Tennessee secondary coach Anthony Poindexter first met Jim Knowles when Poindexter was an up and coming assistant coach at Virginia. That chance meeting helped Poindexter make an unusual move last year. A move that ultimately landed Poindexter on Rocky Top.

Thirteen months ago it was Poindexter, who many thought might get promoted to the defensive coordinator role at Penn State, that told then Nittany Lion head coach James Franklin to bring Jim Knowles in Happy Valley. 

“I have no ego. Obviously I’ve been following Coach Knowles for a long time,” Poindexter said on the Mike Keith Show. “I was at Virginia when he was at Duke. And I told him this, I said, ‘You’ll never forget. You won’t remember this, Coach.’ But me and my wife was in the airport, and I was a young coach, fairly young coach, and he was sitting. We was getting ready to get on a plane. We had just come from the convention, and we just walked up to him and we just started chatting. And he held a 15-20-minute conversation with me. And I never forgot it. Now, I had never ran across him since, maybe one time on the road recruiting. But then I watched what he did at Ohio State, and I’m like, ‘Coach, if, if you’ve got a chance to go get Jim Knowles, you should go get Jim Knowles. He’s the best in the country. He’s the best doing this in the business.’ So I don’t really have that ego. I said I figure I can learn from Jim Knowles if Jim Knowles comes. So it was fortunate that relationship started. That’s one of the main reasons I’m here.”

While Poindexter never hesitated  about recommending Knowles get hired at Penn State, he had zero reservations this past December when Knowles asked the College Football Hall of Fame member to head south to Tennessee, a place where Poindexter took an official visit to in 1994.

“Nah, no hesitation at all,” Poindexter said. “And look, credit to him, I mean, like I said, we met a long time ago, but I was with him basically nine months, and for him to come to me and ask me to come with him, that speaks volumes of him and what he thought of me. So I was like, ‘Yeah, I’ll come with you, Coach.

“It’s great. I mean, very intelligent coach. He really knows schematics. He’s got a way with the players. It helped me develop as a coach in how I saw defense and how I saw offense, so it’s been awesome. Been awesome.” 

Knowles appeared on The Mike Keith Show last month and noted how important it was to be able to bring staff members like Poindexter with him.

“Staff alignment is critical. So I was able to bring a few people here. Keep some great coaches in Coach (Rodney) Garner and Coach (William) Inge. And then bring a lot of coaches in who already know what I do. That puts us ahead. I’ve done this now a couple times and haven’t really had that opportunity, so Coach Heupel wanted me to have that opportunity because it does advance your progress quickly,” Knowles offered.

Poindexter admits last year was a learning curve for him and that having a year under his belt in Knowles system is a big deal as the assembly of the 2026 Tennessee defense is underway. 

“Yeah, I’m in the master class,” Poindexter explained. “I’m getting it from the horse’s mouth. It’s been exciting just to learn how it all fits together and how he uses it. I think the kids here are gonna love it. And I think all DBs love this system, especially interior guys like the safeties and the nickel. They get to do a lot of jobs. They get to blitz, they get to cover, they get to run fit, they get to play in the high field. So you get a chance to really highlight all your athletic abilities playing in this defense.”

Tennessee will start spring practice the week of March 16th.