Tennessee Vols should try to steal wide receivers coach from SEC West program
Tennessee Vols head coach Josh Heupel is looking for a new wide receivers coach after news broke earlier this week that Kodi Burns is heading to the NFL to work as the New Orleans Saints wide receivers coach. Burns was originally hired by Heupel at UCF in early 2021. He then followed Heupel to Tennessee […]
Tennessee Vols head coach Josh Heupel is looking for a new wide receivers coach after news broke earlier this week that Kodi Burns is heading to the NFL to work as the New Orleans Saints wide receivers coach.
Burns was originally hired by Heupel at UCF in early 2021. He then followed Heupel to Tennessee after the Volunteers hired Heupel to replace Jeremy Pruitt as the program's head coach.
Heupel will likely be looking for two specific things in a new wide receivers coach: someone who can fit in with his offensive philosophy and someone who can recruit at a high level.
I mentioned eight possibilities earlier this week that Heupel could consider. But after doing some digging, there's another option that I didn't list that I think makes a lot of sense for Heupel and the Vols.
Arkansas wide receivers coach Kenny Guiton could be a perfect replacement for Burns.
For starters, he currently works under Razorbacks offensive coordinator Kendal Briles, who runs a similar style of offense as Heupel (Heupel runs his own version of the veer and shoot, made famous by Art Briles, the father of Kendal, at Baylor). Guiton could pretty much hit the ground running at Tennessee when it comes to X's and O's.
Perhaps more importantly, Guiton, who is a Houston native, is also a good recruiter. He was recently named as an honorable mention when Rivals.com named their recruiter of the year (which went to Texas A&M defensive line coach Elijah Robinson).
Guiton is a former Ohio State quarterback who coached at Houston, Louisiana Tech, and Colorodao State before landing at Arkansas before the 2021 season. He had a brief stint in the NFL with the Buffalo Bills.
Now, here's what makes this a realistic possibility — Guiton was tied with Burns as the lowest-paid wide receivers coach in the SEC last season (among the public SEC programs who make their salaries public).
Tennessee could give Guiton a nice pay raise. And they could put him on the fast track to getting a job in the NFL (if that's what he wants). Burns' departure for New Orleans can be a selling point for Heupel to potential assistant coaches.
I think this move would make a lot of sense on all levels. It's something that Heupel should at least consider.
Featured image via Calvin Mattheis/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK
