With newly hired Tennessee football cornerbacks coach Michael Hunter Jr. off to the NFL, the Vols had to scramble to replace him with a qualified candidate. That’s exactly what head coach Josh Heupel and defensive coordinator Jim Knowles did, landing Derek Jones.
On Monday, UT officially announced the addition of Jones to the staff as the cornerbacks coach.
“Derek understands what it takes to play cornerback at this level,” Heupel said in a statement. “He’s coached and played SEC football and has a track record of developing cornerbacks for the NFL. He’s also shown great ability as a recruiter in over two decades of coaching. He has familiarity with Coach Knowles and will make a seamless transition to our staff. We are excited to welcome Derek to Rocky Top!”
Jones spent the past four seasons with the Hokies and was of interest to Power Four programs this coaching carousel. He also brings prowess to the recruiting trail. On top of his duties as the cornerbacks coach at Virginia Tech, he was the defensive recruiting coordinator.
“I want to thank Coach Heupel and Coach Knowles for this opportunity,” Jones said. “Being back in the SEC and having the opportunity to coach at a place like Tennessee is special. I am fired up to be a Vol and begin preparations for spring practice. I look forward to building bonds with our players and future Vols.”
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Prior to his past four seasons at Virginia Tech, Jones served as the associate head coach, co-defensive coordinator and secondary coach at Texas Tech from 2020-21. Before that, he was at Duke.
It was during this time with the Blue Devils that he coached under now-UT defensive coordinator Knowles. From 2010-17, Knowles was the defensive coordinator at Duke. During that entire span, Jones was on staff. He began working for the program in 2008 as the defensive backs coach and assistant special teams coordinator before moving to more directly, the cornerbacks coach and assistant special teams coordinator.
After Knowles left, Jones was the associate head coach and defensive backs coach for two seasons with the Blue Devils before heading to Texas Tech.
Prior to his time at Duke, Jones coached in some capacity at Memphis, Tulsa, Middle Tennessee State and Murray State. He played his college football at Ole Miss before joining the Rebels’ staff as a graduate assistant.
