Tennessee has implemented several significant changes to improve the coaching staff this offseason. The first big domino fell when Tennessee hired Penn State’s Jim Knowles for the vacant defensive coordinator position. The Vols then supplemented their defensive staff by adding co-defensive coordinator and secondary coach Anthony Poindexter from Penn State, cornerbacks coach Michael Hunter Jr. from Ohio State, and LEOs coach AJ Jackson from Penn State.
Those four names will have a lot of the spotlight during Tennessee’s season next year, especially considering the personnel that they replaced during the offseason. But one big move that Tennessee made this week might fly under the radar for some fans who are less in the loop.
Tennessee announced the hiring of Derek Owings as the head strength and conditioning coach on Tuesday. Owings previously spent the last six seasons alongside Curt Cignetti, including the past two years at Indiana. Owings was hired right after the Hoosiers won the college football national championship. Bringing in Owings is a massive behind-the-scenes move from Tennessee and shows a clear mission from the Vols to get stronger and quicker on and off the field.
Tennessee will still have to show up on the field this fall, but the moves that UT has been making over the last two months show the commitment that the athletic department is giving to the program.
“They saw this as a chance to improve the defensive staff. They took it. They went and did it,” Volquest’s Austin Price said on Thursday’s episode of Josh and Swain on The Sports Animal. “They saw this as a chance to improve the strength and conditioning program. You go out and you land the national champion strength coach? I mean, that speaks volumes.”
“You go out and land the national champion strength coach. That speaks volumes.”@AustinPriceless discussed Tennessee’s investment to support coach Josh Heupel and the Vols’ football program
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— Josh Ward (@Josh_Ward) January 22, 2026
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The additions haven’t been the only moves that Tennessee has made on the staff side. The Vols also extended wide receivers coach Kelsey Pope, inked offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Joey Halzle to a new deal, signed defensive line Rodney Garner to a new contract, and retained linebackers coach William Inge on the defensive staff.
From a player perspective, Tennessee has signed 27 players from the 2026 class, including five-star QB Faizon Brandon, five-star WR Tristen Keys, and five-star offensive tackle Gabriel Osenda. The Vols have also landed 18 players from the portal, including five-star EDGE Chaz Coleman, four-star DL Xavier Gilliam, and three-star LB Amare Campbell. All three of those transfers, by the way, played for Knowles at Penn State during the 2025 season.
Coming off a disappointing 8-5 campaign last fall, Tennessee needed to address some deficiencies in the program. It has certainly done that with some high-profile hires on the coaching staff side of things.
Here’s a look at new strength coach Derek Owings speaking to the team during a workout on Wednesday morning in Knoxville:
day one in the lab 🧪#GBO 🍊 pic.twitter.com/KS8Ze4vCcc
— Tennessee Football (@Vol_Football) January 21, 2026
