Defensive backs coach Willie Martinez and defensive line coach Rodney Garner are the senior citizens of Tennessee’s football coaching staff, having combined for 68 seasons of college experience, including 50 working in the Southeastern Conference.
Each is in his second stint in Knoxville, with Garner having been part of Phillip Fulmer’s 1997 SEC championship squad and with Martinez having served on the consecutive 9-4 teams in 2015-16 under Butch Jones. The two worked together at Georgia from 2001-09 under Mark Richt, with the Bulldogs landing league titles in 2002 and 2005 and finishing No. 2 nationally to LSU in 2007.
So where does the recently completed 11-2 season by the Volunteers rank?
“It’s at the top. It really is. We just won an Orange Bowl championship,” Martinez said minutes after Tennessee picked up its 11th win with a 31-14 downing of Clemson inside Hard Rock Stadium. “We wanted to be in the playoff, and we let that thing slip away, but they bounced back, and we had a great year. We had a lot of great victories, and we had a lot of great moments.
“It took the whole group. It took all three phases. There is a great culture here, and I’m excited for these guys.”