Tennessee Football Makes Staff Change to Start 2026

The Tennessee Volunteers have started to make some changes, as they are set to move off of this staff member.

A Tennessee player warm-ups in the reflection of Tennessee defensive back Tre Poteat's (21) helmet before a college football game between Tennessee and Arkansas at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn., on Oct. 11, 2025. | Angelina Alcantar/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Tennessee Volunteers are set for a huge off-season, as there season just finished up when they played against the Illinois Fighting Illini on December 30th, which was Tuesday. This was the bowl game to cap an up-and-down season. This game didn't go the way that the Vols wanted, as the game finished with a game-winning field goal. The Vols were defeated by a score of 30-28, and immediately afterwards, everyone knew that the Vols needed to make some changes, and it would be quick, as the transfer portal is set to officially open on Friday and last through the 16th.

Tennessee Makes a Major Staff Change

Smokey the mascot plays with a young fan's hat at the Vol Walk before a NCAA football game between Tennessee and Vanderbilt at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn., on Nov. 29, 2025. | Angelina Alcantar/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Vols wasted no time with their decisions, as they are no longer set to retain one of their staff members. The Tennessee Volunteers will be without one of the staff members, as they are actively searching for someone to take the reins. That staff member is Kurt Schmidt, who is the current strength and conditioning staff member. He is someone who has spent time in many different areas of the game. He was on the Missouri Tigers staff with Josh Heupel before he moved on to the UCF Knights staff, where the Vols would land Heupel from. Following his tenure under Heupel at UCF, he joined him with his other staff members in Knoxville.

Schmidt spent nine straight years with the talented coach, but that will not be the case moving forward. The Director of Competition role will be looking to be filled fairly quickly, because this is the only active role that will need to be filled. His contract was set to expire in the latter part of this month, but with things going fast, the Vols will be in the market instantly. It is quite hard to name candidates for jobs like this, but in that same breath, it is safe to say that the Vols will need to go hit a home run, as this job is very important to the performance that shows up on Saturday, but it is also important due to the health that comes with these types of training sessions. It is also important for players to be able to show growth, which has happened, but with a new year rolling in, the Vols feel it is best to make another change on the staff.

Up next is the portal where the Vols will need to do well if they want to be able to compete to the degree that they know they can.

---