Larry Scott, who recently finished his first season as tight ends coach at Tennessee, could be promoted to offensive coordinator.
KNOXVILLE - As Butch Jones continues to evaluate his options and vet potential additions to Tennessee's coaching staff, more names are being linked to the Volunteers.
However Jones decides to replace offensive coordinator Mike DeBord, it's a critical hire heading into his fifth season as Tennessee's head coach and one he indicated earlier this week he would not rush.
There's a real possibility Tennessee could promote tight ends coach Larry Scott to a coordinator role as the primary play caller and add a quarterbacks coach.
Two potential targets are NFL quarterbacks coaches Ken Dorsey (Carolina) and Chris Weinke (Los Angeles). Mike Canales, running backs coach at Utah State, also could be on the list.
A national championship-winning quarterback at Miami, Dorsey has been with the Panthers since 2011 as a scout and quarterbacks coach, the position to which he was promoted in 2013. Weinke, a Heisman Trophy winner at Florida State, spent the past two seasons with the Rams after he was the football director at IMG Academy in Florida.
Dorsey and Weinke trained with Cam Newton in 2011 during the NFL lockout prior to Newton's rookie season.
Canales has had quarterbacks coach/offensive coordinator stints at Arizona, South Florida - where he and Scott were on the staff together - and North Texas, where he served as interim coach in 2010 and 2015.
He also was at North Carolina State in 2001 and '02 while Philip Rivers was the Wolfpack's quarterback.
On defense, the Vols could be looking for a new assistant to coach the secondary with Willie Martinez nearing the end of his contract, and two names to consider are Colorado State's Terry Fair and N.C. State's George Barlow.
Fair was a four-year starting defensive back at Tennessee (1994-97) who earned All-Southeastern Conference honors twice before playing six seasons in the NFL after being a first-round draft pick. He was a quality control coach at his alma mater the first two seasons of Jones' tenure.
Colorado State coach Mike Bobo - a former Georgia quarterbacks coach/offensive coordinator - hired Fair as his cornerbacks coach when he took that job two years ago, and the Rams finished 33rd and ninth nationally in pass defense the past two seasons.
Barlow was current Tennessee defensive coordinator Bob Shoop's defensive backs coach at Vanderbilt for two seasons (2012-13) before joining N.C. State, and prior to working for the Commodores, he coached at James Madison and New Mexico, where he was the interim coach for eight games in 2011.
Defensive line coach Steve Stripling could opt for an off-field role in the football program, which would open the door for former Michigan coach Brady Hoke, Oregon's defensive coordinator this past season. Hoke, who was defensive line coach at Oregon State (1989-94) and Michigan (1995-2002) prior to becoming coach at Ball State then San Diego State, visited a Tennessee practice in 2015 after he was fired by the Wolverines.
Offensive line coach Don Mahoney is in the final months of his contract, and should the Vols decide to make a change, they could promote quality control coach Walt Wells to the full-time position.
Also in the mix for the offensive line vacancy under Will Muschamp at South Carolina, Wells recently coached that position at New Mexico State, Western Kentucky and South Florida, and he's respected by Tennessee's current linemen, with whom he has forged a bond since arriving on campus nearly a year ago.
Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com.