Alex Golesh has reportedly made a splashy hire for his first safeties coach as the head coach at Auburn. According to AuburnSports.com, former Tennessee defensive coordinator Tim Banks is expected to become the safeties coach for the Tigers after five years in Knoxville.
Golesh and Banks have worked together at both Illinois from 2012-15 and for the Volunteers in the 2021 and 2022 seasons. Prior to being the defensive coordinator for Tennessee, Banks served as co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach at Penn State.
Banks was dismissed from his role as defensive coordinator at Tennessee on December 8.
“I want to thank Tim for everything he has done for Tennessee the last five seasons,” Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel said in a recent press release. “He helped restore our program to national prominence. More importantly, Tim is a great man of character and someone I have the utmost respect for. We wish Tim all the best moving forward.”
Larry Porter set to return to the Plains
Golesh might not be done on Thursday, as CBS Sports reports that Larry Porter is expected to hire West Virginia running backs coach Larry Porter, who spent time on the Plains as tight ends coach from 2017-20.
Banks and Porter are set to join Demarcus Van Dyke (cornerbacks, Vontrell King-Williams (defensive line), Harding Harper III (executive director of recruiting), John-Allen Stone (director of football administration), George Courides (director of football performance), Terrence Kennell (director of applied science), Frank Failace( associate director of football performance) and DJ Durkin (defensive coordinator) on Golesh’s first staff at Auburn.