Kennesaw State football coaches, operations set for Tennessee return
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No. 14 Tennessee (2-0) will host Kennesaw State (1-1) Saturday in Week 3 at Neyland Stadium (7:45 p.m. EDT, SEC Network).
Saturday will mark the first meeting between the two schools and a return for Kennesaw State head coach Jerry Mack.
He served as Tennessee's running backs coach from 2021-23 under head coach JoshHeupel.
Mack, a former wide receiver at Jackson State (1999-2000) and Arkansas State (2001-03), began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Delta State from (2004-05). He served as wide receivers and tight ends coach at Jackson State (2006-07) before becoming a passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach at Central Arkansas (2008-09).
Mack served as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Arkansas-Pine Bluff in 2010 before becoming wide receivers coach at Memphis (2011). He also served as wide receivers coach at South Alabama from 2012-13.
Mack began his head coaching career at North Carolina Central from 2014-17. He compiled a 31-15 (26-6 MEAC) record and won three MEAC championships (2014-16). Mack was named MEAC Coach of the Year in 2016.
Following his stint at North Carolina Central, he served as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Rice in 2018, before being promoted to assistant head coach, offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach from 2019-20.
After Tennessee, Mack was running backs coach with Jacksonville during the 2024 NFL season.
He became head coach at Kennesaw State in 2025 and went 10-4, leading the Owls to a Conference USA championship. Mack was also named Conference USA Coach of the Year.
Four Kennesaw State assistant coaches were at Tennessee with Heupel and Mack.
Offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Mitch Militello coached with Heupel at Missouri (2016-17), UCF (2018-20) and Tennessee (2021-24). He served as offensive analyst with the Vols.
Special teams coordinator and tight ends coach Kyle Blocker was a special teams analyst for the Vols from 2022-23.
Running backs coach Aston Walter was an offensive assistant at Tennessee from 2023-24, while Kennesaw State special teams assistant Dane Nussbaum was a student special teams coach for the Vols from 2023-24, assisting in weekly opponent scheme and personnel breakdowns.
Sally Whitesell is also in her second season as Kennesaw State's assistant director of football operations. She served as a sports nutrition intern (2020-24) and football operations student assistant (2024) at Tennessee, working closely with coaches and staff on scheduling and event logistics, as well as administrative preparation and travel builds.
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This article originally appeared on Vols Wire: Kennesaw State football coaches, operations set for Tennessee return
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