Tennessee Football Expected to Hire New Staff Member From Auburn

Tennessee is now expected to make a major hire for their Director of Player Personnel opening.

Oct 25, 2025; Lexington, Kentucky, USA; Tennessee Volunteers head coach Josh Heupel is interviewed after the game against the Kentucky Wildcats at Kroger Field. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-Imagn Images | Jordan Prather-Imagn Images

Tennessee has dealt with some major changes and shake-ups to their staff, as they have had some positives and negatives to come out of this last stretch of 2025 thus far. The Vols' biggest change came when they let go of their defensive coordinator, Tim Banks, earlier this month. Not long after doing so, the Vols were able to find his replacement, as they were able to land last year's national championship-winning DC, Jim Knowles, who made his move to Penn State for this one and final season.

This wasn't the only move that has taken place, as they have also extended some of their staff members, and their only position coach or coordinator who is on an expiring deal is Rodney Garner.

On Friday, the most recent moves have happened. The Vols lost their Director of Player Personnel to a fellow rival SEC school, as they lost Jake Breske to Missouri. The same school that he was at in 2016, with Josh Heupel (who was the offensive coordinator for the Tigers).

Jake Breske's Bio from UT in 2024

Smokey rings his own cowbell during a college football game between Tennessee and Mississippi State at Davis Wade Stadium in Starkville, Miss., on Sept. 27, 2025. | Brianna Paciorka/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

"Jake Breske, who owns over eight years of Southeastern Conference experience, serves as Tennessee’s director of player personnel. Breske reunited with head coach Josh Heupel in the spring of 2021 as the two worked together at Missouri from 2016-17. He enters his fourth season as a member of Heupel’s UT staff. Breske played a key role in helping the Volunteers secure a top-15 recruiting class just months on the job in December 2021, and he has helped UT ink three consecutive top-15 classes since joining the staff. He is involved in multiple recruiting aspects of the program. Breske previously spent five years on Missouri’s staff, including as director of recruiting for the Tigers from 2018-21. He helped direct recruiting efforts for a Class of 2021 that at the time tied for the highest finish ever in school history at No. 21 nationally by Rivals.com. Breske also excelled in his debut year in the director’s role, as Mizzou’s staff put together a highly-acclaimed 2019 signing class, which ranked No. 31 nationally by one outlet. That ranking had only been surpassed at Mizzou three times in the last 10 years, including the 2021 class he helped organize. Breske joined the Tiger staff prior to the 2016 season as a recruiting assistant and served in that role for two seasons before stepping into the lead role. He came to Mizzou after spending three seasons at Valley City State University (North Dakota), working with the quarterbacks in 2013 and picking up offensive coordinator duties in 2014 and 2015. The Vikings went a combined 21-10 in those three seasons, claiming a conference title with a 9-2 season in 2014. Prior to that, Breske spent 2012 in an assistant coaching role with Webster (South Dakota) High School, his alma mater in his hometown of Webster. He began his coaching career with a two-year stint as a graduate assistant at his collegiate alma mater, the University of South Dakota, where he played quarterback and graduated with a psychology undergraduate degree (2009) and a master’s degree in kinesiology and sports science (2011) . Breske comes from a football family as his father, Leon, was a high school coach for 33 years and is a member of the South Dakota Football Coaches’ Association Hall of Fame. Additionally, both of his older brothers played college football. His brother, Nate, serves as the head athletic trainer for the Buffalo Bills."

Following this, the Vols were already linked to a new person to take the position, and the person they are expected to have in that role is now the same person that they are labeled as expected to hire. That person is Ryan Smith, who spent last season as the Assistant GM, Player Personnel at Auburn.

Nothing has officially been confirmed by the staff itself, but this move is the expected route and all but official.

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