Tennessee Vols head coach Josh Heupel promoted quarterbacks coach Joey Halzle to offensive coordinator last month (annoucned earlier this month) to replace Alex Golesh, who left UT after the 2022 season to become the new head coach at USF.

Halzle's promotion takes care of the offensive coordinator role, but the Vols still need to hire a tight ends coach (the position that Golesh coached).

So far, it appears there hasn't been much movement on a potential hire. It's mostly just speculation at this point when it comes to the names that have been thrown out there.

Former North Texas head coach Seth Littrell (Heupel's college teammate), Oklahoma tight ends coach Joe Jon Finley, UCLA tight ends coach Jeff Faris, or an in-house promotion have been the popular names lately.

I speculated last week that two former Tennessee assistants currently with the Los Angeles Chargers — running backs coach Derrick Foster and tight ends coach Kevin Koger — could be options. But a source told me this week that neither of those assistants are in the mix for a job with the Vols.

There's another potential option with a connection to Heupel that could make sense for UT — though Tennessee would likely have to come hard with a lucrative offer to make it happen.

Current Michigan co-offensive coordinator/offensive line coach Sherrone Moore is a guy who would be a good fit for Heupel's staff.

Moore coached the offensive line at Michigan in 2021 and 2022, but from 2012 to 2020, he was a tight ends coach.

The current Michigan assistant played at Oklahoma in 2006 and 2007. Those were Heupel's first two seasons at OU as a full-time assistant, so there's a connection there between the two.

Moore also has a connection to Tennessee through Vols linebackers coach Brian Jean-Mary. The two coaches worked together at Michigan in 2020 and at Louisville from 2010 to 2013.

Now, landing Moore wouldn't be easy considering he has a co-offensive coordinator role at Michigan. But the Vols would be wise to make a strong run at him. Moore has some familiarity with the staff, plus he has a solid reputation as a recruiter. And that's what Tennessee really needs with this hire.

Heupel could offer Moore a co-offensive coordinator title, something that carries some weight at Tennessee considering the Vols' "collaborative offensive approach".

Things are kinda weird at Michigan right now. Jim Harbaugh flirted with the NFL again this offseason before deciding to return to Ann Arbor where he's facing questions from the NCAA about a level I violation (Harbaugh refuses to accept blame).

There's also the fact that Matt Weiss, the other co-offensive coordinator at Michigan, was recently placed on leave due to a computer crime investigation. It might be a good time for Moore to exit. And landing in Knoxville would be an attractive option for the advancement of Moore's career.

No one really knows exactly what Heupel is thinking with this hire, but most folks seem to agree that he needs to hire a strong recruiter. Sherrone Moore would certainly fall into that category.

Featured iamge via Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports