Tennessee quietly re-signed defensive coordinator Tim Banks to a lucrative new contract extension. The news quietly leaked out Friday afternoon, just when stories are often leaked to avoid mass media coverage and subsequent criticism. It’s known as a day and time for a “news dump.”
I’m not sure why Tennessee decided to play re-upping with Banks as bad news. Why hasn’t the new deal been celebrated as much? UT should have been screaming about it from the mountain tops.
The last thing that Tennessee needed right now, just when its fan base is wondering about whether or not the previous hype around head coach Josh Heupel is warranted, is to lose one of its coordinators to a similar job at another school. Tennessee’s football program is at a crossroad. Not retaining Banks would have meant theVols just drove straight into the ditch.
Banks will reportedly go from making $1.5-million annually last season to making $2.15-million this season. That’s a fair raise for a Broyles Award finalist as one of the top assistant coaches in the nation.
Some may feel a bit dismayed, that Tennessee had no leverage after Miami and Clemson came calling for the fourth-year Tennessee defensive coordinator. They may even think Banks is just striking while the iron is hot and getting paid off of last season’s successes despite some struggles earlier in his tenure in Knoxville. Well, that’s all true, but the thoughts on Banks should have shifted after last season, even for those most ardent critics of his coaching.
Banks proved he could lead an elite defense last season. The Vols were second in total defense last season in the SEC, allowing just 293 yards per game. However, what Banks did previously with less talent is more impressive to me than what he did last season with plenty of talent. During his first three seasons at Tennessee, Banks kept the Vols’ defense afloat with an ever-evolving defensive front that utilized stunts, twists and blitzes to manufacture pass pressure. Banks was publicly criticized, but he didn’t deserve it.
Despite that fan frustration, Banks’ coaching since joining the Vols in 2021 has been exactly what Tennessee needed, which is innovative. Football prospects have known that, which is why high school recruiting has continued to improve under him and why the Vols were able to land top transfer prospects that helped them become one of the better defensive teams in the nation, ranking ranking sixth in the country in yards allowed per game.
All of this is not to say that Banks is perfect. He’d never admit it, but I’m willing to gamble a hefty bit of coin that Banks regrets how he used former Tennessee EDGE rusher James Pearce Jr. The highly touted NFL prospect was asked to do too much last season and, subsequently, never emerged as the defensive force that we all imagined before last season, the same force that will likely be selected with a first-round pick in the upcoming NFL Draft in April.
With just 7 1/2 sacks last year, Banks and the Vols didn’t get enough pass pressure from Pearce, as he was far too often dropping back into pass coverage. Nevertheless, coaches make mistakes, and Banks needs to learn from the most frustrating one of his Tennessee tenure.
Losing coaches is a problem for a program that’s trying to achieve elite status. The Vols lost former defensive coordinator Justin Wilcox, who went to Washington before the 2012 season. That was a harbinger of things to come.
Wilcox bolting for the same job at a lesser program was a sign that assistants under former Tennessee coach Derek Dooley didn’t believe who they were working under. Heupel didn’t need anymore questions about his program heading into a very pivotal 2025 season.
The Vols already lost former offensive coordinator Alex Golesh to South Florida, but that move made sense because Golesh went from offensive coordinator at Tennessee to head coach of the Bulls in 2023. Losing Banks to an ACC team to do the same job would have been a devastating look for them.
Tennessee would have also lost a great deal of chemistry had they let Banks bounce. The longtime defensive backs and linebackers coach is perfectly complemented by defensive line coach Rodney Garner, who has excelled coaching up Tennessee’s defensive front. Sometimes coaches just fit together and are better as a whole than the sum of their parts. That’s what Tennessee, Banks and Garner currently have going for them.
Speaking of chemistry, Banks is also a perfect complement to Heupel, who runs the Vols’ offense. Banks is willing to be the fall guy with a struggling defense that must overcome its high-tempo, offensive counterparts that don’t really care if Tennessee’s defense is tired.
If Heupel can re-invent the fast-paced offense of 2022, Banks knows he’ll have to overcome the challenges associated with as much. After all, he has dealt with that since becoming a Vol and knows that Heupel isn’t going to take his foot off the gas no matter what if the Vols have their offensive mojo going.
Banks agreeing to remain a Vol may have been the best news for Tennessee’s football program in several weeks, at least since reaching the College Football Playoff. That, however, wouldn’t have happened had it not been for Banks and Tennessee’s defense last season.
