Former Tennessee Vols tight end Jason Witten will be on a college football sideline in an official capacity this fall for the first time since his playing days at UT.

Witten was hired by the Oklahoma Sooners earlier this offseason to serve as the program’s tight ends coach under head coach Brent Venables.

When news first broke that Witten was joining Oklahoma’s staff, attention quickly turned to the recruitment of Witten’s son, 2027 five-star linebacker Cooper Witten, who is being recruited by Tennessee and Oklahoma, among others. Some saw the move as a hint that Cooper is destined to land in Norman.

The elder Witten, however, called Vols head coach Josh Heupel before taking the job at Oklahoma to tell him to continue to recruit his son.

Ultimately, the timing of Witten taking the job at Oklahoma while his son is a top recruit appears to be nothing more than a coincidence. Witten spent the last five seasons as the head coach at Liberty Christian in Texas. The feeling is that Witten has the chance to be a fast-rising coach.

Phillip Fulmer makes big prediction for Jason Witten’s coaching future

Legendary former Tennessee head coach Phillip Fulmer, who coached Witten on Rocky Top a quarter century ago, recently shared some thoughts with On3’s Sooner Scoop on his former player’s coaching career.

“When I coached Jason, I saw a great person who wanted to learn everything as quickly as he could. I think that has never left him,” said Fulmer to On3. “He really wants to listen and learn, and he knows his responsibilities: relationships on campus, the academic side, and probably more than anything, the recruiting side, because he has a great personality and is a super, super person. Those things will matter to him. At the end of the day, coaching is a lot about relationships and a lot of effort. He’ll do both of those things really well.” 

“I don’t think there’s any question that he’ll be a head coach,” added Fulmer.

Landing on an SEC coaching staff is a huge opportunity for Witten. It won’t be a surprise if he quickly climbs the coaching ladder.

By the way, the good news for Witten is that Tennessee isn’t scheduled to play Oklahoma in 2026. So at least Witten won’t have to deal with what would undoubtedly be an emotional game against his alma mater. Of course, if he sticks with coaching, there’s a good chance he’ll eventually be on a sideline across the field from the Vols.

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