Tennessee Vols offensive coordinator Joey Halzle mentioned as an option for SEC rival after wild day of coaching moves
Tennessee Vols offensive coordinator Joey Halzle could receive interest from other Power-Four programs this offseason.
Sunday was one of the wildest days in college football history — with multiple SEC schools making head coach hires — and the fallout could impact the Tennessee Vols.
Tennessee is expected to have some coaching staff movement this offseason after an up-and-down 2025 season.
It’s too early, however, to know how much movement we’ll see.
Tennessee Vols offensive coordinator Joey Halzle mentioned as an option for the Florida Gators
One of the coaching moves that was made on Sunday was the Florida Gators hiring Jon Sumrall away from Tulane to replace Billy Napier as the program’s new head coach.
Sumrall is a defensive-minded head coach, but he’s promising to bring an explosive offense to Gainesville.
On3’s Pete Nakos noted on Monday that Vols offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Joey Halzle is a “name to know” in Florida’s search for an offensive coordinator.
Halzle doesn’t have any known connections to Sumrall, but it’s not a surprise to see his name pop up on the list, considering the Volunteers’ offensive success over the last five seasons. Additionally, Halzle spent two seasons on Josh Heupel’s coaching staff at UCF, so he has some recruiting connections in Florida.
Speaking of Heupel, it’s worth noting that Halzle has never worked under another coach. Halzle played at Oklahoma when Heupel was the Sooners’ offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach. After Halzle’s playing days were over, he joined Oklahoma’s staff as an offensive assistant. When then-Sooners head coach Bob Stoops fired Heupel at the end of the 2014 season, Halzle followed Heupel to Utah State (Halzle also worked under Heupel at Missouri).
There’s been some question about who called plays for Tennessee in 2025. We know that Heupel called plays for the Vols in 2024, but it’s unclear who the primary play-caller was on Rocky Top this season. Some have speculated that it was Heupel, while others suggest it was Halzle.
One source told A to Z Sports last week that there’s confusion among SEC coaching staffs about who actually calls plays at Tennessee (Heupel likes to keep it a secret, apparently).
As for Halzle and Florida, we’ll see how things shake out in the coming days/weeks. Ultimately, though, I’d be surprised if Halzle left Knoxville for Gainesville — unless Sumrall promises him full autonomy over the offense (in which case, Halzle may have some thinking to do).
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