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Tennessee football: Ranking Vols 6 offseason staff changes for 2019

By Caleb Calhoun

KNOXVILLE, TN - SEPTEMBER 08: Head coach Jeremy Pruitt of the Tennessee Volunteers brings his team onto the field prior to a game against the East Tennessee State University Buccaneers at Neyland Stadium on September 8, 2018 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Tennesee won the game 59-3. (Photo by Donald Page/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - SEPTEMBER 08: Head coach Jeremy Pruitt of the Tennessee Volunteers brings his team onto the field prior to a game against the East Tennessee State University Buccaneers at Neyland Stadium on September 8, 2018 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Tennesee won the game 59-3. (Photo by Donald Page/Getty Images) /
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Photo by Andy Lyons/Allsport
Photo by Andy Lyons/Allsport /

6. Replacing Terry Fair and Charles Kelly with Derrick Ansley to coach defensive backs

As stated in the opening slide, there are no hires on this list that seem to indicate a drop in production. But there is one move that doesn’t seem like it will have as big of an impact and wasn’t worth making.

That move was Tennessee football hiring Derrick Ansley to coach defensive backs. Sure, Charles Kelly left for an assistant role with the Alabama Crimson Tide. But Terry Fair did a pretty good job coaching cornerbacks last year. After all, he produced a freshman All-American in Bryce Thompson and helped produce a middle of the road pass defense with injuries and new starters everywhere.

As a Vol for Life, Fair deserved a chance to expand his role to coach safeties with Kelly’s departure. He proved what he could do and was a staple of the Vols’ defenses in the mid-1990s, basically working as Peyton Manning’s counterpart.

This is to say nothing negative of Ansley. The assistant, who comes from the Oakland Raiders, worked as the secondary coach for the Alabama Crimson Tide while Pruitt was their defensive coordinator and proved how valuable he is.

In this role, Ansley will do fine. That’s why this move isn’t going to have a negative impact on production, as we said. It was just an unnecessary move and one that forced out a Vol for Life, one of the legends on Rocky Top.

The other part of this move that has a bigger impact is promoting Ansley to defensive coordinator as well. With Pruitt calling the plays last year, that’s no longer irrelevant. But it does lead to the next move on our list.

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