Penn State assistant coach Tim Banks headed to Tennessee as defensive coordinator | Reports
Banks, 49, has spent the last five seasons as the Nittany Lions' co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach. He also was a strong recruiter in his home area of Detroit.
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Penn State co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach Tim Banks is finalizing a deal to become Tennessee’s defensive coordinator, according to reports Monday from Yahoo Sports and ESPN.
Banks would become the third Penn State assistant coach to leave the program since the end of the 2020 season. Offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca was fired and tight ends coach Tyler Bowen left to join Urban Meyer’s staff with the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars.
Banks, 49, was hired by head coach James Franklin in 2016 after spending the previous four seasons as co-defensive coordinator and secondary coach at Illinois.
Before that, he was co-defensive coordinator at Cincinnati and defensive coordinator at Central Michigan, his alma mater. His ties to the Detroit area produced three players for the Nittany Lions’ 2021 recruiting class.
With Banks’ departure, only four assistant coaches remain from Franklin’s 2019 staff.
Johnson steps away from football
Redshirt junior cornerback Donovan Johnson will no longer play for Penn State because of unspecified injuries but will have a role in the program, Franklin said.
“I know it was difficult for Donovan Johnson to step away from his playing career, but ultimately this is what’s best for him,” Franklin said in a statement. “We are excited to still have him as a major part of our program as he continues to work towards his Penn State degree.”
Johnson has not played in competition since the second game of the 2019 season. In 2018, his only full season, he had 12 tackles with three pass breakups in 12 games.