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.