Josh Heupel quickly takes care of important offseason task for the Tennessee Vols football program
Tennessee Vols head coach Josh Heupel isn't known for making quick offseason decisions, but he veered from his normal approach this week by quickly replacing outside linebackers coach/special teams coordinator Mike Ekeler. According to a report from VolQuest, Heupel is promoting senior defensive analyst Levorn Harbin, AKA Coach Chop, to outside linebackers coach. Harbin, who […]
Tennessee Vols head coach Josh Heupel isn't known for making quick offseason decisions, but he veered from his normal approach this week by quickly replacing outside linebackers coach/special teams coordinator Mike Ekeler.
According to a report from VolQuest, Heupel is promoting senior defensive analyst Levorn Harbin, AKA Coach Chop, to outside linebackers coach.
Harbin, who was one of the higher paid analysts in the SEC, is an ace recruiter who was essentially a position coach-in-waiting for the Volunteers. It was a no-brainer for Heupel to promote Harbin to outside linebackers coach.
As for special teams, VolQuest also reported that special teams analyst Evan Crabtree will be elevated to special teams coordinator. The report also states that Tennessee is hiring John Bonamego as an assistant special teams coach.
Crabtree joined Tennessee's staff in 2022 after serving as a graduate assistant at Miami (Ohio) University. Crabtree played at Miami (Ohio) from 2015 to 2019 as a longsnapper, appearing in 47 games.
Bonamego, meanwhile, previously served as a special teams analyst at Iowa State. He has also spent time in the NFL as a special teams coordinator with the Miami Dolphins, Jacksonville Jaguars, Green Bay Packers, New Orleans Saints, Los Angeles Rams, and the Detroit Lions. Bonamego was the head coach at Central Michigan from 2015 to 2018. Suffice it to say, he has a wealth of experience to add to Tennessee's coaching staff.
Bonamego was a senior coaching assistant on the Ram's Super Bowl LVI team.
