Tennessee Football Hires HUGE Staff Addition Ahead of Transfer Portal

The Tennessee Volunteers will be adding another member to their current staff in Knoxville.

Andrew Jackson with Penn State gear. | Matt Zenitz

The Tennessee Volunteers have been looking to make some changes that will help shape the roster and the program the way that they know it needs to be after what would be one of the more up and downs season that they have had in recent memory. While expectations can play a major factor, the Vols have simply fallen short in multiple areas.

The Vols finished their season on Tuesday, but not the way that they had hoped. The Vols fell short on the scoreboard, as they trailed for most of the game, but held the lead until the end and lost the game on a game-winning field goal from the Illinois kicker. The final score of the game was 30-28.

Tennessee Hires Another Staff Member

Nov 29, 2025; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; Tennessee Volunteers head coach Josh Heupel before a game against the Vanderbilt Commodores at Neyland Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-Imagn Images | Randy Sartin-Imagn Images

It was noted that the changes that they needed to make would be made instantly, as the transfer portal is important to any success the Vols look to have. With how young this team is, the Vols will need to land some home run guys in the transfer portal, and if they are going to do that, then they need to land the pieces that make this possible. This is what led the Vols to make another staff decision that will ultimately make this program better. The Vols landed the addition of Andrew Jackson. Here is what the initial post stated.

"Tennessee is expected to hire Penn State’s Andrew Jackson in a front seven coaching role, sources tell @CBSSports. Was defensive line coach at West Virginia from 2021-24. Helped WVU rank among the Big 12’s best in categories like run defense, sacks and tackles for loss throughout his tenure there," said Matt Zenitz on his X post.

Jackson is joining the staff, which is something that should have been expected, as the Vols hired the Penn State Nittany Lions defensive coordinator, Jim Knowles to replace long-time defensive coordinator Tim Banks. When this hire was made, it was known that a big deal for the former Ohio State Buckeyes was to be able to make some moves with the staff. It is now known that the Vols will be adding one of the guys Knowles wanted, which will be monitored in the upcoming season. He will be joining Rodney Garner, who is arguably the best defensive line coach in the nation at this time. Those two are set for a huge improvement.

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