Anthony Poindexter didn’t hesitate to say yes when Jim Knowles asked him to join him on the Tennessee coaching staff in December. The two had spent the 2025 season together coaching Penn State’s defense and built a strong bond. So when Knowles asked Poindexter to come to Rocky Top, the answer was a quick yes.
“Nah, no hesitation at all,” Poindexter recalled during his conversation on Thursday’s episode of The Mike Keith Show. “And look, credit to him, I mean, like I said, we met a long time ago, but I was with him basically nine months, and for him to come to me and ask me to come with him, that speaks volumes of him and what he thought of me. So I was like, ‘Yeah, I’ll come with you, Coach.’”
From everything that’s been uncovered since Poindexter’s hiring as Tennessee’s safeties coach and co-defensive coordinator, the 49-year-old is big on establishing quality relationships with his players. Being a former high-level player himself, Poindexter understands the ins and outs of what the player-coach relationship entails and what’s needed out of the communication between the two sides.
“I think we gotta have great relationships,” Poindexter said. “I think when you have a great relationship with a player, he allows you to coach him. And that’s the most important piece. You gotta be able to coach him, to get him ready to play in the games, ready to play in the system. So a lot of these guys, like I say we just got good kids, so as we start to learn each other, and they learn me, they learn Coach Knowles and learn the staff, it should show out in how we play defense.”
Poindexter’s words are directly backed up by his past history. When Poindexter first announced that he was leaving Penn State for Tennessee, Nittany Lions linebacker Tony Rojas went to social media to share his disappointment with losing a key assistant coach that he had grown to know well.
“This one hurt,” Rojas wrote on social, reacting to Poindexter’s departure news. “One of the rarest coaches I’ve seen actually care for us and build a genuine relationship with every player. Appreciate you and love you coach.”
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Poindexter played his college ball as a standout safety at Virginia. By the end of his collegiate playing career, Poindexter had been named a three-time First Team All-ACC selection, a one-time First Team All-American, a one-time consensus All-American, and the ACC Defensive Player of the Year. His No. 3 jersey was retired at UVA in October 2009. Poindexter is also a College Football Hall of Fame selection and won Super Bowl XXXV with the Baltimore Ravens.
Poindexter could boast all of his accomplishments and accolades to his players in the room, but he chooses not to. He figures that his players have the opportunity to look him up on the internet if they so choose. But either way, his experience both as a player and an assistant coach gives him a unique knowledge of the relationships that need to be formed in order to succeed.
Tennessee overhauled its safety position through the transfer portal this season. The Vols do return starting safety Edrees Farooq, who graded out as UT’s highest-rated safety on PFF last year, but Tennessee also brought in several players from the portal to compete. Tennessee added former Michigan safety TJ Metcalf, Kansas State safety Qua Moss, Penn State safety Dejuan Lane, and App State safety DJ Burks.
While Tennessee’s players battle for starting and rotational spots on the defense this offseason, one thing is clear: Poindexter won’t tolerate softness from his group.
“Everybody want to play in the game, but everybody don’t want to practice and practice the right way,” Poindexter said. “So when you’re looking at it, to develop these guys, you just gotta have guys that got that innate drive and energy to play football. And if they tough, because I told them, ‘I can’t deal with softness.’ I mean, that’s just part of who I am. But if they’re tough, they’re competitive and they’ve got a feel for the game, they’ll be a good safety.”
