Tennessee football is seemingly in position to retain its running back coach, De’Rail Sims. After a report indicated that Sims may be in consideration to take the opening at Miami, Matt Zenitz has reported that the Hurricanes are targeting Broncos offensive assistant Favian Upshaw, instead.
Sims just finished his second season at Tennessee. He replaced the departing Jerry Mack, who went to the NFL for a season before taking the job as the Kennesaw State head coach. He won a conference title in his first year with the Owls and was named the CUSA Coach of the Year.
In Sims’ first year, he inherited Dylan Sampson, who proved to be one of the best backs in the conference. Sampson earned SEC Offensive Player of the Year honors as he paced a struggling offense on a Vols’ team that made the 12-team College Football Playoffs.
This past year, Sims rode DeSean Bishop to another 1,000-yard season for a UT back. That was the third-straight season with a 1,000+ rusher for the Vols, dating back to Jaylen Wright in 2023 before Sims got to campus.
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This year, the Vols will boast a running back room that features Bishop, Tulane transfer Javin Gordon, second-year players Daune Morris and Justin Baker and three-star freshman Will Rajecki.
While it seems Sims will return, there was a departure on the coaching staff in recent weeks. Cornerbacks coach Michael Hunter Jr., after just a month on the job, took a role in the NFL. UT quickly hired Derek Jones as his replacement, who most recently coached at Virginia Tech and has experience under new defensive coordinator Jim Knowles.
The full offensive Tennessee coaching staff for next season includes head coach Josh Heupel, offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Joey Halzle, wide receivers coach and passing game coordinator Kelsey Pope, tight ends coach Alec Abeln, offensive line coach Glen Elarbee and Sims.
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