Big Orange Report January 29, 2026

 

Heupel Comes Out of His Shell

The sweeping changes over the past few weeks in Knoxville have sent a positive signal to the Big Orange Nation. Head coach Josh Heupel has been questioned and second guessed about his absolute loyalty to his staff and employees over the past two years. However, he swept all those concerns and doubts away in a tidal wave of changes. His first move was to dismiss Tim Banks as defensive coordinator and that opened the flood gates to a flurry of moves that all appear, at least right now, to be very positive actions to improve the football program immediately.

The addition of veteran defensive coordinator Jim Knowles was followed by more changes on defensive staff. Only two assistants were retained, veteran and proven line coach Rodney Garner and linebacker coach William Inge. In our opinion, these two retentions were solid and positive decisions. From there, Knowles added three assistants that have worked with him in the past and appear to have his confidence and trust. Anthony Poindexter arrives as the co-defensive coordinator and secondary coach. Andrew Jackson, a great name for a Vol coach, comes on board to mentor the LEOs (edge pass rushers). Michael Hunter will mentor with Poindexter and concentrate primarily on the cornerbacks. Word is all these coaches are high energy and meticulous in their work with their respective position players.

Unknown to the public till last week, Heupel and athletic director Danny White instigated a coup when they signed Indiana's Director of Athletic Performance, Derek Owings, six days before the national championship game. Owings, who worked with Heupel for one year (2018) at Central Florida, had been with the Hoosiers' head coach Curt Cignetti for the past seven seasons beginning at James Madison University.

Owings then moved quickly to bring his top two assistants, Josh Huff and Carl Miller, to East Tennessee. Huff will be the Vols' Sports Science Director and Miller was named Assistant Director of Athletic Performance. The final move last week was the addition of Katie O'Connell from the University of Kansas. She will be the new director of Sports Nutrition and Diet for the Volunteers. O'Connell has worked in the SEC before at LSU.

Coach Heupel released this statement about Owings and his credentials. "Physical and mental toughness is paramount in everything we do year-round as a program," 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!"

Portal Additions (To Date)

Head coach Josh Heupel and his staff have done, what appears to be, an excellent job of re-stocking and re-loading the roster from the portal thus far. They have filled positions of immediate need and added depth to the team in the bargain.

To this point in the process, Tennessee has added seven defensive backs, four of which are veterans with proven track records. In addition, two offensive tackles are now Vols and will compete for the starting nod at right tackle in the blocking front. Other offensive add-ons include one running back, one tight end, a kicker and a veteran quarterback.

The defensive staff also brought in three other key performers with the signing of one linebacker and two edge pass rushers. These three players had solid numbers during the 2025 campaign.

Vol Notes

Interesting sidebar to the hiring of defensive coordinator Jim Knowles was when he revealed during interviews late last week who made the first "recruiting" call he received about the Tennessee job. His daughter called and was very excited to let him know that the DC position was open and encouraged him to talk to Coach Heupel. Knowles daughter, who is 30 years old now, is a graduate of the University of Tennessee.

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