Offensive coordinator Mike DeBord leaving Tennessee

Tennessee offensive coordinator Mike DeBord looks on during a Vols' practice at Haslam Field in November 2016.
Tennessee offensive coordinator Mike DeBord looks on during a Vols' practice at Haslam Field in November 2016.

KNOXVILLE -- Changes to the football coaching staff are underway at Tennessee.

The Times Free Press on Tuesday confirmed reports offensive coordinator Mike DeBord is leaving the Volunteers after two seasons for the same position at Indiana.

DeBord's departure was reported first by VolQuest.com.

Indiana has not formally announced the hire, and Tennessee officials could not be reached for comment.

There was speculation as the season neared its end that DeBord, who turns 61 in February, was considering retirement, but the Indiana native now will have the opportunity to work in his home state.

DeBord received his master's degree from Ball State and was inducted into the Indiana Hall of Fame in 1995 while he was in his first stint as the offensive coordinator at Michigan, which preceded his four-year tenure as the head coach at Central Michigan, his return to the Wolverines and stints with two NFL teams.

Tennessee coach Butch Jones hired DeBord, his former boss at Central Michigan, following the departure of Mike Bajakian, now the quarterbacks coach for the NFL's Tampa Bay Bucs, following the 2014 season.

photo Tennessee quarterback Josh Dobbs and offensive coordinator Mike DeBord hug following the Vols' 38-24 victory against Nebraska in Nashville in the final game of Dobbs's career.

In 2015 the Vols finished second in the SEC in rushing (223.7 yards per game) and third in the league in scoring, and despite some inconsistency in 2016 Tennessee finished second in the SEC in scoring.

Tennessee scored 457 points in 2015 and 473 in 2016 -- the Vols surpassed the 400-point mark in a season only twice (2007 and 2012) since 2002.

Prior to Tennessee's Music City Bowl win against Nebraska last week, DeBord spoke proudly of his tenure as the Vols' offensive coordinator.

"I was excited, obviously," he recalled. "I was in a position, really, where I was going to be very particular in where I went and who I worked for and everything. Everybody knows it - Butch and I had a relationship before that and we had worked together, and I've always had a great respect for him. We've got a great friendship.

"I wanted to come help him if I could help him. That's the way I kind of told him. 'I don't want to be your coordinator if you don't feel like I can help you move this offense along.' As I look back at these last two years, I'm proud of what our coaches and our players have done offensively.

"Going back to two years ago, we were the second rushing team in the conference, and then this past year, what we did as far as being second in the offense in scoring and one of the best in the red zone - things like that, I'm really proud of what we've been able to accomplish.

"There's been things we haven't done, and you always go back and look at that and say, 'How do we get better at that?' That's for another day, but I've really enjoyed this past season with these guys, just continuing to work and get better this season. It's been a good year."

DeBord signed a new deal last offseason, and according to his revised contract, which ran through next season, his salary was $575,000.

With more than one year left on his deal, DeBord would owe Tennessee 33 percent of his base salary, or $189,750, for leaving for a new position.

Jones now begins his search for a new offensive coordinator, and one candidate is former Oregon coach Mark Helfrich, who visited the Vols' practice in Nashville last week.

Jones also could choose to promote either tight ends coach Larry Scott or receivers coach Zach Azzanni to be his new offensive coordinator.

More potential candidates could emerge this week.

Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com.

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