1985 Tennessee Volunteers Football Team - Coaching Staff

Coaching Staff

Head Coach Johnny Majors (b. 1935) had compiled a 108-82-5 record during his 17 years as a head coach, which included five seasons with Iowa State (1968–1972), four with Pittsburgh (1973–1976), and eight with Tennessee (1977–1984). His record at UT at the start of the 1985 season was 51-39-3. While he had taken the Vols to four consecutive bowl games, he had yet to win an SEC Championship.

The most notable addition to the Tennessee coaching staff was Ken Donahue (1925–2001), who had worked as an assistant coach under Alabama's Bear Bryant for 21 years. Donahue was initially hired as a defensive line coach in February 1985, but was promoted to defensive coordinator in March after Larry Marmie announced he was leaving for Arizona State. Prior to Spring practice, long-time Vol assistant George Cafego retired. In late March, the Vols hired Tennessee Tech defensive coordinator Dick Bumpas to coach linebackers.

Four members of the 1985 staff would later become head coaches at Division I programs: Walt Harris, Phillip Fulmer, David Cutcliffe and Ron Zook. Kippy Brown has worked as an assistant coach in the NFL, and was briefly UT's interim head coach following the abrupt departure of Lane Kiffin in January 2010. Gerald Brown, an administrative assistant, later became the running backs coach for the Atlanta Falcons.

Bruno Pauletto, the Vols' strength coach, was an Olympic shot putter who won the gold medal for the Canadian team at the 1982 Commonwealth Games, and was a member of the Canadian team at the 1984 Olympics.