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Tennessee football: Ranking all 10 Vols coordinator changes this decade

By Caleb Calhoun

STARKVILLE, MS - OCTOBER 13: Tennessee Volunteers defensive coordinator Sal Sunseri coaches on the sideline in place of head coach Derek Dooley, who is coaching from the booth after hip surgery, in a game against the Mississippi State Bulldogs on October 13, 2012 at Davis Wade Stadium in Starkville, Mississippi. (Photo by Butch Dill/Getty Images)
STARKVILLE, MS - OCTOBER 13: Tennessee Volunteers defensive coordinator Sal Sunseri coaches on the sideline in place of head coach Derek Dooley, who is coaching from the booth after hip surgery, in a game against the Mississippi State Bulldogs on October 13, 2012 at Davis Wade Stadium in Starkville, Mississippi. (Photo by Butch Dill/Getty Images) /
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8. Tyson Helton

Role: Offensive Coordinator

Hired by: Jeremy Pruitt

Year hired: 2018

Coach replaced: Larry Scott

This was an exciting move when Jeremy Pruitt first made it. As he took over to be Tennessee football’s head coach, he was bringing back the pro-style offense. And then he brought in USC Trojans quarterbacks coach Tyson Helton, a guy molded in the Bobby Petrino offense after serving as Jeff Brohm’s offensive coordinator with the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers.

Part of installing that offense was getting in graduate transfer Keller Chryst and having JT Shrout commit. So there was going to be a reasonable quarterback battle, and Vols fans were thrilled to see how the Petrino offense could mix with Pruitt’s defensive coaching.

Well, the first surprise in all this was Jarrett Guarantano maintaining his starting job. But the next thing nobody took into account was the fact that maybe the offense had lost its luster. And one look at the Louisville Cardinals should’ve shown that.

Petrino, two years removed from being an offensive genius, was fired after his team went 2-8. That offense failed in Knoxville too, as the Vols were horrible throughout the year. Sure, they had their moments like against the Auburn Tigers and the South Carolina Gamecocks.

But throughout November, they collapsed. This team only scored one touchdown against the Charlotte 49ers, they needed a Hail Mary to break 20 against the Kentucky Wildcats, and then they scored 17 and 13 against the Missouri Tigers and Vanderbilt Commodores, two bad defenses, respectively.

So by the end of the year, Vols fans were glad to see Helton gone. It may not be all on him, but what’s clear is that people have caught up to this style of offense. Heck, Tee Martin had elements of it and was fired as offensive coordinator from a 5-7 USC Trojans team this past year.

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