Tennessee football has hired cornerbacks coach Derek Jones, another member of the Jim Knowles and David Cutcliffe coaching trees.
Knox News confirmed the addition to coach Josh Heupel’s staff. UT is expected to announce the hiring on Feb. 16.
Advertisement
Jones replaces Michael Hunter, who left UT’s staff after only five weeks to become a Los Angeles Rams assistant defensive backs coach.
Jones is a 28-year coaching veteran. He spent the past four seasons as the Virginia Tech cornerbacks coach and defensive recruiting coordinator. He was the Texas Tech associate head coach and co-defensive coordinator in 2020-21.
But Jones’ longest stretch was at Duke from 2008-19. He worked under Cutcliffe, the head coach, for all 12 seasons with the Blue Devils. And Jones was Knowles’ defensive backs coach there from 2010-17.
An endorsement from Cutcliffe, the beloved former Tennessee offensive coordinator, carries weight. But Jones’ past work with Knowles means even more.
Advertisement
Heupel has prioritized hiring former Knowles’ assistants in order to speed up the installation of his defensive scheme. Co-defensive coordinator/secondary coach Anthony Poindexter and edge rushers coach Andrew Jackson worked under Knowles at Penn State in 2025.
Jones has strong SEC ties, beginning with his playing career at Ole Miss in 1993-96. He was a two-time All-SEC performer and team captain for the Rebels.
Jones briefly worked in the state of Tennessee. He coached defensive backs at MTSU (2005) and Memphis (2007), and he played one season for the Arena Football League team Nashville Kats (1997).
Adam Sparks is the Tennessee football beat reporter. Email adam.sparks@knoxnews.com. X, formerly known as Twitter@AdamSparks. Support strong local journalism by subscribing at knoxnews.com/subscribe.
Advertisement
Get the latest news and insight on SEC football by subscribing to the SEC Unfiltered newsletter, delivered straight to your inbox.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Derek Jones: Tennessee football hires cornerbacks coach who worked with Jim Knowles
