Tennessee football announces addition of Robert Ayers to coaching staff

Robert Ayers Jr. is returning to Tennessee to join Josh Heupel’s coaching staff. The Vols on Tuesday announced the addition of Ayers, who will serve as a senior defensive analyst, along with the hiring of Andrew Goodman as the football program’s new director of operations.

Ayers, who played 10 years in the NFL, was defensive coordinator at Oak Ridge High School last season after starting his coaching career as defensive line coach and then defensive coordinator at Knoxville Catholic in 2020 and 2021.

Goodman spent last season as the director of football operations at UConn and previously held the same position at Brown University. He worked as recruiting coordinator at Penn State, his alma mater, from December 2016 to March 2019.

During four seasons at Tennessee, from 2005 to 2008, Ayers had 113 tackles, 31.5 tackles for loss and 9.0 sacks. He had one interception during his career and three passes deflected. 

Robert Ayers had 113 tackles, 31.5 TFLs in four years as Tennessee defensive end

Ayers had a career best 49 tackles and 15.5 tackles for loss as a senior in 2008. He had 34 tackles, 12.0 tackles for a loss and a career-high 4.0 sacks as a junior in 2007, leading Tennessee in tackles for loss over each of his last two seasons. Ayers had 25 tackles as a sophomore in 2006 after recording five tackles in nine games as a freshman in 2005.

Ayers was a first-round pick in the 2009 NFL Draft, going 18th overall to the Denver Broncos. He played 10 years in the league — for the Broncos, New York Giants and Tampa Bay Buccaneers — and recorded 34.5 sacks and 265 tackles in 120 career games.

He retired from the NFL in July 2019, after spending five years with the Broncos, three years with the Giants and two years in Tampa. 

Goodman, a Philadelphia, Pa., native, was a two-year letterman at Penn State, playing wide receiver from 2008-11. He started his career in football personnel with the Buffalo Bills in the summer of 2015 and 2016.

He was director of football operations at Princeton from March 2015 to December 2016, before returning to Penn State. 

Goodman replaces former Tennessee director of football operations Andrew Warsaw, who left in December to join new head coach Alex Golesh, the former Tennessee offensive coordinator, at South Florida. USF hired Warsaw as associate athletic director and Golesh’s chief of staff.

Vols promoted QB coach Joey Halzle to offensive coordinator, Alec Abeln to tight ends coach

Heupel promoted quarterbacks coach Joey Halzle to offensive coordinator in January and on February 2 announced the promotion of Alec Abeln, an offensive analyst the last two seasons for the Vols, to tight ends coach. Golesh was offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach during his two season at Tennessee.  

“Alec has played an integral role in our offensive staff room over the past two years, and we are excited to elevate him to tight ends coach,” Heupel said in a press release. “Alec played for me and has been a part of our staff at multiple programs. He is detail-oriented with a relentless work ethic. 

“He has built great relationships among our players and staff. Alec is eager to get on the field, and I know we will continue to raise the standard of our tight end unit under his watch.”