Tennessee Football Reportedly Set to Separate with Levorn 'Chop' Harbin

Tennessee to move on from defensive coach and impact recruiter.

Coach Levorn 'Chop' Harbin speaks ahead of Kentucky. | Tennessee Athletics/YouTube

It is safe to say that the Tennessee football program will look a bit different when spring ball rolls around in a few months.

The Vols have had double-digit players announce their plans to enter the transfer portal. Although not all of them have officially entered at this point, there has been a few that have officially jumped in.

It is highly anticipated that Josh Heupel and company will take those spots and freed up scholarships and attack the portal very hard as Tennessee does have a few areas of concern from a roster standpoint.

The offense will be losing its starting quarterback and one of the reserves, a rotational running back, and a starting offensive lineman. The defense has lost just as many bodies, but the biggest name is probably Rickey Gibson II.

Gibson was projected to be a starter for this past season, but the year didn't last long for the corner as the injury bug would strike just a few plays in and remove the defender from the playing field for the remainder of 2025.

The coaching staff will have a slightly new look as well, with the most noticeable being the change at defensive coordinator as Tennessee parted ways with Tim Banks just before welcoming Jim Knowles.

Knowles and Heupel have been hard at work as the entire defensive staff have been shaken up just a bit. As a few guys maintained their position, the vast majority of the staff will be new.

Ready to work. 😤

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— Tennessee Football (@Vol_Football) January 3, 2026

William Inge will remain as the coach for the linebackers as Rodney Garner received his extension on Thursday and will remain as the man in-charge of the defensive line.

Definitely not a bad duo to retain for Knowles and Heupel, as Inge does wonders with linebackers and Garner has one of the best track records for a defensive line coach that you'll ever see.

Exiting Coach

Hezekiah Harris poses for a photo with Josh Heupel and Coach Chop. | Hezekiah Harris/Instagram

Levorn Harbin better known as "Coach Chop," to many will no longer be a part of the Tennessee staff per Austin Price.

Harbin was serving as the outside linebackers coach, but the biggest impact that Chop was able to bring was on the recruiting trail.

Coach Chop was involved with many of the top targets and was instrumental in the flipping of Hezekiah Harris.

Needless to say, the Vols are going to feel a bit of the impact of losing Coach Chop due to his versatility in coaching and recruiting.

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