say news Coach of the Day for the Tennessee Volunteers will….

In lieu of Brian Jean-Mary as UT’s new linebackers coach, the Vols appoint William Inge, a former Washington co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach.

William Inge, who formerly worked at Washington as an assistant coach under incoming Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer, was hired by UT as the linebackers coach yesterday, according to Austin Price of On3’s Volquest. It was reported that Inge and Deboer were on their way to Tuscaloosa to teach outside linebackers, but for whatever reason, the agreement appeared to fall through.

After offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb accepted a similar position with the Seattle Seahawks a few days ago, Inge became the second coach in as many weeks to decide against serving under DeBoer at Alabama. Three coaches have departed DeBoer’s staff since his hiring on January 12th: Scott Huff, the former offensive line coach for Washington and the current offensive line coach for Alabama, also left with Grubb. Unless the city in question is Tuscaloosa, Alabama, nobody wants to see it burn. DeBoer appears to have brought the tinder from Seattle, so bring some accelerant.

Not so long ago, offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb rejected a comparable job offer from the Seattle Seahawks, making Inge the second Alabama coach in as many weeks to decline to work under DeBoer. Since DeBoer was hired on January 12th, three coaches have left his staff: Scott Huff, the offensive line coach at Alabama and former offensive line coach at Washington, also left along with Grubb. Nobody wants to watch it burn, unless the city in issue is Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Bring some accelerant; it seems like DeBoer brought the tinder from Seattle.

From 2013 to 2019, Indiana was the institution where he spent the most time, and it seems that there, he moved down the coaching hierarchy rather than up. He spent two years in that role after being appointed as a co-DC and LB coach. Subsequently, he worked for a year in each role—special teams and linebacker coach—before spending a year exclusively on LB coaching and a final season on special teams coaching alone.

Inge started working as the STs coach under DeBoer’s direction during his last season at Indiana, when DeBoer was the offensive coordinator and quarterback coach. After following DeBoer throughout his time at Fresno State, Inge joined him when he was hired as the Huskies’ head coach in October 2021. Inge at Washington

The defence was 79th nationally in points allowed per game in 2010 at Buffalo, his second season as a co-DC, but the first season for which I could locate team numbers. Despite this, the defence ended the season strong, allowing only 21 points in the club’s final three games. Compared to the previous year, when Buffalo placed 56th in the NCAA in scoring defence, the 30.4 points allowed was a five-point gain.

Inge’s debut season as Indiana’s co-DC in 2013 saw the Hoosiers finish 113th in scoring defence, allowing close to 40 points per game. The next season, the squad improved to 108th in the country with little under 35 points allowed. Inge’s tenure as a co-DC ended in 2015, and Indiana’s performance continued to deteriorate. With about 37 points given up per game, it was 106th in the NCAA in terms of points allowed.

Inge’s defence let up 30 points per game during his first stint under DeBoer in 2020, and the team concluded the season ranked 66th in the US, one position ahead of Tennessee. The next season, State made significant progress, placing 20th in the FBS and surrendering only 21 points per game overall—just 14 in the last three games.

The defence placed 65th (27.5 PPG) and 54th (24.8 PPG) when they were at Washington.

Now, I know that opponents’ points per game isn’t the ultimate yardstick for assessing defences, and because Inge isn’t the defensive coordinator, it’s unfair to hold him to the standard set by the success of the defences he oversaw. Although tackles for loss are more difficult to discover overall, as an LB coach, I believe they are a stronger signal.

He is the main or secondary recruiter for 33 prospects ranked as 3-stars or better by 247Sports. Given that he was born and raised in the Midwest, he has signed a number of players from that region. However, in addition to signing two of the top-five rated athletes from California, he has also ventured into Florida and Georgia.

Although it’s too soon to tell how Inge will do at Tennessee, it’s encouraging that Heupel and Banks didn’t only search inside the usual “boxes” when making this decision. I’m more concerned about whether or not their recruitment will translate to the SEC than I am about the coaching abilities of Inge and RB coach De’Rail Sims, who were both hired yesterday. I believe that when Jerry Mack was hired, we too had similar reservations.