New, Cohesive Defensive Staff Eager For Start Of Spring Practice

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Jim Knowles takes the reins of the Tennessee football defense in 2026, and he will do it with several familiar faces by his side. Knowles was one of four new defensive assistant coaches who met with the media on Thursday afternoon, one month before the Volunteers begin spring practice.

Co-defensive coordinator/secondary coach Anthony Poindexter and LEOs coach Andrew Jackson worked alongside Knowles at Penn State last season. Cornerbacks coach Derek Jones, the former assistant at Virginia Tech, coached on Knowles' staff at Duke from 2010-17. In addition, four former Penn State defensive players transferred to Tennessee to start the semester.

"We can go faster than other situations that I've been in, because of the fact that we have a lot of coaches who have worked with me before," Knowles said. "That's a huge advantage. Definitely faster than other places. And also, we have a few players — which is really kind of crazy in this day and age — that you have a few players that have been in this system, really at all levels of the defense. You know, (Xavier Gilliam, Amare Campbell, Dejuan Lane, Chaz Coleman), all levels.

Knowles also retained veteran assistant coaches Rodney Garner (defensive line) and William Inge (linebackers). Collectively, the entire new defensive staff owns 116 years of Power Four experience with six College Football Playoff appearances.

Knowles, who was named defensive coordinator on Dec. 11, has orchestrated four top 15 total defenses nationally over the last six seasons with three of those units finishing in the top four. He spoke in detail about the process of joining Heupel's staff.

"Our head coach is as genuine and as real as anybody I have been around, in terms of wanting the defense to be successful," he said. "He is the farthest thing from a 'me' guy, from an ego guy. He's extremely down-to-earth, communicates well. I knew that from the first time that I flew in here, and he picked me up himself and took me to his house, which I had never really done before in that circumstance, when you're just kind of looking at each other to see if it's going to work."

Since his hiring, the Vols have welcomed 20 new transfers, including 12 on the defensive side, while 24 freshmen enrolled in January. The group is gearing up for the start of spring practice, which begins on March 16.

The Orange & White Game is set for April 11 in Neyland Stadium. Additional details will be announced at a later date. Fans can renew their season tickets now at AllVols.com through Feb. 27. Fans interested in purchasing future new season tickets can fill out the season ticket interest form.

Tennessee Football Press Conference | Feb. 19, 2026
Defensive Coordinator Jim Knowles

On the methodology behind teaching his defensive scheme at a new program…
"That's a good question, because I've done it differently at different places. But here, we are starting from a clean slate. That doesn't mean that we don't use some things that they've used here in the past. I try to listen to, maybe a certain way that (the previous staff) called a certain thing, and I can change on that if (the players) are already familiar with a certain term. In general, I'd say we're starting from a clean slate."

On the value and attributes of EDGE transfer Chaz Coleman…
"He's explosive. He is difficult to block. He has a little bit of an invisible cloak, where he can twist and turn, beat guys one-on-one. He has great initial quickness off the ball. He's a guy that can create havoc for an offense and really creates a matchup issue."

On takeaways from his time observing the program during December bowl prep…
"That time for me was really just an evaluation time. It was really more for me to learn about who the players are, who the coaches are. What are their strengths? What are their weaknesses? Didn't get in depth really at the time on what was wrong, what was right, what can we do better, what do you want to keep – all those things that will be coming up now in the spring. It was really just an evaluation period for me."

On what gives him confidence that his defense will complement Josh Heupel's offense…
"The head coach. Our head coach is as genuine and as real as anybody I have been around, in terms of wanting the defense to be successful. Wanting special teams, wanting everybody to be successful. He is the farthest thing from a 'me' guy, from an ego guy. He's extremely down-to-earth, communicates well. I knew that from the first time that I flew in here, and he picked me up himself and took me to his house, which I had never really done before in that circumstance, when you're just kind of looking at each other to see if it's going to work. He kind of set that right from the beginning, that that's just the type of person that he is and the type of team that he wants to have, that he is going to do what's best for the whole team."

On how quickly he can install his defensive system ahead of spring practice…
"We can go faster than other situations that I've been in, because of the fact that we have a lot of coaches who have worked with me before. That's a huge advantage. Definitely faster than other places. And also, we have a few players – which is really kind of crazy in this day and age that you have a few players that have been in this system, really at all levels of the defense. You know, (Xavier Gilliam, Amare Campbell, Dejuan Lane, Chaz Coleman), all levels. They have been around, so they can help. I would say there's opportunity, and we do try to throw a lot at them early. It's a whole-part-whole philosophy. You kind of start out throwing a lot at them, see what they can take in. Shrink it down once you figure out their strengths and weaknesses and how they learn. It's really important how they learn. And then, hopefully build it back up to whole on the other end. But how you get to the other end is really based on the players and how they pick it up. So, kind of put in a lot, shrink it down to see what they know, then take it step-by-step to build it back up."

On the addition of cornerbacks coach Derek Jones to his defensive staff…
"DJ is an elite recruiter, an elite motivator, an elite mentor and technician of the corner position, aside from just being a great person. He brings an energy to our staff that is really unmatched, just with his demeanor every day. Really a high-energy guy, and that goes into everything he does."

On what allows his defenses to be successful and how he would describe his defenses…
"Good players, number one. It's always the players. But two, it's having answers. That is the most critical thing, having answers. Because you're always going to get into situations in a game where you have to have an answer for how they're hurting you and how they're attacking you, or where you're going to go week-to-week in college football or how offenses change. That's my job. I think that's why it has worked, why our stop rate has been so good is because we're going to have answers. We're going to have answers to anything an offense can do to us."

On retaining linebackers coach William Inge and defensive line coach Rodney Garner…
"Rodney Garner is a legend. I'm going to start with that. He's really a legend when it comes to coaching D-line. He's an SEC legend. He's extremely well known. When you watch him, he coaches his players very hard, but he loves them right after that. That's a unique combination. That's how I like to be. Challenge them, work them hard, but make sure they know that you care about them. He's all about that.

"Coach Inge, his room. That linebacker room. One of the things I learned during my evaluation period was that the linebacker room was the best room on defense, maybe the best room on the team, in terms of how close those guys are, how they work together and how he manages his players. That's really a telltale sign, when other people talk about your position and say, 'Yeah, we have to be more like the linebackers.' I think that shows what kind of coach he is."

Co-Defensive Coordinator/Secondary Coach Anthony Poindexter

On the impact of DB transfer TJ Metcalf…
"TJ, I actually recruited him out of high school. Great kid, great family. He had been to Arkansas, played in this league, been at Michigan, played in the Big Ten. To be able to get a kid with that kind of experience to be on defense, I think he could have an impact early."

On how he defines 'softness' and what he conversely demands from his players…
"For me, softness is the unwillingness to put your body on the line for your team that you're playing for. I just believe that. That's how I was raised and how I used to play in the backyard. You just have to be willing to throw your body on the line for the team you're playing for. If that's showing up on tape – not that you aren't going to miss tackles and stuff like that. I get it, having played before, but you have to have innate toughness and mental toughness that when things aren't going as well as you want them to, be able to fight through it and continue to play."

On following defensive coordinator Jim Knowles to Tennessee and what led to that decision…
"Coach Knowles is a brilliant mind when it comes down to defense. I was honored that he wanted me to come with him. I've known him for a long time, but not like I knew him in 2025. For him to ask me, it was an honor to be able to come to Tennessee. It was an honor. I just want to be around good people. I mean, the staff he has put together is excellent, so I'm excited to be here."

On what he has learned about his safeties in the last six weeks…
"These kids really love football. They are really smart. They want to be coached. They are very attentive in meetings. They want to be here, so I think we have something to work with. Now obviously, we don't have the pads on. We're just doing some offseason stuff right now, but the way they come to work each day and how excited they are for the work, I think we have a chance."

On the mix of new and returning safeties vying for playing time next season…
"Well, we want them all to be stepping on the gas. But like I told them all, when I first met with all the group together, you earn your playing time. Just because I know you or didn't know you, that doesn't affect playing time. It's all what you do on the field. I think they all believe that it's going to be performance-based. There are no favorites. Everybody has to earn their job, so as long as you have that kind of culture and everyone feels like they have a chance to win the job, I think you're going to be okay."

On his impression of Edrees Farooq and what he could develop into…
"I recruited (Edrees) out of high school as well. He's up in that Baltimore area. He's smart, catches onto things fast, he moves well. The little bit of tape that I watched from last year, it looked like he has a feel for the game. I'm excited to coach him."

On how he would describe the defensive coaching staff…
"We have a lot of experience. A lot of guys that have been in different conferences, been around different players, and we've already meshed well together quickly. I'm excited to be with this staff. There's a lot of really good coaches in our room. Knowles is a great leader of men and coaches, so I'm excited."

On the learning curve of adjusting to Jim Knowles' defensive system at Penn State…
"Anytime you're going into a new system, it's going to be a learning curve. That was probably the third or fourth defensive system I had been in since I had been at Penn State. It's just like anything … It's more the terminology than the system itself. There are some different things that he does that the other systems that I had been in, that we hadn't done. It's more of just the terminology, especially on the back end. On the back end, you're going to have Cover 2, you're going to have Cover 4, you're going to have Cover 3, you're going to have man coverage. It's just the terminology of how you want to play it."

LEOs Coach Andrew Jackson

On what led him to Tennessee and what has stood out in his first few weeks…
"The opportunity to work with Coach Knowles again. He helped me through a turmoil I was going through when my mom passed last season in February. He basically gave me something to do to get past that. Opportunity to come to Tennessee, a great place, and work with Coach Heupel. Another opportunity to come back to the SEC and coach, coach with (Rodney Garner), definitely was an eye-opening opportunity for me too."

On how Jim Knowles helped him get through the loss of his mom…
"He is a tough love kind of guy. I think he had known I was going through some grief, so I think he knows keeping busy and love I have for the game. He gave me tasks to do, so I wasn't sitting there sulking. He took special note to that and helped me through it."

On his expectations for Chaz Coleman based on what he has seen in games and practice…
"Even though he was a young guy, he played the game with recklessness and a sixth sense he had about him. The first thing that caught our eyes was him running to the ball. Even though he didn't know what to do, his hustle, his effort, him trying to play really strong, and his fearlessness against kids that were older, bigger and stronger than him. He really had no fear."
On his thoughts on the LEO room going in to the spring…
"Young and inexperienced so far, but a lot of good football minds that are hungry and willing to learn. They're really receptive to coaching, want to be good, really competitive."

On why coaches and players gravitate towards Jim Knowles…
"I know you guys see him between the lines, he looks like he's just a crusty old man, but he actually has a big personality. He's one of the funniest people I've been around. Good person, good human being. He loves what he does, loves teaching. He's just a perfect leader of men. Just like what Coach Poindexter said, he's an all-around good guy you want to be around."

On the combination and synergy of new and returning staff on the defense…
"Well with the coaching staff in general, there's a wealth of experience. I'm the youngest guy on the staff in the defensive room. They're all humble, they've all had great experiences. Coach Poindexter is a Hall of Famer, Knowles is a Broyles Award finalist, and I'm assuming Coach Garner is going to end up in the Hall of Fame as well, but they're all still willing to teach. They love the game and they love being around the kids for the right reasons. There are no egos, and they just want to go out there and win."

On how he has seen Xavier Gilliam grow and improve since last season…
"He has really raw talent and is a quick, flexible kid. He has a lot of power and high potential. He was pushing his way to almost be in a starting role at Penn State. I think he's a kid that really bought into the system and how he was being coached, and wanted to take his game to the next level and move on from Penn State."

On what lessons he's learned from other coaches being the youngest on the defensive staff…
"Sometimes you have to sit there, shut up and figure out what's going on before you talk. Don't put the cart before the horse."

On what Derek Jones brings to the defensive coaching staff…
"Cheetah, man. He's an excellent recruiter and leader of men. He's well known for how he interacts with the kids. Even though we have an older staff, guys like Cheetah are still able to relate to the younger players and get the best out of those guys."

Cornerbacks Coach Derek Jones

On the story behind Derek "Cheetah" Jones…
"It's a nickname that came, I actually used to be a pretty fast guy, back in my day, but that has evaporated. When I got to Duke, I've always used 'cheetah' as a coaching phrase. David Cutcliffe, who I worked for, for 14 years of my career, was very big on us making one-word phrases in coaching. It was back in the era of 'hurry-up' offenses, and he wanted us to be able to coach on the run as opposed to giving dissertations. So 'cheetah' is a one-word phrase that means a lot of different things. What it means is, key the hip of the defender. You can use it in tackling. You can use it in coverage. You can use it in pursuit. When I got to Duke, the program had won maybe ten games in eight years. I had two seniors in my room who had two 0-11 seasons. So, I was trying to find something to give us a brand. Social media was just getting going. It was just Facebook back then. There wasn't Twitter. There wasn't TikTok. There wasn't Instagram. So, I wanted to give my group an identity, so I came up with 'cheetah.' The unique thing about it is, a pack of cheetahs is called a 'coalition,' and a coalition is a group, so you look at a secondary. When you think about it, cheetahs generally hunt alone, but when they do hunt, they will only hunt with their brothers. That's the unity piece of it. I came up with that and started calling my group the 'coalition.' Twitter came into play a couple of years later, and the rest is history. I became Coach Cheetah."

On Ty Redmond taking the next step…
"I think any time you have the chance to coach a player with that amount of potential, you look at every aspect of it. You look at every aspect in the sense of how you can help them grow. I'm big on coaching not only on the field, but off the field. I think if you only coach the player, they will never reach their full potential. You have to also coach the person. If you coach the person, that's where the trust is built and your coaching habits. Getting to know not only him, but all the rest of the guys, is kind of a blank canvas. I've had a chance to meet with them twice and kind of see where the group is and trying to find out where they are individually. It's a young group, and he's a young guy. Really excited about being able to connect with him and get to know him a lot, allow him to get to know me. Then, the growth comes."

On Tennessee football in general and thoughts when the position became available…
"First, I know an awful lot about Tennessee because I was a graduate assistant for Coach Cutcliffe when he first left Tennessee. A lot of the traditions, a lot of the history, the game maxims, and hearing so much. Being on staff with guys like Marion Hobby, you learn a lot. Coach Cutcliffe talked a lot to Coach Pat Summitt and a lot of the same leadership things. So, it was a part of my early DNA. Being with him at Duke as a full-time coach for 12 years, a lot of the same things. Coach Fulmer still interacted a lot, and I met a lot of people from Tennessee, worked with a lot of people from Tennessee. So, understanding it, being an SEC guy, knowing how successful that they have been, that was a huge part of my upbringing in the coaching profession. The rules, you look back and Coach will pull out a binder that he listened to from Johnny Majors. Coach Majors got a chance to come visit us a couple of different times. That was a lot of my young foundation in coaching and a lot of the principles that I still use today. Matter of fact, I taught my guys something this morning that I learned from David Cutcliffe. I don't know if he learned it from his days at Tennessee, but it's kind of the carry-over. The second part of the question is that Coach Knowles and I are really good friends. We worked together for 8 years and had been around each other. When he first came here, him and I were in a little bit of communication. I was really happy for him when he got that job. Actually, when Coach Knowles reached out to me the other day, I was actually at another institution checking into a hotel, maybe looking into a situation there. He and I talked, and he and I talked a little bit more the next day. He told me 'Don't take the job, we want to work towards this.' He and I talked a little bit more, and we were able to get on the phone with Coach Heupel and talked through some things. Again, David Cutcliffe being very instrumental in the process. Coach Heupel has a lot of respect for him. Coach Cutcliffe being on my reference page. Actually, Dr. Kevin White, who was the Athletic Director at Duke for my 12 years there, is the father of Danny White. I went to school with Michael White. So, there were a lot of different connections that made this thing happen really fast."

On his excitement level being at Tennessee…
"I think anytime you take a job, you have to take the job and jump in with both feet. I've been able to use social media over the course of my career in a lot of different ways. In the recruiting process, we don't get a chance to interact in person with these young men, nowhere near the way that we used to. So, what I do is I use social media to be able to sell myself, to be able to sell the institution that I am working at, to be able to sell the people that I'm working with and around. People see that. I have a pretty good formula where I get up in the morning, and I put up three quotes, generally, and they rotate all day. I, generally, come back at night and put another one up. I want people to understand the excitement of Tennessee football, the tradition of Tennessee football. It allows me to reach decision makers because they can go back and read through my timeline, and see the type of person that I am. They can see the type of coach that I am. They can see my level of intellect. They can see how I interact with my wife and my family. It gives you a chance to sell yourself before you meet a lot of people. Generally, when I walk into a high school, somebody in that high school is already going to know who I am, and I've never met them. That's because of social media. It's just a tool that has worked for me for a long time. I think when you own social media, you have to be consistent. That's why you see all of that stuff. One of the things I've found out, people will try to rival you in that aspect, but it's hard to be creative, for one, and it's even harder to be creative and consistent. So, it's just another level of competition."

On what the defensive back group should look like…
"The number one thing I am looking for is not physical, it's mentality. It's the mindset of the guy. How competitive is he? Is he a guy that's going to be okay when things go bad? How's he going to react when adversity hits? Some of the guys have that naturally, but it's also something that you have to continue to coach and instill. From the physical part, you are just looking for a guy that is a good football player. You're looking for a guy that's agile. You're looking for a guy with good ball skills, but you're looking for a guy that's competitive. My job is to be able to look at the group once I get to know them and see who is good at what. A coach's job is to be able to look at the group that he has and say 'How do I coach this guy as opposed to how I coach another guy?' Because they are not all the same. Some guys are going to have talents that others don't have. Some guys may be bigger than some guys. You've got to be able to look at your entire group and say 'What tools do I need to equip this guy with to help him as opposed to what tools do I need to equip another guy with to help him?' I may have one technique that a bigger guy plays that a smaller guy can't play because he doesn't have the arm length. Whereas, if I have a guy with quicker feet, he can do something that a bigger guy may not be able to do. I'm excited to be able to get into spring ball. Assess these guys, and see what I can do to make all of them better at the craft."

University of Tennessee Athletics

New, Cohesive Defensive Staff Eager For Start Of Spring Practice

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Amare Campbell

Chaz Coleman

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