Tennessee football DC hire is deja vu from Butch Jones era
It took much longer than expected, but Tennessee football appears to have finally hired its defensive coordinator. For the second time in five years, the Vols are adding somebody from the Penn State Nittany lions to do it.
Pete Thamel of Yahoo Sports reports that UT is adding PSU co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach Tim Banks to run the defense on Josh Heupel’s first staff. Banks has been in his current role for the past five years.
James Franklin named Banks to his current role in 2016 after Tennessee football, ironically, hired then Penn State defensive coordinator Bob Shoop away to the same role under Butch Jones. Shoop replaced John Jancek at the time. Thamel announced the news on Twitter.
Sources: Tennessee is finalizing a deal to hire Penn State co-defensive coordinator Tim Banks as the school’s new DC. Banks has extensive DC experience, including at Illinois, Cincinnati and Central Michigan.
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) February 15, 2021
Adding a Penn State defensive coach to be defensive coordinator isn’t the only way this move is a nod to the Jones era. Banks rose through the coaching ranks coaching under Jones at different schools, where he saw his greatest success.
From 2007 to 2009, Banks was Jones’ defensive coordinator with the Central Michigan Chippewas. He helped Jones win two MAC Championships during this time. Then, in 2010 and 2011, he was Jones’ co-defensive coordinator with the Cincinnati Bearcats, helping Jones win a share of the Big East Championship in 2011.
The two have a connection dating back to 1997, when Jones was the offensive coordinator of the Ferris State Bulldogs, his alma mater, while Banks was the defensive backs coach. Both of them come from Michigan, as Banks is from Detroit and played at CMU from 1991 to 1994.
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In addition to experience with Jones, Banks was an assistant under Gary Blackney with the Bowling Green Falcons in 1999 and 2000, under Tommy West with the Memphis Tigers in 2001 and 2002 and under Ralph Friedgen with the Maryland Terrapins from 2003 to 2006.
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From 2012 to 2015, Banks was the co-defensive coordinator of the Illinois Fighting Illini under Tim Beckman and then Bill Cubit. He has experience coaching defensive backs and linebackers, so he does bring a lot to the table.
However, Banks hasn’t always been tied to success. Memphis didn’t reach bowl until the year after he left. After winning the ACC in 2001 and going 11-3 in 2002, Maryland missed two bowl games and only had one top 25 finish in the four years Banks was there. Bowling Green had immediate success under Urban Meyer after Blackney and his staff, including Banks, were let go.
Those things combined with being tied to Jones are all concerns. At the same time, Penn State reached new heights under Franklin after Banks arrived, winning the Big Ten in 2016 and finishing in the top 25 for four straight years. They hadn’t finished in the top 25 since the Joe Paterno was leading the program before he got there.
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Simply put, Banks’ track record is a mixed bag. However, he does have a track record of success and is a well-known recruiter in Big Ten country. Those are positives for Tennessee football and, given what they were facing, this is a good hire overall.