KNOXVILLE - The next hire Butch Jones makes for Tennessee's football program almost certainly won't be a replacement for departed offensive coordinator Mike DeBord.
The Times Free Press can confirm the hiring of Rock Gullickson as the Volunteers' new strength and conditioning coach is all but official.
Jones indicated as much during a conference call on Tuesday evening.
"We do have a vacant strength and conditioning spot open," he said, "and I can see that being filled here very, very shortly.
"We're still in some things of evaluation, but I could see that wrapping up here very, very quickly."
Strength coaches are arguably one of the most important positions on staff given how much time they spend with players during workouts in the winter and summer.
The addition of Gullickson, who just completed his seventh season with the NFL's Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams, could be announced by the end of the week with many players coming back to campus from break and winter workouts set to being soon after the team's return.
Tennessee's director of strength and conditioning post has been vacant since last spring, when Dave Lawson and the Vols parted ways and Jones turned over the duties with the football team to Mike Szerszen, Lawson's right-hand man, in what turned out to be a critical error leading up to the 2016 season.
Gullickson has been linked to the Vols for weeks due to his familiarity with Jones from their time together at Rutgers (1990-92), where the former was the strength coach and the latter a graduate assistant.
Between Rutgers and becoming a strength coach in the NFL in 2000, Gullickson led the strength programs at Louisville and Texas, and his NFL stints were with the New Orleans Saints (2000-05), Green Bay Packers (2006-08) and the Rams.
In 2007 Gullickson was named the strength coach of the year while with the Packers.
Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com.