The Auburn Tigers added a crucial piece to DJ Durkin's defensive coaching staff this past offseason, who was with head coach Alex Golesh in Knoxville once upon a time, in safeties coach Tim Banks. Of course, Banks also worked with the Tennessee Volunteers' head coach and offensive mastermind, Josh Heupel, as the team's defensive coordinator for five seasons. That could hold a strategic advantage when Auburn visits Neyland Stadium as the first game of a brutal October.
That's the case 247Sports' Christian Clemente made during an interview with Rocky Top Insider's Ryan Sylvia, who asked Clemente if familiarity with both coaching staffs could give one team the advantage. Clemente deemed it a wash, but having Banks could be more consequential to a culture that still has Heuepel as the figurehead than the Assistant GM, Player Personnel of the late Hugh Freeze era, Ryan Smith, switching to the Big Orange side.
"Auburn has Alex Golesh, Tim Banks, some other assistant coaches and personnel staffers that were up in Knoxville, and even Tennessee has some staffers who just left Auburn and work in the personnel department now. You’d probably lean towards a slight edge in favor of Auburn here given Banks’ familiarity with how Josh Heupel runs his offense, but I’d agree with your question and put it closer to a wash than anything else," Clemente said.
Obviously, Heupel will probably do everything possible to trip Banks up. A bit of an offensive overhaul during the week of the Tigers game is almost certainly in order. Still, Banks knows Heupel's tendencies. The two worked closely together for half a decade. In no uncertain terms, Banks is a specific strategic advantage for this matchup.
What you hope is that Banks will be a winning ingredient beyond just one road game in the SEC. There's more than just one landmine on the schedule. By the time that game's over, things will just be getting started for Golesh's debut season. The Georgia Bulldogs, LSU Tigers, and Ole Miss Rebels await in October after that game.
There's no overwhelming reason to think Banks won't be a long-term positive, even if some among GBO have their opinions on his tenure there. Banks is in a much better position in East Central Alabama to succeed.
Tim Banks delegating responsibilities to DJ Durkin will be great for him
When it comes to Banks' time on Rocky Top, the problem was never the talent. Banks was always able to bring top recruits in, but besides guys like Jermod McCoy and Rickey Gibson III in the secondary, Tennessee was typically lacking in DB development outside of a strong 2024 season. Who knows what truly even happened with Boo Carter, but he spectacularly crashed and burned on the Vols despite coming in with sky-high expectations. A lot of the time, Tennessee was strong in the middle eight but folded late in games. Banks had good with the bad.
Luckily, Banks will be working with one position group on the Plains and could see play-calling alongside Durkin. If he could do what he does best and allow Durkin to handle what he can't, there's no reason to think the arrangement won't work from a big-picture standpoint.
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