College football insider drops report about the Vols that will make Tennessee’s players very happy

The Tennessee Vols are reportedly expecting a key assistant coach back in 2025.

Zach Ragan — Tennessee Volunteers News Writer
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Angelina Alcantar/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK

On3’s Pete Nakos dropped a report on Sunday afternoon that will make quite a few Tennessee Vols players (and UT fans) very happy.

Nakos reported that the current expectation is that defensive line coach Rodney Garner will return to Tennessee in 2026.

Garner, who is in his second stint as an assistant coach at Tennessee, has served as the Vols’ defensive line coach since the 2021 season.

The veteran defensive line coach’s contract is set to expire at the end of January, and with Tennessee recently hiring Jim Knowles as their new defensive coordinator, Garner’s future at UT has been up in the air.

Tennessee defensive lineman Nathan Robinson made it clear that he wants Rodney Garner to return

Vols redshirt sophomore defensive lineman Nathan Robinson was asked on Saturday, following UT’s Music City Bowl practice in Nashville, about Garner’s status with Tennessee.

Robinson made it clear that there would be some “pretty upset” players if Garner doesn’t return in 2026.

“I think it’s really important (Garner coming back) to who we are as a defense,” said Robinson. “And so I feel that it’s necessary that G (Garner) is able to come back. I’m not sure how it would look if he left — as far as the roster. I mean, we talked about the depth chart and all that stuff, but G is really important to us. And he’s helped us a lot growing as football players and as men. And so if that relationship just kind of ceased being an everyday thing, I mean, I know we’d have guys who would be pretty upset about that.”

Nothing is official with Garner yet, but it sounds like the highly-respected defensive line coach will be back on Rocky Top in 2026.

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