After the Tennessee head coach Jeremy Pruitt’s recruitment scandal, former Auburn defensive coordinator Kevin Steele has been named interim head coach.
There was much speculation about whether Steele would be named as Malzahn’s successor at Auburn, but with the announcement of Bryan Harsin’s hiring, Steele’s time with the Tigers had come to an end. Harsin intended to clean house, hiring an all new staff to lead the Tigers in a different direction, and Steele would not be a part of his plans.
Steele was hired by Tennessee to serve as their defensive coordinator after the team finished with a 3-7 record in 2020 and only one home victory. However, he did not stay in that position for long.
Many of Tennessee’s coaching staff were fired following allegations of recruitment violations, including head coach Jeremy Pruitt. Steele will lead the program as acting head coach, and there is speculation that he may be hired full time if Tennessee do not hire a replacement before the start of the season.
Steele’s longest stint as head coach was with Baylor where he managed a measly 9-36 record. He recorded only one Big 12 victory in 32 games, beating Kansas 35-32 in his final season in Waco. He was fired in 2002 after four seasons with a losing record.
It would be 18 years until his next head coaching opportunity. In that time, Steele held positions across the Southeast, including at Alabama, Clemson, and LSU. He was hired by Auburn in 2016 to serve as their defensive coordinator.
Following the firing of Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn, Steele was named as the interim. In his only game in charge, the Tigers lost convincingly to Northwestern in the VRBO Citrus Bowl 35-19.
