Tennessee needs a new defensive coordinator. According to two college football insiders, Josh Heupel could look to a familiar face.
Pete Nakos of On3 shared Monday that he and Chris Low were told that Ryan Walters is a name to watch in Tennessee‘s search for a new DC.
Heupel and Walters are familiar with each other from their time at Mizzou. Heupel was Mizzou’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2016 and ’17. Walters coached at Mizzou from 2015-20. He was co-defensive coordinator while Heupel was OC and became the sole DC in 2018.
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Walters has spent the past 5 seasons in the Big Ten. He was defensive coordinator at Illinois in 2021 and ’22. Walters was named a finalist for the Broyles Award in the 2022 season.
Purdue hired Walters as head coach in 2023. His tenure with the Boilermakers did not go well, resulting in his firing after going 5-19 in 2 seasons (2023-24).
This past season, Walters served as Washington’s defensive coordinator.
Heupel released a statement on Monday confirming that Tennessee parted with defensive coordinator Tim Banks. Linebackers coach William Inge will be the interim defensive coordinator for the Music City Bowl game on Dec. 30.
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
