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Tennessee football: Ranking all 28 offseason coaching changes by impact on Vols

By Caleb Calhoun

Tennessee Herd Coach Josh Heupel at the 2021 Music City Bowl NCAA college football game at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tenn. on Thursday, Dec. 30, 2021.Kns Tennessee Purdue
Tennessee Herd Coach Josh Heupel at the 2021 Music City Bowl NCAA college football game at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tenn. on Thursday, Dec. 30, 2021.Kns Tennessee Purdue /
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Sep 4, 2021; College Station, Texas, USA; Texas A&M Aggies head coach Jimbo Fisher and defensive coordinator Mike Elko prior to the game against the Kent State Golden Flashes at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 4, 2021; College Station, Texas, USA; Texas A&M Aggies head coach Jimbo Fisher and defensive coordinator Mike Elko prior to the game against the Kent State Golden Flashes at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-USA TODAY Sports /

Duke Blue Devils. 8. player. Scouting Report. Pick Analysis. David Cutcliffe. Mike Elko. 825

Previous role: Defensive coordinator, Texas A&M Aggies

He is a legendary Tennessee football offensive coordinator who ushered in the golden age of the modern era for the Vols in the mid-1990s by coaching up Peyton Manning and Tee Martin. After his second stint on Rocky Top, which lasted from 2006 to 2007, David Cutcliffe left to take the head coaching job with the Duke Blue Devils.

That move had a huge role in the downfall of the Vols, as Phillip Fulmer couldn’t find a replacement. Well, 14 years later, Cutcliffe is gone, and Duke is looking to a different era. Them being a Power Five school alone puts them in the top half of this list.

However, by hiring Mike Elko away from the Texas A&M Aggies, they have impacted the Vols in multiple ways. They’re luring a coordinator away from a fellow SEC school. Add in the fact that Duke is on a border state, and this move is bound to have some impact on the Vols.

There are bound to be some recruiting wars, as getting some talent from the Carolinas has always been crucial to Rocky Top’s success, even if it’s not a lot of talent. How A&M responds with its new coordinator will also have an effect on UT, regardless of the fact that they don’t play each other that often.

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