Penn State Football safeties coach Tim Banks is off to Knoxville to become the defensive coordinator at Tennessee.
The move was first reported by Pete Thamel of Yahoo Sports just after noon on Monday.
Sources: Tennessee is finalizing a deal to hire Penn State co-defensive coordinator Tim Banks as the school’s new DC. Banks has extensive DC experience, including at Illinois, Cincinnati and Central Michigan.
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) February 15, 2021
Banks had been the safeties coach at Penn State since 2016. Ironically, he was brought in because former Nittany Lions defensive coordinator Bob Shoop had taken the same role with the Vols.
Banks was in the forefront this past season for his efforts in recruiting in the state of Michigan. He helped the Nittany Lions reel in four recruits from the Detroit area. In the past, he helped secure the commitments of 4-star safety Enzo Jennings and 5-star linebacker Lance Dixon, two Michigan recruits.
There was rumors of Banks heading to Michigan to help them try to reestablish recruiting in the Detroit area, but nothing ever materialized.
Banks eventually gained the co-defensive coordinator title during his time at Penn State and would have been in the running to take over the job had Brent Pry left.
Banks heads to Tennessee, which is going through a turbulent time, with the firing of coach Jeremy Pruitt after major recruiting violations were discovered. Josh Heupel is now in charge of the Vols and he is in the process of putting together his own staff.
James Franklin must now go on his second coaching search of the off season. It’s a little more difficult to conduct a search now, than say December, because many coaches are now settled in at new spots or don’t feel like moving.
Regardless, Franklin is usually prepared for these situations and will have a list of candidates that will be interested.
Look for a coach with strong recruiting prowess to be the pick, as Franklin lost his top Michigan recruiter and Maryland/Virginia recruiter all within two weeks.