Former Illinois head coaches with Tennessee football ties

No. 23 Tennessee (8-4, 4-4 SEC) will conclude its 2025 football season in the Liberty Mutual Music City Bowl. The Vols will face Illinois (8-4, 5-4 Big Ten) on Dec. 30.

Kickoff between the Vols and Fighting Illini is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. EST at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee. ESPN will televise the contest, which is the first meeting between the two schools all time.

Two former Illinois head coaches, Ron Zook and Lovie Smith, previously served as assistant coaches for the Vols. Zook was defensive backs coach at Tennessee from 1984-86 under head coach Johnny Majors. Smith was defensive backs coach from 1993-94 under head coach Phillip Fulmer.

Zook was head coach for the Fighting Illini from 2005-11 and was named Big Ten Coach of the Year in 2007, guiding Illinois to the 2008 Rose Bowl and a 34-51 (18-38 Big Ten) record.

He currently serves as special teams quality control coach at Maryland.

Zook began his coaching career as defensive backs coach at Orrville High School in Orrville, Ohio. He served as defensive backs coach at Murray State (1978-80) and defensive coordinator at Cincinnati (1981-82) before serving in the same position at Kansas (1983).

After his tenure with the Vols, Zook was as associate head coach at Virginia Tech in 1987. He was defensive backs coach at Ohio State (1988-90) before going to Florida and serving as defensive coordinator (1991-93), special teams coordinator (1994) and associate head coach and special teams coach (1995).

Zook then went to the NFL, serving as special teams coach with Pittsburgh (1996-98), defensive backs coach at Kansas City (1999) and defensive coordinator with New Orleans (2000-01).

He returned to Florida as head coach (2002-04) before becoming head coach at Illinois in 2005. Following his tenure with the Illinois, he was special teams coach at Green Bay (2014-18).

Zook was secondary and special teams coordinator for the Salt Lake Stallions (Alliance of American Football) in 2019. He was defensive coordinator of the Seattle Sea Dragons of the UFL in 2023.

Zook served as assistant head coach and special teams coach at Maryland in 2021 after serving as a senior analyst (2019-20).

Ron Zook

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Smith served as Illinois head coach from 2016-20, compiling a 17-39 (10-33 Big Ten) record.

He began his coaching career as defensive coordinator at Big Sandy High School in Big Sandy, Texas in 1980.

Smith served as linebackers coach at Tulsa (1983-86), Wisconsin (1987), Arizona State (1988-91) and Kentucky (1992).

Following his tenure with the Vols, he served as defensive backs coach at Ohio State (1995).

Smith was hired in the NFL and was Tampa Bay’s linebackers coach (1996-2000) and defensive coordinator with the Rams (2001-03).

Smith was head coach of Chicago (2004-12) and was named 2005 NFL Coach of the Year. He served as head coach at Tampa Bay (2014-15) before becoming head coach of the Fighting Illini (20016-20).

Smith was assistant head coach and defensive coordinator for Houston (2021) before being promoted to head coach in 2022.