Tennessee Volunteers Expected to Virginia Tech Defensive Backs Coach

The Tennessee Volunteers are expected to hire Virginia Tech defensive backs coach Derek Jones.

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

The Tennessee Volunteers are expected to hire Virginia Tech defensive backs coach Derek Jones.

The Tennessee Volunteers have been in the market for a defensive backs coach after the Los Angeles Rams hired Michael Hunter. Now it seems as if the Volunteers have found their next coach.

The Volunteers are expected to hire Vriginia Tech defensie backs coach Derek Jones, according to Matt Zenitz. Jones has been with the Hokies for the last four seasons.

Jones played cornerback at Ole Miss in college. He also had a short career in the CFL after his collegiate career came to an end. In 1998, he was hired as a graduate assistant at Ole Miss. He then became the cornerbacks coach at Murray State in 2000 and remained with the program until 2004.

Tennessee Volunteers Expected to hire Virginia Tech's Derek Jones

Tennessee football coach Josh Heupel during the NCAA college football game against Vanderbilt on Nov. 29, 2025, in Knoxville, Tennessee. | Angelina Alcantar/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Jones then bounced around from multiple college programs. He was the defensive backs coach at Middle Tennessee State in 2005, Tulsa in 2006 and Memphis in 2007. He was then hired by David Cutcliffe in 2008 was the defensive backs coach and assistant special teams coordinator until 2017. He was then promoted to assistant head coach and defensive backs coach in 2018 and held that role until 2019.

He then made the move to Texas Tech where he was co-defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach for two seasons. In 2022, he joined Virginia Tech's staff and had been there up to this point.

Jones' transition to Tennessee makes sense considering he already has a background recruiting the area during his time with Memphis and Middle Tennessee State. He will have some work cut out for him though as the Volunteers are losing both Colton Hood and Jermod McCoy, both of which are expected to be top cornerbacks in the draft this year.

The Volunteers have been reworking the defensive staff this offseason after the firing of defensive coordinator Tim Banks. That led to head coach Josh Heupel hiring veterand defensive coordinator Jim Knowles. Now he has hired another defensive veteran in the form of Jones.

Heupel is hoping to have a stronger defense this upcoming season. This past season, Tennessee struggled in the back end and the secondary certianly didn't play up to the standard the program was hoping for. Meanwhile, the offense was one of the more explosive in the country and took a step forward comapred to how they operated in 2024.