Less than 12 hours after winning the national championship, Indiana has already lost its first coach. The Hoosiers' football strength and conditioning coach, Derek Owings, has joined Josh Heupel and Tennessee in 2026.
Tennessee is expected to officially hire Owings soon, with the coach set to land in Knoxville on Tuesday, CBS Sports' Matt Zenitz reported. The Volunteers are preparing to make him the highest-paid strength and conditioning coach in the FBS, per On3 Sports' Austin Price.
Owings' new salary will reportedly be north of $1 million, a historic mark for strength and conditioning coaches.
Owings has been widely regarded as one of the best strength and conditioning coaches in college football for his work with Indiana's players. The Hoosiers relied on physicality on both sides of the ball, with Owings even building the previously scrawny Fernando Mendoza into a powerhouse.
Owings' work with Mendoza almost single-handedly got Indiana its first national title in football program history. Mendoza scored the Hoosiers' eventual game-winning touchdown with a powerful run on 4th-and-5 in the red zone, running through multiple Miami defenders en route to the end zone.
Heupel ran a pass-heavy offense in 2025, but he has historically favored run-dominant, RPO-based schemes. Tennessee is expected to return to that style in 2026, with Owings improving the physicality that brand of football requires.
Owings has been with Curt Cignetti since the now-famous head coach brought him on staff in 2020. Owings was with Cignetti and James Madison from 2020 to 2023 before following him to Indiana ahead of the 2024 season.
Before teaming up with Cignetti, Owings spent time at Texas Tech, UCF and Utah State. Owings was an assistant strength and conditioning coach with the Knights during Heupel's first season in Orlando.
