Overview
- Head coach Josh Heupel issued a statement thanking Banks and called the change necessary for the program's future.
- The Volunteers finished the regular season ranked 92nd in scoring defense at 28.8 points per game and 88th in yards allowed at 395.5 per game, including 115th in pass defense.
- Injuries and roster setbacks hit the secondary hard, with All-America cornerback Jermod McCoy out with a torn ACL, Rickey Gibson sidelined after Week 1, and nickelback Boo Carter dismissed in November.
- Banks, a Broyles Award finalist in 2024, led a top-10 scoring defense during Tennessee's College Football Playoff run and later signed an extension worth about $2.15 million annually through 2027.
- Reporting indicates Banks may be owed a buyout in the roughly $4.3 million range as Tennessee begins its search for a permanent defensive coordinator.