Tennessee football and head coach Josh Heupel hired Anthony Poindexter as co-defensive coordinator and secondary coach on Friday.
He was hired along with Andrew Jackson (LEOs) and Michael Hunter Jr. (cornerbacks).
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The Vols hired Jim Knowles as defensive coordinator after relieving Tim Banks of his duties following Tennessee’s loss to Vanderbilt in a regular-season finale.
Poindexter comes to Tennessee after serving as Penn State’s co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach from 2021-25. He coached under Knowles with the Nittany Lions during the 2025 season.
Poindexter began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Virginia in 2003 after a playing career with the Cavaliers. He remained on Virginia’s coaching staff from 2004-13, serving as running backs coach (2004-05), running backs and assistant special teams coach (2006-08), defensive backs and assistant special teams coach (2009), safeties and special teams coach (2010-12) and safeties coach (2013).
Poindexter was defensive coordinator and safeties coach at UConn (2014-16) before serving as Purdue’s co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach (2017-20).
Anthony Poindexter
He played defensive back for Virginia from 1995-98 under head coach George Welsh. Poindexter was a Consensus All-American in 1998 and earned First-Team All-America honors in 1997. He was named ACC Defensive Player of the Year in 1998 and was a three-time All-ACC selection (1996-98). The former Cavalier won the 1997 Dudley Award and earned the 1998 ACC Brian Piccolo Award.
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Poindexter’s No. 3 jersey is retired at Virginia and he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a player in 2020.
Poindexter was selected by Baltimore in the seventh round of the 1999 NFL draft (No. 216 overall). He played for the Ravens from 1999-2000 and was a member of Baltimore’s Super Bowl XXXV championship team.
More: Tennessee football announces hiring of defensive assistant coaches
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This article originally appeared on Vols Wire: Vols hire Anthony Poindexter to football coaching staff
