Tennessee Vols assistant coach that could be an option for Oklahoma Sooners
Tennessee Vols head coach Josh Heupel doesn't appear to be a top option to replace Lincoln Riley at Oklahoma. But that doesn't mean the Vols are completely safe from the fallout of Riley leaving the Sooners. There's at least one scenario where Tennessee could lose an assistant coach to Oklahoma. Ole Miss offensive coordinator Jeff […]
Tennessee Vols head coach Josh Heupel doesn't appear to be a top option to replace Lincoln Riley at Oklahoma.
But that doesn't mean the Vols are completely safe from the fallout of Riley leaving the Sooners.
There's at least one scenario where Tennessee could lose an assistant coach to Oklahoma.
Ole Miss offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby has been mentioned as a candidate to take over for Riley.
Lebby is a former student assistant at Oklahoma who served on Heupel's staff at UCF from 2018-2019 (Lebby was UCF's quarterbacks coach in 2018 and offensive coordinator in 2019).
If Lebby takes the job at Oklahoma, it would make sense for him to pursue Vols quarterbacks coach Joey Halzle to serve as his offensive coordinator.
Lebby will most likely call plays if he gets the job at Oklahoma, but he will still need an offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach. He obviously knows Halzle well, as they were at UCF together in 2019 and at Oklahoma together in 2006.
Now, would Halzle actually leave Heupel? It's hard to think he wouldn't for a promotion to offensive coordinator at his alma mater.
However, it's important to remember that Halzle left Oklahoma when Heupel was fired as the Sooners' offensive coordinator in 2014. Halzle's been with Heupel ever since, following the current UT coach to Utah State, Missouri, and UCF.
In total, Halzle has spent 13 years coaching alongside Heupel.
But again, it could be tough for Halzle to pass up an offensive coordinator gig.
Though if he's patient, Halzle will likely end up being Tennessee's offensive coordinator if/when current Vols offensive coordinator Alex Golesh gets a look as a head coach somewhere.
(Halzle, by the way, was out recruiting for the Vols on Sunday.)
While losing Halzle wouldn't be a death blow to Heupel's staff, it wouldn't be ideal, either.
Halzle is essentially an extension of Heupel in the quarterbacks room. Heupel trusts Halzle. They're on the same page when it comes to teaching the offense and technique. If Halzle were to leave, it would probably mean Heupel would need to be more involved with the quarterbacks, which could take him away from important head coaching duties.
Ultimately, this is just something Heupel is going to have to deal with as the program experiences success. Programs will start trying to poach assistants from the Vols.
For now, there's no indication that Halzle is leaving Knoxville, but it's certainly a situation worth monitoring until Oklahoma fills its vacancy.
Featured image via Brianna Paciorka/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK
