Tennessee fans, media react to Josh Heupel’s decision to fire Tim Banks
By David Wasson
Published:
The Tennessee Volunteers parted ways with defensive coordinator Tim Banks on Monday, ending Banks’ 5-season tenure in Knoxville.
Banks played defensive back at Central Michigan from 1990-94 before beginning his coaching journey at Bowling Green. He also coached at Ferris State, Memphis, Maryland, Central Michigan, Cincinnati, Illinois and Penn State before joining Josh Heupel’s staff at Tennessee in 2021.
Tennessee entered 2025 projected to have one of the best defenses in college football, but the Volunteers finished the season ranked outside the top 60 nationally in yards per play allowed and 92nd in scoring defense at 28.8 points per game allowed.
Although Tennessee played without its top 2 defensive backs for much of the 2025 campaign, the Volunteers also struggled against the run – giving up 3.92 yards per carry to rank 11th in the SEC en route to an 8-4 finish.
Tennessee will now move forward without a defensive coordinator while preparing for the Music City Bowl against Illinois. The Volunteers play the Fighting Illini (8-4) on Dec. 30 at 5:30 pm, with ESPN set to broadcast the game.
Here is some of the social media reaction surrounding Monday’s news about Banks’ departure from Tennessee:
An APSE national award-winning writer and editor, David Wasson has almost four decades of experience in the print journalism business in Florida and Alabama. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times and several national magazines and websites. He also hosts Gulfshore Sports with David Wasson, weekdays from 3-5 pm across Southwest Florida and on FoxSportsFM.com. His Twitter handle: @JustDWasson.
