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Tennessee Football: Do Vols Have the Best Coordinator Combination in the SEC?

By Caleb Calhoun

Sep 5, 2015; Nashville, TN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers head coach Butch Jones during the first quarter of the game against the Bowling Green Falcons at Nissan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 5, 2015; Nashville, TN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers head coach Butch Jones during the first quarter of the game against the Bowling Green Falcons at Nissan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports /
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Butch Jones’s decisions to hire Mike DeBord and Bob Shoop to the Tennessee football staff might give the Volunteers the best coordinator combo in the SEC.

Related Story: Tennessee Football: Ranking Vols Assistants by Head Coaching Potential

It all began at the end of the 2014 Tennessee football season. Offensive coordinator Mike Bajakian left the Vols for the NFL, and Butch Jones immediately hired Mike DeBord.

Jones served under DeBord at Central Michigan in the early 2000s. That was a failure, but still, nobody questions DeBord’s background as an offensive coordinator. He won a national title at Michigan, developed Tom Brady two years later, and turned around Chad Henne in 2006.

Then this past offseason came. Jones made the biggest assistant coach splash by parting ways with defensive coordinator John Jancek to get Bob Shoop.

While DeBord is a longtime proven coordinator, Shoop is an up and coming superstar assistant.

Both, however, are high-profile assistants, and many consider them to be the best at their craft.

DeBord drew a bit of criticism for some of his coaching throughout the 2015 season with the Vols, but he was largely limiting what the offense could do with so little experience at the time.

He is clearly extending his full arsenal of knowledge to the team this year based on all reports. That’s a huge reason for the excitement behind the program.

Meanwhile, Shoop is an analytics guy and very familiar with everybody on the Tennessee defense.

Between the two, the Vols might have the best coordinator combination in the SEC.

Nick Saban has an elite offensive coordinator in Lane Kiffin, but he lost defensive coordinator Kirby Smart. Jeremy Pruitt is his replacement and only has three years of experience as a defensive coordinator at this level. He’s not as proven as Shoop or DeBord.

Les Miles has Cam Cameron as LSU’s offensive coordinator and Dave Aranda as the defensive coordinator. Both guys have lots of experience, but Shoop and DeBord have accomplished more overall. Offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee at Auburn and defensive coordinator John Chavis at Texas A&M are the only other proven coaches at this level.

But only LSU and Alabama come close to Tennessee with this combination.

must read: Tennessee Football: Ranking the 10 Vols Most Likely to Win Postseason Awards

The addition of Larry Scott as special teams coordinator only adds to the Vols’ elite coordinator combination.

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