The Vols just lost an important assistant coach, but there’s an obvious replacement that Tennessee should quickly hire
The Tennessee Vols are dealing with an unexpected coaching change.
The Tennessee Vols were hit with some sudden change on Tuesday.
CBS Sports’ Matt Zenitz reported Tuesday afternoon that Vols cornerbacks coach Michael Hunter is leaving Rocky Top to join the Los Angeles Rams’ coaching staff.
Hunter, a former Oklahoma State cornerback who is from Louisiana, was hired by Tennessee earlier this offseason to serve on new defensive coordinator Jim Knowles’ staff.
Landing Hunter was viewed as an important move for the Vols because of the continuity he was set to provide the defensive coaching staff, having previously worked under Knowles at Oklahoma State and Ohio State.
There’s an obvious replacement for Michael Hunter at Tennessee
Knowles has been coaching at the collegiate level for nearly 40 years — he undoubtedly has a large rolodex of contacts in the sport, so he should have no shortage of potential options.
One option, though, that makes a lot of sense is former Virginia Tech cornerbacks coach Derek Jones.
Jones, who played college football at Ole Miss, served the Hokies’ cornerbacks coach from 2022 to 2025.
He wasn’t retained by new Virginia Tech head coach James Franklin.
From 2010 to 2017, Jones and Knowles were both on David Cutcliffe’s defensive coaching staff at Duke.
It’s possible that Knowles will prefer a different option — he could even look to the NFL for a hire. But Jones seems like an easy answer. He’s available, he knows Knowles’ well, and he played college football in the SEC.
Spring practice is set to start in just a few weeks, so the Vols will need to make a hire quickly.
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