KNOXVILLE – Tennessee will have a new defensive coordinator next season.
The most valuable player on that defense is staying put, however.
Linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin announced via Twitter late Tuesday morning that he had decided to return to the Volunteers for his senior season instead of making an early jump to the NFL draft.
“The truth of the matter is,” Reeves-Maybin wrote, “my biggest childhood dream was to be a GREAT college football player. Yea I’ve had a good career, but I was taught as a kid, ‘good is the enemy of great.’ With that being said, my only focus for this season is to be GREAT in everything I engage in on and off the field.
“So y’all got me for one more season and it will be nothing short of greatness.”
Bob Shoop obviously welcomed Reeves-Maybin’s return.
Tennessee’s new defensive coordinator said later Tuesday he had an inkling Reeves-Maybin, one of the handful of midstate Vols he knew from his three-year tenure at Vanderbilt, was coming back when the two communicated throughout Monday night’s College Football Playoff championship game.
“I get the impression he and (quarterback Josh) Dobbs are the undisputed leaders of this group, Dobbs on offense and Jalen on defense,” Shoop said. “We had a relationship, and when we thought this might happen he and I started talking.
“I’m very happy that he came back. I found out officially just like you guys did. I guess he did a tweet or something along those lines a couple hours ago, but I sort of had a feeling he was coming back. I don’t think we’d have been talking last night during the game as much. I think he would’ve said, ‘Hey, why don’t you give (Darrin) Kirkland a call.'”
Reeves-Maybin, who led Tennessee with 105 tackles this season and added 14 tackles for loss and six sacks, was one of three Vols underclassmen to request and receive an evaluation from the NFL Draft Advisory Board, which provides feedback for players considering an early jump to the NFL.
Tennessee still awaits the decisions of cornerback Cameron Sutton, who received a third-round grade, and running back Alvin Kamara ahead of Monday’s deadline.
Obviously Shoop would welcome Sutton following in Reeves-Maybin’s footsteps and returning for 2016.
“I love the teaching aspect of things, and I can help players develop and take their game to the next level,” he said. “If Cam gives us the chance, I think we can help (him).”
QBs coach conundrum
Butch Jones considered using the vacancy created by Mark Elder’s departure to add a full-time quarterbacks coach to his staff, but Tennessee’s head coach instead nabbed Larry Scott from Miami to replace Elder as the tight ends coach.
Offensive coordinator Mike DeBord holds the title officially, but graduate assistant Nick Sheridan, who likely will move to a quality control role on the support staff, was Tennessee’s de facto quarterbacks coach and will continue in that role.
“You always have a plan, just like you have a short list with candidates at every single position,” Jones explained, “and everything is what’s best for the football program, what’s the best fit for your players, what’s the best fit for your staff and how can you continue to elevate it.
“Looking at it and spending time looking at what we needed, we felt Larry Scott was the best fit for us for a number of reasons. He’s already making his mark on our staff. Nick Sheridan will still be on our staff – he’s done a great job – and Coach DeBord has coached the quarterbacks. That’s not a big change for us.”
‘All set’
Now that Tennessee has hired Scott and Shoop, Jones doesn’t anticipate any more coaching changes.
“We’re all set,” he said. “It’s been a crazy offseason. We have great, great people here. We have great coaches, we have great support staff, and there’s a price to be paid for success. Everybody wants to come after your coaches, and I’ve always looked at that as a compliment.
“We’ve had a number of coaches that have had opportunities elsewhere, but they’ve elected to stay.”
Those coaches who stayed are in line for raises this offseason, but how much the salary pool will increase and how those raises will be doled out have yet to be finalized.
“Obviously our coaches,” Jones said, “are a commodity right now.”
Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com.