Tennessee Vols pull assistant coach off recruiting trail; Tee Martin gets to work
Tennessee Vols special teams coordinator/safeties coach Charles Kelly has been replaced on the recruiting trail by Tee Martin, who was hired this week by Jeremy Pruitt. Kelly, who succeeded Jeremy Pruitt as Florida State's defensive coordinator in 2014, reportedly has an offer to become the defensive coordinator at Maryland under new head coach Mike Locksley. […]
Tennessee Vols special teams coordinator/safeties coach Charles Kelly has been replaced on the recruiting trail by Tee Martin, who was hired this week by Jeremy Pruitt.
Kelly, who succeeded Jeremy Pruitt as Florida State's defensive coordinator in 2014, reportedly has an offer to become the defensive coordinator at Maryland under new head coach Mike Locksley.
The Vols currently have 11 assistant coaches, but they don't have an open position. If Kelly leaves, it would mean some staff shuffling would have to take place between defensive and offensive coaches.
Kelly, by the way, was recently on the road with Pruitt in Florida recruiting.
If Kelly is the only coach that leaves (wide receivers coach David Johnson is also a candidate to leave), then it likely means that tight ends coach Brian Niedermeyer would move to defense. Niedermeyer has coached linebackers before, so he has some experience on the defensive side of the ball.
It's possible that Johnson could move to running backs (a position he's coached before) with Martin taking wide receivers. In this scenario, Chris Weinke would slide over to tight ends. If Johnson leaves, then it means Pruitt can simply hire a new safeties coach and leave the rest of the staff alone.
As for special teams, that's anyone's guess. It depends how many coaches Pruitt ends up having to replace.
Either way, the Vols will once again have one of the top staffs in the SEC in 2019.
Featured image via Melina Vastola-USA TODAY Sports
