Joey Halzle opens up about his goal as a coach, why CFP expansion makes it possible

New Tennessee offensive coordinator Joey Halzle has some lofty goals and the upcoming College Football Playoff (CFP) expansion could make them significantly more attainable.

Halzle was promoted to offensive coordinator this offseason after two years helping head coach Josh Heupel develop the quarterbacks.

And he isn’t backing down or aiming small when asked about his goals.

“My main goal is to win a national title,” Halzle said in an exclusive interview with Volquest on the On3 Network. “I want to win a national title. I want to do it. I’ve gotten close before, as a player. I want to win a national title.”

Halzle played at Oklahoma from 2006-08, where he had a chance to play alongside Heisman Trophy winner and eventual No. 1 overall NFL Draft pick Sam Bradford.

During his senior year, the Sooners faced Florida for the national championship but fell 24-14.

That experience only reinforced for Halzle how important it is for him to eventually win a national championship. He was right on the doorstep.

Since then he has been on a coaching career that has taken him from Oklahoma to Utah State to Missouri to UCF and then ultimately to Tennessee.

After watching the Volunteers win 11 games and come up just shy of a College Football Playoff appearance last year, Halzle believes the upcoming CFP expansion in 2024 could be the ticket for a lot of would-be competitors that just need to get their foot in the door in order to knock it down.

“You’re going against the best of the best and we’ve shown we can hang with it,” Halzle said. “We came up short for whatever reasons last year, we didn’t quite get to where we needed to get. I also think with the change in the format coming it makes it even more, like, it’s not just four, it’s 12 now. You go, you get your shot to actually play for it. That’s all you can ask for.”

If preseason rankings are any indication, Tennessee would be in line for a potential spot with CFP expansion in 2023. ESPN released a post-spring power ranking that had the Volunteers at No. 11 nationally.

Of course, CFP expansion won’t occur until 2024.

Until then, Tennessee will have to try to get in the old-fashioned way. Well, at least the way it’s been since 2013. That’s by becoming one of the four best teams in college football.

If Halzle’s confidence and drive are any indication, don’t write off the Volunteers.