Ekeler not being retained?

[chuckiepoo]

He’s not a great recruiter. We could upgrade

Does yer head rattle?

 

[DonDiego]

No way... Offseason BS.

 

[OldVol]

Nebraska is making a run at him. Don’t know if he’s seriously considering.

 

[#1n51&98]

Laughable if there’s any truth to this. He’s one of 4 position coaches who should have ironclad job security at this point, the others being Garner, Inge, and Sims.

If Heupel fires Ek while keeping Pope and his buddies Halzle and Ellarbee, he’ll have lost a lot of my respect.

The jury is still out on Inge , in my opinion. We have some great young albeit raw LB talent , but they seemed to get lost in coverage all year . I kept waiting for that to improve , but it never did . I agree with your assessment of the other coaches.

 

[Jackcrevol]

No way... Offseason BS.

think his family is near him in knox.

calling bs.

 

[GrayWaterCanine]

Nebraska is making a run at him. Don’t know if he’s seriously considering.

I've heard that more than once.

 

[feathersax]

I believe none of what I hear and half of what I see.

Mike Ekeler is a trememdous special teams coach & motivator. To lose this guy would be a big blow to the Vols' team. Rumor mill flawed....again.

 

[Halph66]

Mike Ekeler, Tim Banks, and Willie Martinez all have contracts that expire on January 31st, 2025. All other coaches, except Josh Heupel, have contracts that expire on January 31st, 2026. ---EDIT--- Alec Abelin's contract expires on February 28th, 2026. Josh Heupel's contract expires on January 31st, 2029.

In past years the administration takes care of all contracts at the same time, prior to announcing anything. So as of now the situation is normal.

Executive and Coaching Contracts - The University of Tennessee System

All links below are PDF documents, copied from the signed originals. Executive Search Contracts Parker Agreement – Head Football Coach, signed by Vice Chancellor Chris Cimino Executive Offer Letters Keith Carver, Senior Vice Chancellor/Senior Vice President of the University of Tennessee...

tennessee.edu

 

[Stacmot]

Laughable if there’s any truth to this. He’s one of 4 position coaches who should have ironclad job security at this point, the others being Garner, Inge, and Sims.

If Heupel fires Ek while keeping Pope and his buddies Halzle and Ellarbee, he’ll have lost a lot of my respect.

And WM

 

[Beth1308]

His daughter is selling a some of his gear on Facebook, apparently. Seems to be where the rumor started.

Could it be her own gear? One of his daughters is a student athlete. Unless it is identifiable as football gear.

 

[Batman1948]

Yeah it was the running backs that sucked? Ok.

Special team coach

 

[CAVPUT]

I believe none of what I hear and half of what I see.

Can't recall who said it a while back, but the comment was that in the future, the most valuable thing on the internet was the truth. Now, with AI coming on us, I think that's absolutely the case.

 

[CAVPUT]

He’s my favorite Assistant Coach. Hope we keep him. He brings the fire

Trooper Taylor-ish. Can't say I miss his contributions tho. Taylor that is.

 

[sjt18]

No one here knows what happens in staff meetings or behind the scenes. We might think we know who should stay and who should go... but we don't. We just don't have enough information.

 

[m1al]

I believe none of what I hear and half of what I see.

Very wise strategy...

 

[m1al]

Does yer head rattle?

Is it bad if it does?

Asking for a friend...

 

[Tnphil]

Word I've heard is he might be heading to Nebraska. He was born in Nebraska so who knows?

 

[TennesseeTarheel]

His daughter is selling a some of his gear on Facebook, apparently. Seems to be where the rumor started.

Smart guy?

 

[JohnWardForever]

Assistant coaching quality is one of the most misunderstood facets of CFB that fans really are quite clueless about.

Some yeah.

 

[JohnWardForever]

How to tell if you have the best assistants? Other schools are bidding for them. I'll hang up now..

 

[rocytop2624]

Anyone else hearing this?

That would be a mistake.

 

[knox73]

Eck is one of the best motivators and needs to stay in Knoxville. Josh has a superb team in place and actually some quality people in waiting like Robert Ayers and others.

 

[SGMVols]

I think Heupel wants him back but there’s a decent chance of him going to Nebraska. He grew up in that state.

 

[sonofUT62]

He’s not a great recruiter. We could upgrade

He kicked Pruitt while he was on the ground after Thomas Brown punched him. There is no upgrade from that.

 

[Owl-flavored]

I heard that Eck owns some property in Jefferson County.