New Vols LBs coach William Inge explains why he chose to join Tennessee's coaching staff instead of Alabama's
Before William Inge agreed to become the Tennessee Vols' new linebackers coach (replacing Brian Jean-Mary, who left UT for Michigan), he was set to serve as the linebackers coach at Alabama under new head coach Kalen DeBoer. Inge was previously on DeBoer's staff at Washington (2022-2023) and Fresno State (2020-2021). The two coaches were also […]
Before William Inge agreed to become the Tennessee Vols' new linebackers coach (replacing Brian Jean-Mary, who left UT for Michigan), he was set to serve as the linebackers coach at Alabama under new head coach Kalen DeBoer.
Inge was previously on DeBoer's staff at Washington (2022-2023) and Fresno State (2020-2021). The two coaches were also on staff together at Indiana.
On Monday, Inge met with reporters at Tennessee for the first time since arriving in Knoxville. And he was asked about his decision to shun the Crimson Tide in favor of the Vols.
Inge noted that it was a tough decision, but he cited Tennessee's history and tradition, as well as his admiration for Vols head coach Josh Heupel, when discussing the decision to join UT's coaching staff.
"No. 1, I know the history and tradition and the branding that this place has with that Power T and what it all represents, the recruiting that you can be able to do here," said Inge. "But also, I’m a fan of Coach Heupel as well. Seeing the things that he’s done when we look at his background and his record."
"As you can assume, it was very tough because you have a very good comfort level with a staff, with people, with how you do things," added Inge when asked specifically about choosing Tennessee instead of Alabama. "But then when you have another branded program that’s exactly the same — that probably may be just as established as a program that you’re dealing with — that comes into play, that’s something you want to look at and something you want to seek. And having a chance to be able to do something different, be around some of the young men here and help literally get to the hearts and minds of these players and help them compete for an SEC and a national championship, that’s something that became very important to me.”
Tennessee still has a lot to prove under Josh Heupel — the program has high goals it wants to achieve in the next couple of years — but the gap between the Vols and the powerhouses of college football is clearly closing. Swiping an assistant coach from Alabama is further proof that it's closing (along with landing elite recruits, like 2024 five-star edge rusher Jordan Ross, over Bama).
There's still a gap, but it isn't nearly as wide as it was when Heupel was hired to replace Jeremy Pruitt in early 2021.
