There’s been a lot of chatter among fans in recent weeks about whether the Tennessee Vols should make some changes to their offensive coaching staff.

Specifically, fans have questioned if Vols head coach Josh Heupel should consider replacing offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Joey Halzle, offensive line coach Glen Elarbee, and wide receivers coach Kelsey Pope. 

Most of that chatter stems from the fact that Tennessee's offense wasn't as dynamic in 2024 as it was in under Heupel in 2021 and 2022. 

I'm not going to advocate for Heupel to fire any of those guys. For one, the Vols still had the No. 15 scoring offense in the nation this past season. There were a myriad of reasons why the Vols weren't as explosive on offense in 2024. And while some of that falls on coaching, a lot of it was just poor execution. When you combine missed blocks, dropped passes, and missed throws with schemes that are being easily identified by opposing defenses, then it can lead to a serious downtick in production. It happens to all programs at some point. Ultimately, it's on Heupel to figure out a way to adapt (and I think fans should have faith that he will). 

As for coaching changes, I don't think it would be fair for me to call for Heupel to fire anyone. Fans and media don't see exactly what goes on behind the scenes. We aren't in meeting rooms or on the practice field (the Vols rarely let the media view practice and when they do it's mostly stretching). We don't know what the dynamic is between coaches and players, what's being coached, how players are reacting, how intense the practices are, etc. We only see the results on Saturdays. 

What we do know, though, is that Halzle, Elarbee, and Pope are all recruiting well. Halzle has helped land four straight stud quarterback recruits (Nico Iamaleava, Jake Merklinger, George MacIntyre, and Faizon Brandon). Elarbee just held off Ohio State for the top 2025 offensive line recruit in the nation (David Sanders Jr). And Pope has helped secure commitments in recent years from five-star wide receiver Mike Matthews (we'll find out soon if Matthews is going to return in 2025), four-star wide receiver Braylon Staley, and four-star wide receiver Travis Smith Jr. Those were all tough recruiting battles that Pope won. 

If Heupel choose to replaces any of those coaches, there's no guarantee that the Vols would see improvement at any of those positions. It's also unclear how it would impact recruiting. 

If Josh Heupel makes any coaching changes on offense, there's a name that would make obvious sense for Tennessee

Pope seems to be the assistant coach that's under the most fire from the Vols fan base at the moment. 

But let's not forget that less than a year ago, Alabama and Georgia tried to steal Pope away from Tennessee. I don't think Kirby Smart or Kalen DeBoer would've been pursuing Pope unless they believed he was an elite coach. 

Former Tennessee wide receiver Jalin Hyatt also offered a strong endorsement of Pope after the duo spent the 2022 season together (a season in which Hyatt won the Biletnikoff Award). 

Nah .. THE best! @CoachKelseyPope https://t.co/KiDe3MYP5E

— Jalin Hyatt (@jalinhyatt) July 20, 2023

Additionally, a coaching source told On3 in 2023 that he viewed Pope as an "expert wide receivers coach" who is a "master teacher of the position"

“I think Kelsey’s an expert wide receivers coach,” said the coaching source to On3 in 2023. “To me, he’s a master teacher of the receiver position. He played the position at a really high level and he understands the game. The second thing that I think makes him is really good is he’s super relatable. Kids gravitate to him and relate to him. And that’s part of why he got the job at Tennessee because the kids really stood on the table and wanted him to have the job." 

That doesn't sound like a guy that should be forced out just because the wide receiver production wasn't where everyone expected it to be in 2024. 

But if Heupel thinks he should make a change — and that should be up to Heupel, he shouldn't bend to public pressure — then there's an obvious choice that Tennessee could hire that could potentially be a co-offensive coordinator option with Halzle. 

In 2021 (Heupel's first season), the Vols' wide receivers thrived with Kodi Burns serving as the program's wide receivers coach. 

Cedric Tillman totaled 124 receiving yards in his first three seasons at Tennessee. In his first season with Heupel and Burns, he caught 64 passes for 1,081 yards and 12 touchdowns. 

Similarly, Velus Jones Jr caught 22 passes for 280 yards and three touchdowns the season before Heupel's arrival. In his only season with Heupel and Burns, he caught 62 passes for 807 yards and seven touchdowns. 

JaVonta Payton is another success story from 2021 as he caught 18 passes for 413 yards and six touchdowns after transferring from Mississippi State (where he caught 28 passes for 372 yards and one touchdown in two seasons). 

Tennessee's receivers were instantly productive under Burns, which seems to suggest he did a pretty good job during his one season on Rocky Top. 

Burns, who played quarterback and wide receiver at Auburn, left Tennessee for a job with the New Orleans Saints after the 2021 season. He stuck around in that role for two seasons, but he wasn't retained by the new staff in New Orleans for the 2024 season. Burns was recently hired by USF to serve as the program's co-offensive coordinator/wide receivers coach (current USF head coach Alex Golesh was Tennessee's offensive coordinator in 2021 and 2022). 

If Heupel wants to make a move, bringing back Burns, who was a co-offensive coordinator and passing game coordinator at Auburn before his time at Tennessee, would make the most sense. Burns has had success in this offense at Tennessee in the past and he could perhaps bring some fresh ideas to the play-calling process.

We'll see if Heupel thinks it's necessary to make any coaching changes on the offensive side of the ball. I tend to think he won't. And I don't think that's a bad thing. But if he decides that a change needs to be made, swiping Burns from Golesh and USF would probably be the move that makes the most sense. 

Of course, I don't think anyone should be mad if Tennessee runs it back with the coaching staff that just led the program to its first College Football Playoff appearance in school history. 

Tennessee Vols fans need to chill before they wreck the football program

This is not the way