Tennessee football: Ranking all Vols staff changes during 2020 offseason

4. Hiring Shelton Felton as outside linebackers coach

While Jimmy Brumbaugh replaces Chris Rumph as co-defensive coordinator, Shelton Felton replaces Rumph as outside linebackers coach. Unlike Brumbaugh, the drawback for Felton is the exact opposite. He almost has no experience coaching at this level. The guy spent one year in an on-field role with the Akron Zips, and they went 0-12 in 2019.

Felton also has experience at the FCS level and as a high school head coach. But his only really experience with Tennessee football was being a quality control coach in 2018. Still, he does have some experience recruiting at this level, and he helps the Vols shore up their recruiting ties to Georgia and Alabama, even if he comes with lots of questions.

Given how proven Rumph was, as of right now, we also have this move as a projected net negative. The only reason we have Felton above Brumbaugh is due to the fact that he has taken on only one role instead of two. However, Rumph was such a great success, particularly with the way he developed Darrell Taylor, that Shelton has major shoes to fill.

As a result, right now, we have this near the bottom of the list when it comes to staff changes. Felton is at least in a good situation to succeed, as he’s working under a great defensive coordinator in Derrick Ansley and has some experience dealing with Jeremy Pruitt and the schemes he runs. So don’t count out this guy yet.