Tennessee football made a power move this week, hiring Indiana’s Derek Owings as the new director of football sports performance. While it was reported that the deal was in place before the title game, the announcement came just hours after the Hoosiers won the national championship.
Now, he will also be the highest-paid strength and conditioning coach in college football history, according to Matt Zenitz. With so much excitement around his hiring, he has made his way to campus and is ready to get to work.
Tennessee gets workouts started on Wednesday morning, so Owings had to quickly get familiar with the rest of the coaching staff and the roster.
Checkout the content that UT Athletics posted of his arrival on Tuesday below:
Let’s get after it, @owingsderek 🤝#GBO 🍊 pic.twitter.com/dJRjrjtnAG
— Tennessee Football (@Vol_Football) January 21, 2026
Ready to work. 😤@owingsderek | #GBO 🍊 pic.twitter.com/jXlLiPq01H
— Tennessee Football (@Vol_Football) January 21, 2026
More From RTI: Tennessee Football Reportedly Hosting Tight End Transfer Target for Two-Day Visit
Owings only joined Indiana two years ago when Curt Cignetti got the job, but he’s been with Cignetti for quite some time now. He initially joined his staff in 2020 at James Madison. He previously worked for one season with Heupel at UCF, as well.
Now, he’s expected to play a massive role in helping Tennessee get ready for a nine-game SEC grind.
“Physical and mental toughness is paramount in everything we do year-round as a program,” Vols head coach Josh Heupel said. “No one understands this better at a championship level than Derek. He will elevate our strength and conditioning program with a relentless mindset and forge strong relationships with our players. He has a proven track record of utilizing modern training methods to maximize speed and strength, while specializing in injury prevention. He also understands what it takes to build an elite nutrition program to ensure our players are set up for on-field success and durability. We are thrilled to welcome Derek and his wife, Riley, to Rocky Top!”
