After making a run to the College Football Playoff in the 2024-25 season, everything looked to be coming together for Josh Heupel. Instead, the offseason set the Vols back in a big way when Tennessee couldn't come to an agreement with Nico Iamaleava leading to the team losing their quarterback in shockig fashion.
All the chaos of the offseason certainly bled into the season, and Tennessee's hopes of returning to the Playoff were wrecked. Tennessee went just 8-5 with a 4-4 record in SEC play leading to some major changes on the coaching staff. Hiring former Ohio State and Penn State defensive coordinator Jim Knowles was a splash move, and considering some of the transfers he brought with him, it looked even better.
Josh Heupel's Chaz Coleman win has suddenly turned into a disaster
When Jim Knowles arrived, Tennessee quickly started to bring in pieces that fit his defensive scheme. Among the many moving parts, Tennessee lost edge rusher Jordan Ross to the Transfer Portal which stung as he was a former 5-star with a ton of potential as he continued to develop. The good news for the Vols was that it appeared the team was simply replacing Ross with a higher upside piece.
Chaz Coleman's freshman year at Penn State came with a ton of hype as he quickly started turning heads once he arrived on campus. When Chaz Coleman decided to enter the Transfer Portal, he was quickly tabbed as the top edge rusher in the Transfer Portal with everyone expecting Ohio State to win out. Instead, Jim Knowles beat out his former boss Ryan Day luring the elite pass rusher to Knoxville.
On Friday Morning, that major win has become an all-time Transfer Portal disaster as Tennessee dismissed Chaz Coleman from the program.
BREAKING: Tennessee has parted ways with Penn State transfer EDGE Chaz Coleman, @PeteNakos and @Clowfb report.
— On3 (@On3) June 26, 2026
Coleman has been medically disqualified from the Vols' roster. https://t.co/mpKYyftR87 pic.twitter.com/rcvJAkIvHX
The term "medically disqualified" only adds to the intrigue in the story as Tennessee and Josh Heupel gave very little information throughout the saga.
When Chaz Coleman missed the second half of Tennessee's Spring Camp, questions quickly came up about his future in Knoxville. Tennessee's voluntary workouts started earlier this month, and when Coleman once again wasn't with the team it started to seem like the two may be heading to a messy split.
Losing Chaz Coleman before he even plays a snap is a major loss for Tennessee that they'll need to address in the short and long term. Coleman had a chance to be a special edge rusher not just this season, but next year as well, and now Tennessee will have to look internally to find a player ready to fill that role.
The bigger question now will be what happens to Chaz Coleman, and if he'll end up playing this season. Coleman would certainly have teams willing to bet on his talent, if they knew more about this situation at Tennessee, and considering the talent level, we could see a program try and take a swing.
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