At least they didn’t have to increase their pay. However, two members of the Tennessee Football staff received extensions that do not seem deserved based on their production with the Vols, even if they have been with Josh Heupel ever since his arrival at UT.

Defensive backs coach Willie Martinez and strength and conditioning coach Kurt Schmidt both had their contracts extended Tuesday. Martinez’s contract extended two years, which now lasts through January of 2027, and Schmidt’s extended a year, to January of 2026.

This comes after outside linebackers coach Mike Ekeler left for the Nebraska Cornhuskers and defensive coordinator Tim Banks received an extension through January of 2028 and a $615,000 raise to $2.15 million. According to Adam Sparks of the Knoxville News Sentinel, Martinez’s pay will stay at $540,000, and Schmidt’s will stay at $475,000.

Sorry, but both have come up short in their duties with the Tennessee Football program.

Let’s start with Martinez. He is listed as the defensive backs coach, and that unit had a dramatic improvement this past year once the right talent got into place. Also, he has produced three NFL Draft picks, technically, in Kamal Hadden, Theo Jackson and second-round cornerback Alontae Taylor.

Here’s the problem: Martinez’s focus is at safety. Banks handles the cornerbacks for the most part. Does anybody think the safeties have performed well for Tennessee with Martinez at the helm? Not one player at that position has been drafted, and some were more highly rated as recruits than the cornerbacks drafted.

This past year, the resurgence in the secondary was due to the development of Rickey Gibson III and Jermod McCoy. Both had more to do with Banks’ coaching than Martinez’s. Even Boo Carter, who showed flashes and looks like a future star, wouldn’t have fully been coached by Martinez at nickel.

Now, to be fair, landing some of these guys is a testament to Martinez. He is one of the best recruiters out there with more connections than most. Still, it seems like somebody else could develop the safeties better and recruit as well on a lesser salary, so this is not the best move for the Vols.

Schmidt has overseen too many injuries

In 2022, most Tennessee Football fans thought the world of Kurt Schmidt. The Vols went 11-2 that year because their offensive line shockingly stayed in tact. However, a rash of injuries since he arrived at Tennessee have surrounded that, making it look more like a fluke than anything.

Sure, there are some freak accidents. Hendon Hooker’s ACL tear in 2022 and Bru McCoy’s broken leg stand out. Kamal Hadden and Cedric Tillman getting banged up, Hadden’s being a season-ending injury, are also things you can’t directly pin on him.

On the other hand, there was the mishandling of Cooper Mays back in 2023. Mays had surgery for a hernia in the summer that year after practicing all of spring. How did the conditioning team and medical staff not realize his hernia?

Then there was a miscommunication of his return, with Heupel saying publicly they expected him back at the Florida Gators and him then not playing at all in the game, which Tennessee lost in large part because he wasn’t out there. That level of mishandling was awful.

Recovery from injuries has seemed to be an issue as well. Tillman never got fully healthy upon his recover in 2022, and McCoy clearly lost a step this past year despite all promises that he was at 100 percent. Injuries have also consistently affected the offensive line every year but 2022.

Taking all this into account, it’s hard to say Schmidt has done his job either. He has a difficult one, keeping everybody conditioned for this system while making sure they are able to stay healthy, but there have been many issues on that front.

Rewarding mediocrity just to be right?

Heupel isn’t typically one to admit he’s wrong about anything. He forced Joe Milton III into the starting lineup to begin 2021 because Milton was his handpicked transfer even though everybody on the inside thought Hooker was the better quarterback. Although he did make a switch early, it shows where his head’s at.

As a result, he’s not going to move on from guys like Martinez and Schmidt, who came with him to Tennessee back in 2021. That’s just now how he’s built. However, such arrogance could come at a cost one day if he isn’t careful, and it’s almost proven costly already.