Tennessee Vols head coach Josh Heupel has a system when it comes to hiring coaches.

Heupel will make a hire from outside if necessary, but he prefers promoting analysts/quality control coaches for continuity reasons.

Tennessee's offense only works if everyone is on the same page. When the Vols are going up-tempo, there's no time for confusion. Coaches at Tennessee essentially have to be able to finish each other's sentences.

Heupel's had to replace two coaches in the two years he's been at Tennessee. Both of those coaches were replaced via internal hires.

One of those coaches — new tight ends coach Alec Abeln — played for Heupel at Missouri.

Another coach on the Vols' staff — offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Joey Halzle — played for Heupel at Oklahoma.

The perfect formula for Heupel appears to be: player to analyst to on-field coach.

For that reason, it seems like there's a good chance that a player who played for Heupel at Tennessee will land on the coaching staff at some point.

And there's one current player in particular that I think would be a good bet to eventually be a coach at UT under Heupel.

Vols tight end Jacob Warren announced earlier this offseason that he's returning to Tennessee for his final season of eligibility.

Warren, who moved to Knoxville as a young kid, has been at UT since 2018. That's a lot of SEC experience. Which is why he's already viewed as an extra coach for the Vols.

Abeln met with reporters earlier this month after he was named Tennessee's new tight ends coach and he said that Warren is more like a "collaborator" when it comes to the Vols' offense and noted that he has a lot of input.

"I can't say enough about Jay," said Abeln. "Honestly, he is going to be more of a collaborator than a student in a lot of ways. He has a ton of input. Super smart, does everything the right way. I am really grateful he came back and excited to see him take steps this year."

I don't know what Warren's plans are after his playing days are over (he mentioned the NFL during an interview with Dave Hooker back in December). But whenever Warren stops playing football, it certainly sounds like he could get into coaching if he desires. I mean, it sounds like he's already doing the job in some ways.

And considering the way that Heupel makes hires, Warren is exactly the type of person he'd target for a role on his staff. Warren knows the offense, knows the culture, and knows what works and what doesn't. It would be an ideal fit (again, if he chooses).

If you've watched any of Warren's media sessions or interviews, you'll quickly realize he's an extremely mature and incredibly intelligent guy. He's essentially a perfect fit to join Heupel's staff one day (hopefully for his sake, after a long career in the NFL).

You never know what the future holds, but I could certainly envision Warren as someone that we see back at Tennessee one day as a coach.

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