Josh Heupel hires his first coach from outside the program since taking over at Tennessee
The previous two times the Tennessee Vols have had a staff opening, head coach Josh Heupel has promoted from within to fill those vacancies. This time around, Heupel is going outside the program. On Monday afternoon, news broke that Tennessee is hiring Cincinnati Bearcats running backs coach De'Rail Sims to replace Jerry Mack, who left […]
The previous two times the Tennessee Vols have had a staff opening, head coach Josh Heupel has promoted from within to fill those vacancies.
This time around, Heupel is going outside the program.
On Monday afternoon, news broke that Tennessee is hiring Cincinnati Bearcats running backs coach De'Rail Sims to replace Jerry Mack, who left earlier this month to join the Jacksonville Jaguars' staff.
Sims, who is from South Carolina, has had coaching stops at Cincinnati, Louisville, East Carolina, James Madison, and Western Carolina, so he should have some solid recruiting connections across the southeast.
In 2022, four-star running back Javin Simpkins pointed out how Sims stayed with him after he was involved in a scary car crash.
"Coach [De'Rail] Sims has been on me for about a year now," said Simpkins to 247Sports. "We are communicating almost every day. He just checks in. He stayed with me through the accident. It's just good to know that they got my back."
Tennessee still needs to hire a linebackers coach to replace Brian Jean-Mary, who left for the same job at Michigan.
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