Tennessee insiders speculate Heisman Trophy winner Chris Weinke could join Jeremy Pruitt's staff
Less than a week after finalizing his first staff at Tennessee, Jeremy Pruitt once again has an opening on his coaching staff following the departure of running backs coach Robert Gillispie. News of Gillispie’s departure was reported Tuesday morning.
Now the question on Rocky Top is, where will the Vols look to replace the final remaining member of Butch Jones’ last Tennessee coaching staff? Considering Florida State running back coach Jay Graham played for and coached at Tennessee, and even worked with Pruitt in Tallahassee, his name is one to watch. However, another name may take precedence over the former Volunteer running back.
According to John Brice of Gridiron Now, former Heisman Trophy winner Chris Weinke will be a name to watch. After Pruitt took over the Tennessee program, Weinke interviewed for a position on his UT staff. Weinke served as an offensive analyst at Alabama in 2017, ironically enough, after interviewing to be Jones’ offensive coordinator last offseason.
Filing story to @GridironNow but would watch former Heisman winner & recent Tide analyst Chris Weinke for @Vol_Football RB post emptied by parting ways with @UTCoachG Robert Gillespie
— John Brice (@JohnDBrice1) February 13, 2018
Brice isn’t the only one suggesting Weinke could get a look on Rocky Top, as former Tennessee receiver and Knoxville radio host Jayson Swain also suggests the former Seminole quarterback is a name to watch:
Yup. Watching Weinke and Burton Burns. https://t.co/tNfs0eqwwW
— Jayson Swain (@SwainEvent) February 13, 2018
Before coaching at Alabama, Weinke served as an NFL assistant with the Rams. Just like Pruitt, he also has high school coaching experience, as Weinke was the head coach of IMG Academy for several seasons.