There are 2 assistant coaches that would make a lot of sense for new Vols defensive coordinator Jim Knowles to bring to Tennessee
The Tennessee Vols’ coaching staff could see some more changes this offseason.
On3’s Chris Low reported on Thursday that new Tennessee Vols defensive coordinator Jim Knowles is expected to have a say in what the defensive staff will look like on Rocky Top in 2026.
“I think one of the things that was appealing to Jim to come here is that he’s going to get [to make] a couple of hires,” said Low on WNML’s Josh and Swain . “He’s been told he’s going to get a couple of hires….I’ve told you guys for a couple of weeks that there were going to be changes on Heupel’s staff. And I felt confident in that all along. And I don’t think this changes with Tim Banks leaving and Jim coming in. I think there will be more. And I think that was a part of the whole deal. I don’t blame any coordinator, when you go into a situation, to want to have the latitude to bring in a couple of your guys. It just makes sense.”
Who could Jim Knowles bring with him to Tennessee?
Knowles has been coaching for nearly 40 years, meaning he has a ton of connections in college football. That also means it’s going to be tough to predict who could join him in Knoxville.
There are two coaches, however, that make a lot of sense for Knowles to bring to Tennessee.
Brent Zdebski served as a defensive analyst and analytics coordinator under Knowles at Penn State last season. He was also with Knowles for three seasons at Ohio State (2022-2024) and one season at Oklahoma State (2021). I’d be surprised if he doesn’t follow Knowles to Tennessee to serve in a similar role.
The other coach that makes sense for Knowles’ staff is Ohio State safeties coach/pass game coordinator Matt Guerrieri.
Now, Guerrieri may have no desire to leave Ohio State, but he has a lengthy history with Knowles.
The former Davidson defensive back worked under Knowles at Duke from 2012 to 2017. When Knowles left Duke to take over as the defensive coordinator at Oklahoma State, Guerrieri was promoted to co-defensive coordinator. Guerrieri served in that role for four seasons before landing at Ohio State as an analyst in 2022 (Knowles’ first season as the Buckeyes’ defensive coordinator).
Guerrieri was the co-defensive coordinator at Indiana in 2023 before returning to Ohio State in 2024.
It’s worth pointing out that Guerrieri didn’t follow Knowles to Penn State after the 2024 season. But there may be a good reason for that — Anthony Poindexter was already on the Nittany Lions’ staff as co-defensive coordinator/safeties coach when then Penn State head coach James Franklin hired Knowles.
Matt Guerrieri once called Jim Knowles the best defensive coordinator in the country
When Guerrieri returned to Ohio State in 2024, he referred to Knowles as the “best coordinator in the country”.
“[I’ve known] Jim from the time I was a little D-II coach back in the day when I first started coaching,” said Guerrieri in 2024. “Jim was a defensive coordinator at Duke and to be able to start that relationship, then to be able to coach safeties and take over his defense and calling it in that system — it’s about real relationships in any business and to be able to have a close one with him has definitely been awesome.”
Hiring Guerrieri at Tennessee would help provide some instant (and important) continuity for the Vols’ new defense.
“It’s efficiency first, to be able to be on the same page (with Knowles),” said Guerrieri in 2024 of working with Knowles. “Then I think also knowing where it came from helps, too. If you know the history of something, then you can tweak the end product in a way that, ‘Hey, we’ve done this before.’ ‘Ah, we dabbled with that, it didn’t really work.’ That type of stuff. So I think to be able to have that history and experience with him will go a long way.”
It’ll probably be a little while before Knowles has his coaching staff finalized. But Guerrieri and Zdebski are certainly two names to keep an eye on.
Tennessee Volunteers News
Tennessee needs offensive lineman Lance Heard to return in 2026, but one detail could complicate his return to the Vols
The Tennessee Vols need offensive tackle Lance Heard to return to Rocky Top in 2026.
