Tennessee football announces the hire of De'Rail Sims as running backs coach
Tennessee football on Tuesday announced the hire of new running backs coach De’Rail Sims. The Vols hired Sims away from Cincinnati to replace former running backs coach Jerry Mack, who left Tennessee last week to join the Jacksonville Jaguars coaching staff.
“We are excited to welcome De’Rail, his wife Lauren and his daughters Amayah and Alivia into the Tennessee football family,” Tennessee coach Josh Heupel said in a statement. “De’Rail is an exceptionally bright coach with a track record of developing outstanding running back rooms and building relationships with his players.
“Our run game has been vital to who we are as a program, and I expect him to make a seamless transition in helping us continue that success. De’Rail also has the experience and knowledge of our recruiting footprint surrounding Tennessee. We look forward to him making an impact in our recruiting efforts.”
Sims coached running backs at Cincinnati last season after spending two seasons at Cincinnati (2021-23). He also worked as running backs coach at East Carolina (2019-20), James Madison (2016-18 and Western Carolina (2013-15).
“My family and I fired up to represent the University of Tennessee,” Sims said in the Tennessee press releases, “and we appreciate Coach Heupel for this tremendous opportunity.
“Having watched this program over the years from afar, it is one rich with history and tradition. I am excited to get to know our current players and hit the ground running in recruiting.”
Cincinnati last season finished fifth nationally in rushing, averaging 217.1 yards per game. The Bearcats ran for 200 or more yards in nine games. Sims coached running back Corey Kiner who became the 20th 1,000-yard rusher in Cincinnati football program history.
Sims is the second staff change for Heupel since last week. Former Tennessee linebackers coach Brian Jean-Mary was hired away by Michigan and it was reported on Monday that William Inge had been hired to replace him.
Inge was the co-defensive coordinator at Washington and was going to be the new linebackers coach at Alabama, where former Washington coach Kalen DeBoer was hired last month. But Inge instead opted to join the Vols.
Inge, who has coached defensive line and has been a special teams coordinator, also had coaching stops at Northern Iowa, Colorado, San Diego State, Cincinnati and Buffalo. He spent seven seasons at Indiana working alongside DeBoer before Inge joined DeBoer at Washington in 2022 as co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach.
