Then there were none.
New Tennessee football coach Josh Heupel is moving forward without any assistants from Jeremy Pruitt's staff this past season. Receivers coach Tee Martin was the last possibility, but CBS and The Athletic were the first to report Saturday afternoon that Martin had agreed to become receivers coach of the Baltimore Ravens.
Baltimore will mark the first NFL coaching opportunity for Martin, who quarterbacked the Volunteers to their most recent Southeastern Conference and national championships in 1998. Martin's contract at Tennessee expired last Sunday.
Martin returned to his alma mater in January 2019 after seven seasons as a Southern California assistant, including as offensive coordinator from 2016-18. Tennessee ranked eighth in the SEC in passing offense in 2019 with 221.4 yards per game, but the Vols slipped to 12th this past year at 204.7.
Heupel didn't exactly have a full contingent of holdover assistants from which to retain. Defensive line coach Jimmy Brumbaugh was fired by Pruitt early last season, while outside linebackers coach Shelton Felton and inside linebackers coach Brian Niedermeyer were terminated by the university along with Pruitt last month for committing multiple NCAA Level I and Level II violations.
Defensive coordinator Derrick Ansley was offered an opportunity with the NFL's Los Angeles Chargers, while offensive line coach Will Friend is now at Auburn and running backs coach Jay Graham is at Alabama as tight ends coach and special teams coordinator. Heupel elected recently not to retain offensive coordinator Jim Chaney, quarterbacks coach Chris Weinke and tight ends coach Joe Osovet.
Johnson to Aggies
Former fifth-year Tennessee senior offensive lineman Jahmir Johnson announced Saturday that he would use the NCAA's extra year of eligibility at Texas A&M.
"I would like to thank Coach Pruitt and his staff at the University of Tennessee for the opportunity that they have given me to pursue my dreams," Johnson posted on Twitter. "Rocky Top will always have a special place in my heart."
Johnson and Wanya Morris each made five starts at left tackle this past season, with Morris entering the transfer portal after his sophomore year and signing Jan. 18 with Oklahoma.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524. Follow him on Twitter @DavidSPaschall.