College Football

Walt Wells as Tennessee Football OL Coach: 5 Good Things and 5 Bad Things for Vols

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 11:58 p.m. ET

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Fansided, Caleb Calhoun/FanSided via All for Tennessee

Nov 15, 2014; Knoxville, TN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers head coach Butch Jones (left) high fives fans during the Vol Walk prior to the game against the Kentucky Wildcats at Neyland Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports

Walt Wells is now the new Tennessee football offensive line coach. Here are five good things and five bad things about the hire for the Volunteers.

Amidst all the numerous staff changes this year, Tennessee football’s changes in the trenches are the headliners.

This week, Butch Jones replaced Steve Stripling with Brady Hoke to coach the defensive line, and he announced the promotion of Walt Wells to replace Don Mahoney as offensive line coach. Hoke is clearly a proven commodity given his long history and his 12 years as a head coach.

But there are many more questions about Wells.

In this post, we will take a look at the good things and the bad things he brings to the table as an offensive line coach.

Given his history, there are certainly some positives. But that same history provides some negatives, and the lack of history in some cases also provides many questions.

Very few people in Vol Nation have any issues with new leadership at the position given all the struggles that took place last year, but having new leadership for the sake of it being new may not always be the best thing.

And Wells certainly brings some negatives.

More than other position coaches, this is definitely a wait-and-see hire. So we’ll have to stay patient and analyze the product that shows up on the football field next year.

As we bring you the good and the bad about Wells for Tennessee football, let’s start with a positive.

Nov 19, 2016; Knoxville, TN, USA; General view before the game between the Missouri Tigers and Tennessee Volunteers at Neyland Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports

First Positive: Walt Wells has extensive experience coaching the offensive line. 

Walt Wells is not coming into this new position guns blazing like Larry Scott. He does have a history of coaching offensive linemen, and it is very extensive.

In fact, Wells has over 20 years of experience coaching offensive linemen.

That includes 12 years coaching in FBS, seven in FCS, the in NAIA, and even two years in high school.

So Wells has is no stranger to coaching offensive linemen.

As a result, being able to integrate his methods into Butch Jones’s system should not be too difficult. It helps that he’s now been there for a year.

And that’s another part of the experience.

In addition to 20 years of experience coaching linemen, he’s now familiar with the system that Jones runs since he spent this past year as the Tennessee football quality control assistant.

Experience at his position and experience in the system he is entering are major pluses, and it’s a positive that Wells brings to the table.

It’s almost as if Jones brought him on to integrate him into the system so he could make him the full-time offensive line coach the next year.

After all, this seems like an extremely smooth transition. And it’s a smooth transition with a guy that has been in multiple places coaching this position for the past 20 years.

But despite his experience, there is a drawback that comes with it as well. That brings us to our next point.

Oct 10, 2015; Knoxville, TN, USA; General view of Tennessee

First Negative: Walt Wells has little experience coaching at a major college football program.

This is actually short-selling Wells’s lack of experience. He actually has no experience coaching at a major college football program outside if this past year alone with Tennessee football.

As you can see by the previous slide, we have noted that lots of his experience came at the lower levels of college football and even high school.

He spent two years as an assistant at Smyrna High School in Tennessee from 1992 to 1993. Then, he was an assistant for the Cumberland Phoenix, an NAIA school, from 1994 to 1996. After that, he moved up to the wildly prestigious (note the sarcasm) Eastern Kentucky Colonels, where he spent six years from 1997 to 2002.

So of his over 20 years’ experience, we’ve already got 11 covered just coaching football at the lower level.

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He then went to the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers and coached there from 2003 to 2012. But Western Kentucky did not become FBS until 2008.

So we’ve got 17 years now of Wells coaching offensive line but never at the FBS level. And when he did coach at the FBS level, it was at Group of Five schools. After leaving Western Kentucky he went to South Florida in 2013 and New Mexico State in 2014. Then he went back to Eastern Kentucky in 2015 before Butch Jones brought him on.

All in all, yes, Wells’s 25 years of experience in coaching is impressive. But only seven of those years are in FBS play, and as an actual coach, none of them are at a Power Five school.

But his experience goes beyond just where he was at. It’s what he’s done. And that takes us to our next positive.

The one saving grace, though, is he has a decent pedigree despite coaching at lower levels. That takes us to our second positive.

Sep 24, 2016; Knoxville, TN, USA; General view during the second half of the game between the Tennessee Volunteers and the Florida Gators at Neyland Stadium. Tennessee won 38-28. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports

Second Positive: Walt Wells has diverse experience coaching offenses.

His primary experience is coaching the offensive line, but he has worn numerous hats over the years as an assistant coach for numerous college football programs.

Most recently with the Tennessee football program, Walt Wells was the offensive quality control assistant.

That means his focus was more in the film room than ever before, and it probably really helped him gain a better grasp on X’s an O’s and techniques. That’s a huge deal.

He also did it overseeing the entire offense, so there’s a ton of diversity there.

Wells has also been an assistant head coach, so he can bring coaching leadership to the team, which is a huge thing Butch Jones likes as well.

On top of all that, though, he did spend fives year as an offensive coordinator under Willie Taggart with the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers and the South Florida Bulls. Taggart is considered to be cutting-edge offensively, and Wells had to deal with speed guys there, so he likely learned a few things doing that also.

And with a diversity of coaching in different areas and different aspects of the offense, Wells definitely has more than just quantitative experience. He does have quality experience wearing different hats.

From an offensive line coach to an assistant head coach to an offensive coordinator to a focus on film study an analytics, Wells can step in as the Vols’ new line coach.

He has clearly done it all. But that experience as an offensive coordinator also raises a major red flag, and it brings us to our next negative.

Oct 1, 2016; Cincinnati, OH, USA; A view of South Florida Bulls helmet on the sidelines at Nippert Stadium. The Bulls won 45-20. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports

Second Negative: Walt Wells has been fired or let go in the past for not working out.

Perhaps this is unfair. But it raises major questions about exactly how good of a coach Walt Wells really is.

After all, the Eastern Kentucky Colonels underwent a coaching change in 2003, and Wells did not stay.

That’s when he went to Western Kentucky.

He was able to stay through a coaching change with the Hilltoppers, but when he went with Willie Taggart to South Florida, the experience was an immediate mess. Wells was offensive coordinator his first year there and a major part of the Bulls’ 2-10 record.

So Taggart let him go. To be fair, it was their first year in South Florida, and it could have been seen as Taggart throwing Wells under the bus.

But the team got better each year after that under Taggart before he left for Oregon.

Then Wells went to New Mexico State, and that didn’t work out.

So Wells has been scapegoated in the past as a failure, and it makes you ask: was Wells the problem or just the guy thrown under the bus? This is a legitimate question as he takes over a major college football program.

And it’s one that will not go away unless he is able to prove himself on the field immediately.

The one saving grace goes back to his experience and the diversity of it. That is in regards to the people he’s worked under, which we go to next.

Nov 26, 2016; Tampa, FL, USA; South Florida Bulls head coach Willie Taggart calls a play against the UCF Knightsduring the first quarter at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Third Positive: Walt Wells has worked for some very good football coaches. 

He may not have extensive experience coaching major college football, but Walt Wells does have a history of working with some successful coaches.

Okay, so there is the disaster with David Elson and the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers.

But before that, he worked with College Football Hall of Fame coach Roy Kidd. Kidd is a legendary coach at the FCS level who compiled a record of 314-124-8 at Eastern Kentucky from 1964 to 2002. That’s the second-most wins of any FCS coach behind only the legendary Eddie Robinson.

It’s the eighth most all time among all college football coaches.

And he won two FCS national championships in 1979 and 1982, including a 13-0 record in 1982.

So Kidd is a heck of a coach to work for, and there’s no denying that Wells probably picked up some great things from him.

Then, after Kidd, Wells spent four years coaching under Willie Taggart, three of which he coached offensive line specifically with Western Kentucky from 2010 to 2012.

So that is a combination of old school and new school successful coaches, which he can apply to the offensive line.

But just coaching under them doesn’t make him qualified for the job, and his experience at both stops along with others raise a concern at the same time. After all, not every staff member of a great coach turns out to be a good coach on their own.

Wells raises some questions about his performance at these stops. And that takes us to our next negative on this list.

Sep 12, 2015; Knoxville, TN, USA; General view of Neyland Stadium at halftime during the game between Tennessee Volunteers and the Oklahoma Sooners. Oklahoma won 31-24. Mandatory Credit: Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports

Third Negative: Walt Wells does not have an extensive history of winning as an assistant.

Before Tennessee, the combined record of all the Division I teams where Walt Wells had coached was 108-113. In FBS play, it was 22-62, and that includes a disastrous 0-12 record with the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers that got David Elson fired.

Okay, so to be fair, Wells and Elson were leading a program that had just entered FBS. And they turned things around when Willie Taggart came along.

But then Wells was part of a terrible 2-10 team with the South Florida Bulls, and he followed that up by going to New Mexico, where he took part in leading another 2-10 team.

Oh, and on top of that, his time at Eastern Kentucky was actually a disappointment. Before his arrival, the Colonels made a habit of going to the NCAA FCS Tournament every year. From 1979 to 1997, they only missed the postseason six times.

But after Wells’s first year there, the Colonels never made it back to the postseason under Roy Kidd. So he had his worst years while Wells was coaching the team.

That kind of raises a red flag.

Even when Wells returned to Eastern Kentucky in 2015, he oversaw a disappointing season. These are major problems that raise huge concerns.

Staff members deliver winds for their head coaches. Wells has limited experience doing such things.

But outside of wins, there are other areas where he has been very successful, and quite honestly, it’s the best selling point for hiring him.

That takes us to our fourth positive.

Nov 15, 2014; Knoxville, TN, USA; General view of Neyland Stadium during the first half of the game between the Tennessee Volunteers and the Kentucky Wildcats. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports

Fourth Positive Walt Wells has proven success as an offensive line coach in the past.

He may not have the wins, and he may have been fired, but Walt Wells individually as an offensive line coach has the resume to coach that position at a major college football program.

And that’s based on the individual success of his offensive linemen.

While with the Eastern Kentucky Colonels, Wells coached eight players who achieved All-Ohio Valley Conference recognition, and one of his players achieved All-American recognition.

That’s more than one lineman a year being recognized.

While at Western Kentucky, he oversaw four offensive linemen achieving All-American recognition. That’s an amazing stat.

In his one year with the New Mexico State Aggies, he produced an All-Sun Belt offensive lineman as well.

Then there’s the actual team success of the units he coached.

While at Eastern Kentucky, Wells made a habit out of producing Top 15 nationally ranked rushing offenses thanks to the play of his offensive line.

He even did that at Cumberland in the mid-1990s. In three years there, his teams led the NAIA in rushing twice. Even if it’s at a much lower level, that success has to count for something.

So Wells has a proven track record of success that he brings to Knoxville. And seeing what he could do with highly touted recruits will be exciting. It’s one thing for Tennessee football fans to look forward to.

His only issue now is what happened in Knoxville last year.

Sep 1, 2016; Knoxville, TN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers wide receiver Josh Malone (3) is congratulated by teammates after scoring a touchdown against the Appalachian State Mountaineers during the second half at Neyland Stadium. Tennessee won in overtime 20 to 13. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports

Fourth Negative: Tennessee football’s offensive line struggled in Walt Wells’s first year there.

He’s supposed to be a great offensive line coach, and he spent a year dealing with the whole offense as the quality control coach, studying film and things of that nature.

Why, then, did the Tennessee football offensive line struggle early last year?

After all, even if you put it on Mike DeBord and Don Mahoney, Wells has to take some heat. Right?

Tennessee’s line struggled all day in the season opener against the Appalachian State Mountaineers, and it was mainly due to schematic issues. The Mountaineers had a very undersized defensive line but ran a complex 3-4 that the Vols could not figure out.

Given Wells’s responsibility in studying film last year, doesn’t that fall on him?

We can’t say we know for sure, but this has to be a red flag.

Also, look at the steps back some of the linemen took. Coleman Thomas was a budding superstar at the end of the 2015 season, and Butch Jones had to bench him in the first half of 2016. Why the heck would that happen?

At the same time, Drew Richmond was a five-star who had a year with the program as a redshirt, and he still didn’t look ready to go early last season.

Then there’s Jashon Robertson, who has still not taken that next step after his first year in Knoxville.

Okay, so all this may be unfair when you consider all the injuries the Vols had last year. And given the offensive records they put up, maybe there’s nothing even to criticize.

But those records came late in the year in stat-padding games against bad SEC defenses. That does not mean the offense was as impressive as it looked, particularly the offensive line.

After all, wasn’t a lot of that because of Joshua Dobbs and all the elite playmakers? We don’t know for sure.

We’re just saying that it is a red flag. But we’ve gone into detail with Walt Wells’s coaching ability. Let’s look at another aspect of college coaching that may be positive for him.

Sep 17, 2016; Knoxville, TN, USA; General view before the game between the Ohio Bobcats and Tennessee Volunteers at Neyland Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports

Fifth Positive: Walt Wells has many high school connections to help with recruiting.

Butch Jones is clearly big on having great recruiters on the Tennessee football staff, and with Walt Wells, he added another huge element to recruiting.

Wells is a huge asset in helping Jones close off the area, particularly the state of Tennessee and Kentucky.

Due to his years at the FCS level in Kentucky, he obviously built major connections with the high school coaches there. After all, FCS schools take far more in-state players.

But then there’s his time in Tennessee. Wells coached high school for two years and then was an NAIA coach in the state, not to mention the fact that he went to college at Belmont and has deep roots in Middle Tennessee.

As a result, he has deep high school connections, and that’s a huge plus when it comes to recruiting the area. After all, the Vols clearly need more helping in building that fence around the state of Tennessee.

Wells is the guy who can do that.

In fact, there’s a Volquest article on how Wells’s hiring has drawn praise from high school coaches all over.

Here’s a quote in the article from Will Hester, who won a state championship in Tennessee with Nolensville.

As you can see, “relationship guy” is the theme. That’s what we mean by high school connections. But at the same time, there’s a negative side to this, and it take us to our final point.

Sep 17, 2016; Knoxville, TN, USA; General view during the first half of the game between the Ohio Bobcats and Tennessee Volunteers at Neyland Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports

Fifth Negative: Walt Wells is an unproven recruiter.

This is kind of a paradox when you compare it to what we just wrote about and his high school connections. Heck, those connections probably run even deeper when you consider the fact that he spent a year down in Florida.

However, because of his lack of experience with a major college football program, Walt Wells has not yet proven himself to be a national recruiter.

We know he can build relationships with coaches and recruits, but can he actually sell the Tennessee football program and close the deal?

That’s the real question.

It takes a lot of savviness to do that at this level, and while evaluating the talent is easier, closing the deal against the competition is much harder.

Butch Jones clearly wants all of his staff members to be able to recruit extremely well, and it’s a huge focus of his on every hire he makes.

Larry Scott proved it in Florida, Brady Hoke has proven it everywhere, and Bob Shoop proved it at Vanderbilt and Penn State.

Even Charlton Warren has proven it on some level, and the other guys that have been members of his staff for a while have proven it numerous times.

But with Walt Wells, he’s taking a major risk.

This is really just a negative because he’s unproven at this level in recruiting. It doesn’t mean he can’t be great at it. We just have to find out.

With recruiting for the 2018 season already underway, he will be tested on these skills immediately.

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