute rather than overwhelming opponents with complexity,” CBS’ Brad Crawford wrote in the article. “That approach worked during his three seasons in Columbus thanks to an abundance of talent. Tennessee is betting he can replicate that success in the SEC. Knowles will be tasked with overhauling a defense that ranked 92nd nationally in points allowed this season at 28.8 per game, the Vols’ worst showing since 2021.”
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Knowles comes in behind just Michigan’s hire of offensive coordinator Jason Beck, Florida’s of offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner and Texas’ of defensive coordinator Will Muschamp.
Other SEC names in the top 10 include offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr. to LSU and offensive coordinator Kendal Briles to South Carolina. The Vols will play both of those teams and the Longhorns next season.
So far, Knowles has added three defensive players through the transfer portal. This includes safety/nickelback Qua Moss from Kansas State, cornerback Kayin Lee from Auburn and defensive lineman Xavier Gilliam from Penn State. He has multiple other big-name targets in the mix, which he is working to land.
More targets from the portal will be on campus in the coming days on both sides of the ball. Stay tuned with Rocky Top Insider for the latest updates.
