A potential opening.
According to a couple of reports this afternoon, Tennessee could be set to lose an offensive assistant to the NFL. Jerry Mack, who has been the running backs coach for Tennessee since Josh Heupel arrived in 2021, has been in contact with the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Per 247Sports’ Matt Zenitz, Mack is a target to fill that vacancy on staff.
University of Tennessee’s Jerry Mack has emerged as a target for the Jacksonville #Jaguars running backs coach job, sources tell @247Sports.
Has developed players like 2024 draft prospect Jaylen Wright. Was previously the OC at Rice and a head coach at North Carolina Central.… pic.twitter.com/sdOCDcYs0o
— Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) February 9, 2024
Mack spoke with the Dallas Cowboys last season about their opening on staff. He’s generated interest once again during this cycle, and could make the leap to the professional side this time around.
In 2021, Heupel hired Mack from his post as North Carolina Central’s head coach. Before that, Mack was an offensive coordinator for Rice. In a growing trend that we’ve seen all offseason long, the demanding recruiting calendar and complicated NIL/transfer portal situations have college coaches looking to NFL options more than ever before.
Mack has had a big hand in developing guys like Jaylen Wright, Jabari Small and now Dylan Sampson. He’s helped on the recruiting trail as well, earning commitments from four-star prospects Cam Seldon and Peyton Lewis.
Tennessee ranked 9th in rushing yards per game for the 2023 season. Wright ended up going over 1,000 yards for the year, on his way to becoming a mid-round draft prospect for the upcoming 2024 NFL Draft.
Staff turnover isn’t something that Josh Heupel has had to deal with much of since arriving in Knoxville. He’s replaced Kodi Burns at receivers coach and Alex Golesh at offensive coordinator — both times resulted in a simple promotion from within.
Stay tuned to see what happens here over the next couple of days.