Tennessee has a new head strength coach as Josh Heupel has tabbed Kurt Schmidt as the new head of strength and conditioning/sports performance on Rocky Top.

This hire follows a similar pattern as many of Tennessee’s hires this offseason as Schmidt previously worked with Heupel at UCF and at Missouri. If you missed it, former Tennessee strength coach A.J. Artis won’t be returning in 2021, he took a job at South Florida.

If nothing else, it’s easy to see that coaches and staffers clearly enjoy working for Heupel and want to continue to maintain a level of staff continuity in Knoxville. That should be a welcome change for Volunteer fans following the Jeremy Pruitt era, which seemed to feature an annual exodus of assistants from the Tennessee program.

Schmidt comes to Knoxville with 19 years of college and NFL experience, including stops with the San Francisco 49ers and at Arkansas.

Kurt Schmidt’s coaching resume:

  • 2021-present: Tennessee, Director of Competition Development
  • 2018-20: UCF, Director of Sports Performance
  • 2017: Missouri, Director of Applied Performance
  • 2013-17: San Francisco 49ers, Strength/Conditioning/Nutrition Assistant
  • 2012-13: Memphis, Assistant Strength Coach
  • 2008-12: Arkansas, Strength and Conditioning Coordinator/Coordinator of Nutrition Education
  • 2008: Utah State, Interim Head of Strength and Conditioning
  • 2006-08: Utah State, Assistant of Strength and Conditioning
  • 2005-06: Louisville, Assistant of Strength and Conditioning
  • 2004-05: Louisville, Graduate Assistant of Strength and Conditioning
  • 2003-04: Utah, Graduate Assistant of Strength and Conditioning
  • 2002-03: Yale, Interim Co-Director of Sports Conditioning
  • 2002: Yale, Assistant Director of Sports Conditioning