Jerry Mack – Syndication Server

Coaches who would be ideal for Tennessee filling Jerry Mack’s offensive staff vacancy

Coaches who would be ideal for Tennessee football filling offensive staff vacancy after Jerry Mack leaves for the NFL.

Third-year Tennessee running backs coach Jerry Mack is reportedly joining Jacksonville in the NFL.

Mack came to Tennessee after serving as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Rice from 2018-20. He also coached in-state at Memphis in 2011 as wide receivers coach under head coach Larry Porter.

Josh Heupel will look to fill Mack’s vacancy ahead of spring practices entering his fourth season as the Vols’ head coach.

Heupel could promote from within, hire an outside coach or re-shuffle his staff.

Vols Wire looks at coaches who would be ideal in filling the vacancy. Below are outside hires who would be ideal in joining Heupel’s coaching staff in 2024.

Jaguars hiring Vols’ Jerry Mack as running backs coach

The Jaguars reportedly filled another vacancy on their coaching staff.

A couple days after reports indicated the Jacksonville Jaguars were eying Jerry Mack to be their new running backs coach, it appears they’ve landed their target.

According to Matt Zenitz of 247Sports, the Jaguars are hiring Mack to fill the void left by the firing of Bernie Parmalee.

Mack, 43, hasn’t coached in the NFL before and spent the first two decades of his career in the collegiate ranks. He previously coached wide receivers at Memphis and South Alabama before serving as head coach of North Carolina Central.

In 2018, Mack spent three years as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Rice. For the last three seasons, he’s been the running backs coach at Tennessee where he coached Jaylen Wright to a 1,000-yard season in 2023.

The Jaguars’ running game could use a boost after finishing 30th in yards per attempt. While Travis Etienne Jr. eclipsed 1,000 yards for the second straight season, backups Tank Bigsby and D’Ernest Johnson combined for just 240 rushing yards.

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Jaguars reportedly eying Vols’ Jerry Mack to be RB coach

The Jaguars are reportedly looking to the college ranks to fill their running backs coach vacancy.

The Jacksonville Jaguars are on the verge of finalizing an agreement to hire Tennessee Volunteers assistant coach Jerry Mack to their coaching staff, according to 247Sports. Mack would reportedly fill the Jaguars’ running backs coach vacancy.

Mack, 43, has spent his entire coaching career in the collegiate ranks with stops at Memphis and Rice, among other schools, as well as a head coaching stint at North Carolina Central. In 2021, he landed at Tennessee as running backs coach.

With the Volunteers, Mack coached a rushing attack that finished the 2023 season 10th in the country in yards per game with 204.9. Junior Jaylen Wright led the way for the program with 1,013 yards and four touchdowns in only 12 games and backups Dylan Sampson and Jabari Small combined for more than 1,000 yards in relief of Wright.

The Jaguars have a rising star at the running back position in Travis Etienne Jr., but they’ve struggled to find another player to spell him. Despite investing in the draft by selecting Snoop Conner and Tank Bigsby, and also signing D’Ernest Johnson in free agency, the team’s rushing game has predominantly gone through Etienne.

Jacksonville finished the 2023 season with the third fewest yards per carry (3.6), ahead of only the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New Orleans Saints. Bernie Parmalee was fired as running backs coach shortly after the year ended.

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Jerry Mack details what stands out about Georgia’s defense

Tennessee running backs coach Jerry Mack details what stands out about Georgia’s defense.

No. 1 Georgia (10-0, 7-0 SEC) will play at No. 19 Tennessee (7-3, 3-3 SEC) on Saturday in Week 12 (3:30 p.m. EST, CBS).

Third-year running backs coach Jerry Mack discussed what stands out about Georgia’s defense ahead of the matchup.

“The number one thing that stands out is their ability to rotate so many different people at the line of scrimmage with their front seven,” Mack said. “When you look at their defensive line, when you look at the linebacker core, the biggest thing is it is constant new bodies.

“As we go through all the film from the year, there is always a new body, new linebacker, new defensive lineman. They also do a really good job of shift blocks. Those guys do a good job at two-gapping, playing through the defender and making sure they shed and get to the ball carrier. The speed is something that jumps at you as well. Across the board all of those guys can run, so that is one of things I feel like stands out constantly against them.”

Jerry Mack previews Tennessee-Alabama game week

Vols’ running backs coach Jerry Mack previews Tennessee-Alabama game week.

No. 15 Tennessee (5-1, 2-1 SEC) ranks fifth nationally in rushing offense after Week 7.

The Vols are averaging 231.3 rushing yards per game. Tennessee has totaled 1,388 rushing yards and 13 rushing touchdowns through six games.

Jaylen Wright leads Tennessee in rushing yards (571) entering Week 8. Jabari Small has totaled 359 rushing yards, while Dylan Sampson has recorded 273 for the Vols.

Quarterback Joe Milton III has recorded 173 rushing yards.

PHOTOS: A look at Tennessee running backs through the years

Third-year running backs coach Jerry Mack met with media on Tuesday and previewed the Vols’ Week 8 matchup at No. 8 Alabama (6-1, 4-0 SEC).

Everything Mack said during his media availability is listed below.

Jerry Mack details South Carolina’s defense

Tennessee running backs coach Jerry Mack details South Carolina’s defense.

South Carolina (2-2, 1-1 SEC) enters its Week 5 contest at No. 19 Tennessee (3-1, 0-1 SEC) with the No. 121 overall defense in the Football Bowl Subdivision.

The Gamecocks are No. 126 in passing defense and No. 48 in rushing defense through four games.

Third-year Tennessee running backs coach Jerry Mack met with media on Tuesday and discussed South Carolina’s defense.

“The front seven is really good,” Mack said. “Really impressed with the linebacker position. Those guys fly around, they are really aggressive, physical, you can see the improvement that they had in their group from year-to-year over the last few years that we have been playing.

“I think at my position, specifically, we just have to do a really good job and continue to run with physicality in between the tackles. There’s going to be tough, tight runs in those windows and those lanes are going to be smaller as we get into more SEC play. You know some of those other games, sometimes that grass that the offensive line is creating is extremely big because of the competition that you are playing. Man, in the SEC, it is not like that. Those seams become smaller and smaller, and when they do open up, they close a lot faster just because of the people that we are playing with. We have to do a great job of seeing those, making decisive decisions and accelerating when we get that opportunity.”

Cameron Seldon’s ability in kick return game detailed ahead of Week 1

Cameron Seldon’s ability in kick return game detailed ahead of Week 1.

No. 10 Tennessee will open its 2023 season on Saturday versus Virginia.

Kickoff between the Vols and Cavaliers is slated for noon EDT (ABC) at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee.

Third-year running backs coach Jerry Mack met with media on Tuesday and discussed freshman Cameron Seldon.

The 6-foot-2, 222-pound Seldon is listed as the fourth running back and a co-starter as a kick returner on the Vols’ depth chart ahead of playing Virginia.

Mack discussed Seldon’s ability in the kick return game.

“I think the biggest thing is first of all, he is a guy with an innate ability to catch the football,” Mack said. “He played a lot of receiver in high school, so that carries over obviously as a kickoff returner. If you want him to return punts, he probably could do that as well.

“The second thing is, we use the term running through the smoke. Big guy that’s 6-foot, 6-one, 220 pounds right now, and he’s not really afraid of any contact. He will run through those small creases, especially on kickoff return when you got those guys on kickoff team coming at you full speed. Cam has that ability to run through the smoke. He understands his strength and he’s a big, strong, strong guy who can do that.”

PHOTOS: Tennessee running backs through the years

2023 Tennessee football: Vols’ running back depth ‘in extremely good place’

Tennessee’s running back depth is in an extremely good place in 2023.

No. 10 Tennessee will open its 2023 season on Saturday versus Virginia.

Kickoff between the Vols and Cavaliers is slated for noon EDT (ABC) at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee.

Third-year running backs coach Jerry Mack met with media on Tuesday and discussed the Vols’ backfield depth in 2023.

“Right now, I love the depth,” Mack said. “It’s the first time since I’ve been here that we have multiple backs that we have a lot of trust in as an offensive staff. You see with Jaylen Wright and Jabari (Small) that those guys have been staples in our offense the past few years. Dylan Sampson continues to grow and show that he can be a playmaker in this offense.

“I’m really impressed with the younger guys, like the Cameron Seldon’s of the world and the Khalifa Keith’s. They’ve done a really good job of coming in here in the summer and spring time, learning and getting adapted to what we are trying to do offensively. Right now, the depth is in an extremely good place.”

PHOTOS: Tennessee running backs through the years

Watch: Jerry Mack previews Vols’ 2023 season

Watch: Tennessee running backs coach Jerry Mack previews the 2023 season

Third-year running backs coach Jerry Mack met with media on Tuesday and previewed Tennessee’s 2023 season.

The Vols will kick off its 2023 campaign on Saturday versus Virginia.

Kickoff between the Vols and Cavaliers is slated for noon EDT at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee. ABC will televise the season-opening matchup.

Tennessee leads the all time series versus Virginia, 3-1. The two schools last played each other in the 1991 Sugar Bowl. Tennessee was victorious, 23-22.

The Cavaliers’ lone win in the series took place on Nov. 1, 1980 at Neyland Stadium (W, 16-13).

Tennessee releases Week 1 depth chart versus Virginia

Mack’s media availability can be watched below.

Khalifa Keith is ‘further along’ as a runner entering freshman season

Tennessee freshman running back Khalifa Keith is further along as a runner entering freshman season.

Tennessee practiced for the 13th time during fall training camp on Friday at Haslam Field.

Third-year running backs coach Jerry Mack met with media following practice.

Mack discussed his early impressions of freshman running back Khalifa Keith.

“Big, strong, powerful guy,” Mack said. “He is everything that, when we recruited him, we thought he could be. He came in about 225 or 230 (pounds). He has continued to maintain about that body weight, and he can move with it and make plays with it. One thing about him, he does have really good hands. He was a former basketball player in high school, too, really athletic.

“His deal is really just learning our system and how we go about doing things here at Tennessee. I think as a player, you are going to see that guy involved in a lot of special teams this year. Coach (Ekeler) is extremely excited about his role and what he can be. As a runner, he is a lot further along than I really even anticipated right now. Running between the tackles, people do not want to come up and tackle him too much. He just has to continue to learn, to play his way into shape more than anything else. He is going to contribute this year for us in some kind of capacity.”

The 6-foot-1, 230-pound Keith enrolled at Tennessee in June. He is from Parker High School in Birmingham, Alabama.

PHOTOS: Tennessee running backs through the years