Report: Tennessee hiring DL coach with extensive SEC experience
The Tennessee Volunteers are working to put together a defensive staff under new head coach Josh Heupel, and it seems they’ve found their new DL coach.
Per Yahoo’s Pete Thamel, the Vols are bringing in a longtime SEC assistant — Rodney Garner. Garner has been in the SEC since 1990, with stints at Auburn and Georgia. He also coached at Tennessee in 1996 and 1997:
Sources: Tennessee is hiring Rodney Garner as the defensive line coach. He was last at Auburn and brings extensive SEC experience, including stints at Georgia and Tennessee.
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) February 12, 2021
Garner has been with Auburn since 2013, where he’s had star defensive linemen like Derrick Brown, Marlon Davidson, Jeff Holland, Carl Lawson and others go on to the NFL.
Tennessee still doesn’t have a defensive coordinator, so we’ll see if Heupel fills that position soon.
Garner’s cousin is NBA legend (and current TNT analyst) Charles Barkley, per his most recent Auburn biography.
“Garner has been with Auburn since 2013,”
Sounds likely Steele will be the DC with all the “Thanks, but no thanks.”
Not really much choice left.
Garner will be fine. Always did s good job.
As far as Steele goes, might as well get something for your $900K
They are interviewing a middle school gym teacher for DC position tomorrow.
We already fired a failed middle school gym teacher (for cause) who was allegedly a DC.
Having to give up and make Steele your DC is not a bad situation to find yourself in…if you care about years of successful SEC experience. How do you find yourself in a position to have so much top P5 experience at 900k, low for the SEC. Its like they stepped in the right puddle but cant accept the opportunity.
Nice hire. Hopefully he will deliver the recruits as he has in the past.
The DC won’t have any input on who his coaches are. Yeah. This has success written all over it.
We’re screwed for sure. I expected it though. Hey it is what it is we’re a bottom feeder program now. No excitement or enthusiasm for Tennessee football any longer. At least tailgating is great at Tennessee, oh wait covid has done away with that.
want some cheese to go with that whine 74? you sound like an uga troll, aka cclausen, corch… this is a good hire. very few DC’s would not want this guy on their staff. SO yes it does have success written all over it.
I’m not talking about Garner. I’m talking about the program as a whole. You know that saying fool me once shame on you fool me twice shame on me? Well we’ve gotten fooled four times in a row now. How many more times should fans buy in?
Even with all the rumors, firings and staff hiring issues, Heupel steps into a situation that just closed a top 20 recruiting class. It could be much, much worse. Talent is there, you just have to hope you got the right HC.
74, if you truly have been alive since 74 but can’t tell the difference between Heupel and JP, especially when it comes to experience, you need to hang up the jersey and become a figure skating fan..lol
If I was Heupel & UT right now, I might has just kept this to myself for a while. There is no doubt that Rodney Garner is a well regraded DL coach with a good track record in the SEC, & probably the best DL coach that UT could hire currently. So cudo’s for that.
On the other hand, what exactly does hiring him say? As I have mentioned before, unfortunately, given all that has transpired, UT has lost the benefit of the doubt on anything for now. Everyone, of course including me, can’t help but speculate what it might mean. Has UT settled on Steele for DC? If so, why haven’t they announced it? If not, even though Garner is a good hire, what does that say to potential DC’s interviewing for the job?
To most people it seems like Steele is just working towards retirement. He seems to want to live out his career as a position coach and continue to collect his Auburn buyout. Building out a staff with experience across all levels right now is a very stabilizing way to create a foundation. These players are need development and getting quality position coaches is best way to start that build up. A coordinator will just be calling the plays and we can afford to develop a young coordinator if we have good position coaches.
Life ain’t bad if you have to “settle” for Steele and he is wanting to be there, ready to work. He’s not a spring chicken so this could be a win-win for everyone concerned with Vols defense.
no doubt glad2bsec but it seems either he isnt interested in trying to manage a D that could be on the field a lot under heupels O, He and heupel just arent on the same page as far as what kind of D heupel wants his DC to run or Steele is very well content to be a position coach for a year or two while collecting big DC money from Auburn until he decides what his next career move is… or isnt. Most of the radio heads around knoxville think he will be let go after a DC is hired and there is no animosity between steele and UT or Heupel.
The talk right now is around discussions with Kacy Rodgers for next DC but he is a DL coach for Todd Bowles in Tampa BAy right now and many think Bowles will be a HC again in a year or two and Rodgers will be his DC when that happens (he was bowles DC at the jets for 3 years). Kacy is VFL and probably a tough decision between coming back to help save his alma mater or staying in the NFL where he has been the last 20 years. My gut tells me he stays in the NFL. Another consideration is the current HC at Wofford according to one radio head. Hopefully we will find out soon.
Steele just might be the smartest person on the payroll for the Vols right now.
SO ,,, you’e going to hire a DC BUT NOT give him the authority to hire his own team of position coaches? LOLTF…. Heupel sees a cliff and speeds the train up..
Of course they will nimrod. But you take a sure thing when it’s there for the getting. Garner is a sure thing but if their chosen DC said no to him what’s another buyout at UT! We have turned it into an art form.
dumassery is yer rrt..
Late comment: despite what most of the posters are saying, Garner was very lazy his last 4-5 yrs in Athens. Most weren’t sad to see him go back to AU.