In-depth look at Tennessee football's completed 2024 coaching staff

With Tennessee's recent hires, the Vols' coordinator and position coaching jobs are set for the upcoming 2024 season.

Coming off an 8-4 regular season and Citrus Bowl title, Tennessee is poised to compete toward the top of the SEC.

Here is a coach-by-coach breakdown of who is on the staff.

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Josh Heupel is entering his fourth season at the head of Tennessee's program. After taking over a team that went 3-7 the year prior, Heupel instantly turned things around. In his first season, he led the Vols to a 7-5 year.

Then, in 2022, he took Tennessee to heights not seen in recent history. While going 10-2, he took the Vols to an Orange Bowl where it beat Clemson. The next season, Heupel's squad went 8-4 before beating Iowa in the Citrus Bowl.

Heupel has now led Tennessee to its winningest two-year stretch (20) since 2003-04 and joins Bill Battle and Phillip Fulmer as the only three coaches in program history to lead the Vols to bowl berths in each of their first three seasons.

As a player, Heupel began his career at Weber State before transferring to Snow College in Utah. He wrapped things up at Oklahoma where he led the Sooners to a National Championship at quarterback.

Joey Halzle first became acquainted with Heupel at Oklahoma. Halzle served as the Sooners' quarterback with Heupel as his quarterbacks coach.

After his playing career, he would follow Heupel to multiple stops including Utah State, Missouri and Central Florida. Then, he made the transition to Knoxville to take the role of quarterbacks coach under Heupel at Tennessee.

For his first two seasons with the Vols, Halzle was just the quarterbacks coach. However, after offensive coordinator Alex Golesh departed for the head coaching job at USF, Halzle took on those responsibilities, as well.

Halzle has helped develop Hendon Hooker and Joe Milton III and will now be tasked with the development of Nico Iamaleava while overseeing the entire offense at the same time.

One of the newcomers is De'Rail Sims who will replace Jerry Mack who departed for an NFL job with the Jaguars. Sims comes from Cincinnati where he spent one season.

Prior to this, he coached at Louisville for two seasons before following Scott Satterfield to Cincinnati. He also has spent time at East Carolina, James Madison and Western Carolina.

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Sims has a connection to East Tennessee, as well, previously serving as the running backs coach and video coordinator at nearby Carson-Newman in Jefferson City.

He spent his playing days at Pikeville from 2006-08.

After joining Tennessee as an offensive analyst once Heupel got the head coaching job, Kelsey Pope was quickly promoted. After Kodi Burns left the Vols for the NFL, Pope was promoted to wide receiver coach.

In his first season with the job, Pope coached Biletnikoff Award winner Jalin Hyatt. He has also assisted in the development of Cedric Tillman, Bru McCoy, Squirrel White and others.

Prior to his job at Tennessee, Pope also coached as a wide receiver coach at Gardner-Webb and Tennessee Tech. He spent his playing days as a wideout at Samford from 2010-13.

Alec Abeln is another coach who has been promoted since joining the staff. Despite having most of his experience as an offensive line coach, he stepped into the tight end gap that was left by Golesh.

With a background in blocking, he has helped develop players at the position into factors in the run and screen game. His main focus has been on veterans Jacob Warren and McCallan Castles but he has also helped younger players Ethan Davis and Emmanuel Okoye.

He was originally introduced to Heupel during his playing days at Missouri where Heupel was the offensive coordinator. Abeln played offensive line, tight end and fullback for the Tigers from 2013-17.

Another coach who has followed Heupel from school to school is Glen Elarbee. The offensive line coach has been alongside Heupel since his stop at Missouri.

Elarbee has connections to Tennessee after spending his playing days at MTSU. He started his final 23 games for the Blue Raiders during his time in Murfreesboro.

In his time with the Vols, he has produced the likes of top-10 NFL draft pick Darnell Wright along with Cade Mays, Jerome Carvin and others. He also won a National Championship with LSU in 2007 as a graduate assistant.

Heupel and his defensive coordinator, Tim Banks, hadn't spent time on the same staff before arriving at Tennessee. This hasn't stopped the pair from improving on the defensive end in each of their three seasons together.

Before arriving in Knoxville, Banks spent five seasons as the co-defensive coordinator at Penn State. He's served as a defensive coordinator at Illinois, Cincinnati and Central Michigan, as well.

With a background as a defensive back, Banks also helps coach safeties with the Vols. He was a cornerback and two-time All-MAC second-team player at Central Michigan during his playing days.

The most experienced coach on the staff is Rodney Garner. He has coached in the SEC since 1990 and is in his second stint with Tennessee.

Previously, Garner was in Knoxville from 1996-97 while coaching tight ends and the offensive line. He transitioned to the defensive side of the ball at his next stop at Georgia and has remained a defensive line coach ever since.

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He has produced 34 NFL draft picks in his coaching career including two in as many seasons with the Vols.

Garner, a cousin to Charles Barkley, played at Auburn and was a member of back-to-back SEC Championships.

The second newcomer to the staff is William Inge who spent time at Washington as an assistant head coach, co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach. Now, he'll fill the role of linebackers coach at Tennessee after Brian Jean-Mary departed for Michigan.

Inge was highly sought after due to the coaching change with the Huskies. Many thought Alabama was the front-runner due to Kalen DeBoer taking the job in Tuscaloosa but Heupel ultimately was the one to bring him on board.

Inge has also been a defensive coordinator at Fresno State, Indiana, Buffalo and Northern Iowa. If Banks takes a job elsewhere, it is assumed Inge would be a candidate to fill the position for the Vols, as well.

As a player, Inge played for Iowa and was a co-captain during his senior season. He earned honorable mention All-Big Ten and Academic All-Big Ten accolades.

Another coach who has been with Heupel throughout his Tennessee tenure is Willie Martinez. The secondary coach joined the staff during the stop at Central Florida before also making the move to Knoxville.

This is Martinez's second stint with the Vols. He previously served as assistant head coach and secondary coach from 2013-16 under Butch Jones. He boasts over 30 years of coaching experience and has produced five NFL draft picks in the previous three drafts.

He has spent time at other SEC programs including Georgia and Auburn. He was the Bulldogs' defensive coordinator from 2005-09, as well.

Martinez spent his playing days at Miami as a defensive back. He won the 1983 national championship. He would begin his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Miami, as well.

Due to his high energy and passion for football, Mike Ekeler has quickly made himself a fan favorite in Knoxville. He has integrated himself into the culture with his daughter, Abby Ekeler, even playing on the volleyball team.

Ekeler splits his duties between the special teams units and outside linebackers. With the linebackers, he primarily deals with the LEO position which included Byron Young and James Pearce Jr.

This dates back to his playing days where he was a linebacker and special teams standout at Kansas State from 1991-94. He quickly turned to coach as a volunteer high school coach in Nebraska and Kansas before getting his first college job with Oklahoma.

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