Breaking: Josh Heupel promotes Joey Halzle to Offensive Coordinator
Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel has made his hire to replace Alex Golesh and its from within the Tennessee program. Joey Halzle is Tennessee’s new offensive coordinator. Golesh, who coached tight ends and was offensive coordinator the last two seasons at Tennessee, was hired as the new head coach at South Florida on December 4.
“Joey has been instrumental in our record-setting offensive success over the past two seasons,” Heupel said on Thursday, “and he’s built great trust within our team. I have known Joey for over 15 years, and his track record of player development has impacted every place he has been. He has complete knowledge of our aggressive offensive identity and principles.
“Having played and coached at this level, he understands how to connect with players and will continue to make a significant impact in recruiting. This will be a seamless transition for him as we strive to build a championship program that Vol Nation is proud of.”
Heupel called plays in Tennessee’s 31-14 win over Clemson in the Orange Bowl last Friday night. Halzle and offensive line coach Glen Elarbee have been steady and consistent assistants under Heupel for several years. There is a lot of continuity on that side of the ball which made game planning without Golesh an easier transition.
“For us as a staff, we go through that process every single week,” Heupel said of the adjustments made moving on without Golesh. “We go through it on game day.
“The fact that Joey and I have been together for 15-plus years, Glen and I have been together I think for seven years, the communication on game day is seamless, and I’m excited for this one.”
Halzle had a tremendous impact on Hendon Hooker’s two year record setting run on Rocky Top. Hooker was the SEC offensive player of the year in guiding Tennessee to wins over Florida, LSU and Alabama.
Halzle’s tutelage of Hooker enabled the Greensboro, North Carolina, native to become one of the elite signal callers in the country.
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Halzle and his build-them-up-from-within approach unlocked the game for Hooker, who was playing defensive when he first got to Tennessee. That’s when a game of basketball changed Hooker’s career and impact forever.
“I watched him when he was messing around playing basketball,” Halzle said back in August. “He’d get a big smile on his face, and nobody could guard him. I told him last year in the summer, ‘I want you to play football like you play basketball.’ Because when he plays basketball, he knows he’s the best player on the court.”
Halzle is also one of the main reasons Tennessee signed 5-star Nico Iamaleava. The Cali quarterback hit it off with the California native and those two bonded big time. Halzle told reporters last week in Miami that he was pumped to see Iamaleava grow in this offense.
“He’s obviously a really high-end talent,” said Halzle when asked about Nico Iamaleava. “But he’s also a great kid. Like, he’s been running scout stuff and all our scout coaches are talking about what a great guy he is and how he doesn’t feel like he’s too big to do that type of stuff.
“Really talented young man that’s a really, really good young man, too, for lack of a better word. [He’s] been a great addition here.”
Heupel still has a hire to make on his staff, with a void at tight ends coach.
