Potential wild card option for Tennessee that Vols fans would love if defensive coordinator Tim Banks leaves for Clemson

The Tennessee Vols’ coaching staff could potentially undergo some changes this offseason.

There’s no guarantee that any changes will happen, but there are three coaches on Tennessee’s staff — defensive coordinator Tim Banks, cornerbacks coach Willie Martinez, and special teams coordinator/outside linebackers coach Mike Ekeler — that are currently not under contract for the 2025 season.

Clemson is reportedly expected to pursue Banks to replace Wes Goodwin as the Tigers’ defensive coordinator.

“The early name to watch to fill that role (replacing Goodwin) is Tennessee defensive coordinator Tim Banks….He’s yet to sign a contract for the 2025 season with Tennessee,” reported On3’s Pete Nakos on Saturday night.

“The Tigers are expected to make a run at Banks,” added Nakos.

Nakos also reported that Banks recently turned down the Miami Hurricanes defensive coordinator job.

Banks has done a great job with Tennessee’s defense over the last four seasons. The Vols’ defense has steadily improved in each season under Banks, gradually transforming into a major strength for Tennessee (the Vols likely don’t make the College Football Playoff in 2024 without the strong effort from Banks’ defense).

The Vols should hope that Banks chooses to return to Rocky Top in 2025. Replacing a coordinator is always a gamble. Things on that side of the ball could quickly trend south if the wrong hire is made.

We’ll see what happens with Banks in the coming days/weeks. The smoke around the Clemson job could be a ploy by Banks’ agent to get a better payday from Tennessee. Or maybe there’s genuine interest from Banks in working with Dabo Swinney at Clemson. I think he’d be best served to stick around at Tennessee for another season, which would likely strengthen his case as a head coach option for next year’s coaching cycle, as opposed to entering an unknown situation at Clemson. But again, we’ll see where this goes.

If Banks decides to leave Tennessee for Clemson, there are several paths that Vols head coach Josh Heupel could take. He could conduct a nation-wide search for a new defensive play caller, which is an option that could disrupt continuity on that side of the ball (an outside hire may want to bring his own assistant coaches). Or Heupel could simply promote linebackers coach William Inge to defensive coordinator. Inge, who joined Tennessee’s staff ahead of the 2024 season, has previously served in a defensive coordinator role at several programs (Northern Iowa, Buffalo, Indiana, Fresno State, and Washington).

An interesting wild card option that could be in play would be former Tennessee linebacker Jerod Mayo, who is currently the head coach of the New England Patriots.

Mayo’s job status for the 2025 season is up in the air after what’s been a trying first season as a head coach (New England is 3-13 through 16 games in 2024 and Mayo’s had some ups-and-downs that have been heavily criticized by the media).

There are some rumblings that the Patriots would prefer a head coach with an offensive background moving forward to help develop quarterback Drake Maye. We should know pretty early next week (after Sunday’s NFL games are played) if Mayo is going to return to New England in 2025.

Mayo could be an intriguing option for the Vols if there’s an opening at defensive coordinator. Despite his uninspiring NFL head coaching debut, Mayo is still a well-thought of coach who is viewed as a tremendous leader.

One problem for Mayo is that he’s spent his entire NFL career in the New England/Bill Belichick bubble. Mayo spent eight seasons as a player with the Patriots (the only NFL team he played for) before spending five seasons (2019 to 2023) as an assistant coach under Belichick.

Mayo has never been exposed to the inner-workings of a non-Belichick coaching staff. Joining Heupel’s staff would give Mayo a different perspective and could help him grow as a coach. I still think Mayo can be a great head coach (Mayo is still relatively young as he will turn 39 in February). If Mayo is fired by New England, he should have plenty of suitors for coordinator/position coach jobs, but a reset on Rocky Top could be the right path for him.

Now, I don’t necessarily think that Mayo as the Vols’ defensive coordinator would be a slam dunk, but no one really knows how any coaching hire will work out (despite all of the “grand slam hire” takes you see from various reporters this time of year). Mayo has never officially been a defensive coordinator, though he kind of served in that capacity in New England (he helped lead the Patriots’ defense along with Steve Belichick….neither coach had coordinator titles).

Ultimately, this scenario would hinge on four things happening — Banks leaving for Clemson, Mayo getting fired, Heupel showing interest in Mayo, and Mayo showing interest in Tennessee. In other words, a lot would have to line up for this to work. But it’s still an interesting scenario that could be an option if Tennessee is forced to look for a defensive coordinator this offseason.