College football insider drops nugget on how long Tennessee’s search for a new defensive coordinator is expected to take
The Tennessee Vols officially parted ways with defensive coordinator Tim Banks on Monday.
The Tennessee Vols parted ways with defensive coordinator Tim Banks on Monday.
Vols head coach Josh Heupel thanked Banks in a statement while also noting that the move was necessary for the future of the program.
“I want to thank Tim for everything he has done for Tennessee the last five seasons,” said Heupel. “He helped restore our program to national prominence. More importantly, Tim is a great man of character and someone I have the utmost respect for. We wish Tim all the best moving forward.
“These are tough decisions but one I ultimately felt was necessary for the future of our program. We are fully committed to identifying our next defensive coordinator who will uphold the standard that Tennessee has historically been known for.”
The Volunteers had the No. 7 scoring defense in the nation in 2024, but performance dropped off dramatically in 2025 as Tennessee finished the regular season with the No. 92 scoring defense in the nation.
College football insider drops nugget on how long Tennessee’s search for a new defensive coordinator is expected to take
There are quite a few names being speculated as options to replace Banks, but there’s no frontrunner for the job just yet.
The expectation, however, is that this search will move fast.
On3’s Chris Low tweeted on Monday that he expects Tennessee to hire a new defensive coordinator “pretty quickly”. Low also noted that Tennessee will be willing to pay “big money”.
It makes sense that Tennessee wants to get this done quickly. The transfer portal is set to open on January 2, and getting a hire in place soon will allow the new defensive coordinator to evaluate the current defensive roster, address any needs in the portal, and, if necessary, convince players to stay.
Update:
On3’s Pete Nakos pointed out Washington defensive coordinator Ryan Walters as a name to know in the Vols’ search for a new defensive coordinator.
Walters and Heupel worked together at Oklahoma in 2012 and at Missouri in 2016 and 2017.
Tennessee Volunteers News
5 options to replace Tim Banks as the Tennessee Vols’ defensive coordinator
The Tennessee Vols are reportedly parting ways with defensive coordinator Tim Banks.
