Tennessee football: Five potential concerns over Shelton Felton as Vols OLB coach

1. No Power Five experience as an on-field coach

All of the other things we named about Shelton Felton are due to the small sample size when it comes to his track record. Well, that small sample size brings up the biggest concern with Tennessee football hiring him.

More from All for Tennessee

• How to Win a GUARANTEED $200 Bonus Betting Just $5 on the Vols vs. Florida!
• Tennessee Football at Florida: Five Keys to a Vols Victory
• Week 3 SEC Power Rankings: Did Tennessee Football’s Win Help At All?
• Week 3 AP Polls: Why Did Tennessee Football Drop in the Polls?
• Tennessee Football: Top Five Performers in 30-13 Win vs. Austin Peay

The Vols’ new outside linebackers coach simply has no experience coaching any position at the Power Five level. He has been as high up as a head coach at the high school level, and his time with the Vols in 2018 means he does have experience at a Power Five school. Meanwhile, he has coached outside linebackers and defensive ends at the FBS level with the Akron Zips.

But we’re talking about coaching a position in an on-field role at a Power Five school, and Felton has never done that. Outside of his one year at Akron, his only experience coaching in an on-field role at the college level at all are his two years with the Chattanooga Mocs. And that’s at the FCS level, which makes things even more concerning.

Simply put, Felton just doesn’t have enough of a track record for us to know what UT is truly getting in him as a coach. That has to be a genuine concern for anybody on Rocky Top at this point, as the unknown can generate as many problems as anything else.

Given his track record, Jeremy Pruitt should be trusted right now with his ability to hire people. Tennessee football may have gotten a steal in Felton down the road. Nobody knows. But nobody knowing can be a huge negative too for a staff leading a program ready to take off in 2020.