Entering his first season as the defensive coordinator for Tennessee, Jim Knowles is tasked with turning around a unit that looked lackluster in 2025. Tim Banks has left Knoxville, with Knowles assuring fans that better days are on the way. However, his recent comments about the pass-rush aren't instilling much confidence.
The Vols and Danny White broke the bank to sign 5-star transfer Chaz Coleman, but he will no longer be counted on to be a game-changer for UT in 2026. There's no way to sugarcoat things: it's a massive loss for the Vols defense, and even Knowles know it.
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With fall camp here, Tennessee is hard at work early on to put the pieces togther on both sides of the ball. While speaking to the media, Knowles didn't hold back in saying Tennessee is in a bit of wait-and-see more with the pass-rush due to Coleman not being suited up. Sorry, but that's not what everyone wants to be hearing right now:
Vols DC Jim Knowles on generating a pass rush after the Chaz Coleman situation: Time will tell. Really sorry about not having Chaz. I hope for the best for him. Time will tell with the pass rush because you're never hitting the quarterback in the offseason and you don't really…
— GoVols247 (@GoVols247) August 4, 2026
"Time will tell," Knowles said. "Really sorry about not having Chaz. I hope for the best for him. Time will tell with the pass rush because you're never hitting the quarterback in the offseason and you don't really know until you get into a game. It's a question mark. We need to have other tools in the tool box to create pass rush if need be."
Tennessee's pass-rush is in flux without Chaz Coleman and Jim Knowles must figure it out
In terms of the other tools in the tool box, you've got to figure that redshirt junior Tyree Weathersby will be counted on to help fill the void. On top if that, Tulane transfer Jordan Norman is getting ready for his first taste of SEC action, and he'll also need to up his game and turn heads throughout fall camp to calm some nerves.
Even if that does happen, it won't be enough to make us all forget about what Coleman was supposed to get done for the Tennessee defense this season. As a 5-star transfer from Penn State, he was one of the top defensive prospects available in the portal, and while there was plenty of buzz he would return closer to home to play for Ohio State, the Vols signed him.
And with reports claiming his NIL deal was in the $2-3 million range for next season, the Vols invested a large chunk of their NIL budget this offseason to get him on campus. That happened, but Coleman was going through homesickness, while also battling back from an injury suffered during his freshman season with the Nittany Lions.
That led to him being medically disqualified, and leaving the program. It was an end to his time with Tennessee that no one saw coming, and disappointing doesn't even begin to properly describe things. Now, the pass rush as a whole is a big question mark with Week 1 now less than a month away. That's not ideal, and Knowles' latest comments won't inspire much confidence in the group either. Yup, losing Coleman stinks, and it stinks bad.
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