After the surprising, inconsistent play of the Tennessee defense in 2025, head man Josh Heupel made the tough decision to fire Tim Banks. Just like that, the Vols are on the hunt for a new defensive coordinator, but several names are popping up as top candidates.
Tennessee star earns true-freshman All-American honors
The list includes Washington DC Ryan Walters, who is in his first season running the defense on Montlake for Jedd Fisch and Washington. Per Pete Nakos, Walters is someone to keep an eye on moving forward, and his relationship with Heupel is standing out. Could he end up getting an offer soon from the Vols?
One name to keep an eye on at Tennessee is Washington defensive coordinator Ryan Walters, sources tell @clowfb and I for @On3sports.
— Pete Nakos (@PeteNakos) December 8, 2025
Former Purdue head coach was on staff with Josh Heupel at Missouri.
Hot Board: https://t.co/DuXKZohaaZ https://t.co/PYdCewBOBg pic.twitter.com/4antj0gQ5F
Ryan Walters is reportedly a candidate to replace Tim Banks as the Tennessee DC
Walters has been in coaching since 2009, joining the Colorado staff as a student assistant after his playing days in Boulder came to a close. Since then, he has worked his way up, coaching at Arizona, Oklahoma, North Texas, Memphis, Missouri, Illinois, Purdue and now Washington.
He got his first shot at being a head coach with Purdue, but he was fired after two disappointing seasons with the Boilermakers. Despite that, he made the move to Seattle to join the Washington staff and he's been on the money there for Fisch and Co. UW allowed 19.9 points per game this year, which was No. 6 in their conference. A total turnaround was posted for the Huskies defense from '24 to this campaign.
While Washington isn't CFP-bound, the Huskies finished the year 8-4 and are headed to the LA Bowl. As for Tennessee, the Vols are on their way to the Music City Bowl to take on Illinois. There's disappointment that UT didn't make the Playoff, but there's still one more game on the schedule before turning the page to the 2026 season.
There are going to be plenty of changes for Tennessee, including a potential one at quarterback, as it's unknown if Joey Aguilar will get an extra year or not. For now, the main focus for Heupel in terms of his staff/roster must be on nailing this next defensive coordinator hire. Banks didn't get the job done and someone who can needs to step in. Will it be Walters? He's at the top of the list for a lot of people and rightfully so.