All for Tennessee
Fansided

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 /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
6 of 28
Next
UNR president Brian Sandoval presents Nevada’s new head football coach Ken Wilson with a Nevada jersey at Basin Street Club in Mackay Stadium on Dec. 10, 2021.Nevada Football Coach Ken Wilson 1
UNR president Brian Sandoval presents Nevada’s new head football coach Ken Wilson with a Nevada jersey at Basin Street Club in Mackay Stadium on Dec. 10, 2021.Nevada Football Coach Ken Wilson 1 /

Previous role: co-Defensive coordinator, Oregon Ducks

Sure, the Nevada Wolf Pack are a Group of Five program not located in SEC country. However, they hired a head coach away from a Power Five program, and any sort of move that affects Power Five programs is going to have a greater impact on Tennessee football than non-Power Five programs, the AAC being the exception.

Jay Norvell heading to the Colorado State Rams, which we mentioned earlier, led to Ken Wilson leaving the Oregon Ducks for this role. Wilson was Oregon’s inside linebackers coach in 2020 and then was promoted to their co-defensive coordinator under Mario Cristobal in 2021.

From 2013 to 2019, Wilson was the linebackers coach for the Washington State Huskies under Mike Leach. However, he’s got a deep Nevada bloodline, as he was an assistant there from 1989 to 1998 and then 2004 to 2012. After so many years of cutting his teeth as an assistant, he is finally getting his shot as a head coach.

Of course, beyond leaving a Power Five program that has minimal effect on Tennessee football, Wilson’s hire really has no impact on the Vols. It’s just enough to put him above all the other hires involving Group of Five coaches from other Group of Five programs.

Home/Vols Football