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Tennessee football could face up to four interim head coaches during SEC play in 2025
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- Tennessee football could face up to four interim head coaches during SEC play in 2025
Tennessee enters its 2025 football season ranked No. 18 in the US LBM Coaches Poll .
Paul Myerberg of USA TODAY ranked the 10 most difficult schedules in 2025. Four opponents for Tennessee are ranked top 10 for toughest schedules: No. 17 Florida , Mississippi State, Arkansas and Syracuse.
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Billy Napier enters his fourth season as Florida's head coach. He guided the Gators to a 19-19 (10-14 SEC) record and two losing campaigns during his first three years.
Florida is slated to play at No. 9 LSU and No. 10 Miami before its first open date in Week 5. The Gators will host No. 1 Texas and travel to No. 21 Texas A&M before their second open date on Oct. 25. Florida will face No. 4 Georgia in Jacksonville, Florida on Nov. 1 before playing consecutive road games at Kentucky and No. 15 Ole Miss. The Gators will host Tennessee after the Rebels on Nov. 22.
Sam Pittman enters his sixth season as Arkansas' head coach. From 2020-24, he compiled a 30-31 (14-28 SEC) record, three bowl wins and two losing seasons with the Razorbacks.
Arkansas will play at Tennessee on Oct. 11, and has an open date one week prior on Oct. 4. The Razorbacks will face Arkansas State and head coach Butch Jones in a neutral-site matchup in Little Rock, Arkansas, play at Ole Miss and Memphis, while hosting No. 5 Notre Dame before playing the Vols.
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More: Tennessee football projected for top 35 offense in 2025
More: 2025 win-loss record projections for all 16 SEC football teams
Two opponents for Tennessee who were not ranked by Myerberg, but are top 10 for strength of schedule in ESPN's Football Power Index , are Oklahoma (No. 2) and Kentucky (No. 7).
Tennessee will host the unranked Sooners on Nov. 1 before a final open date on Nov. 8. Oklahoma will also have its second and final open date after playing at Neyland Stadium in Week 11.
The Sooners are slated to host No. 14 Michigan , Auburn and Ole Miss, play at No. 13 South Carolina and face the Longhorns in Dallas, Texas before traveling to Neyland Stadium.
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2025 will mark the fourth season for Oklahoma with Brent Venables as head coach. He guided the Sooners to a 22-17 (2-6 SEC) record and two losing seasons from 2022-24.
More: Tennessee football receiving yard leaders each season since 2000
Kentucky is 67–73 (28–62 SEC) under 13th-year head coach Mark Stoops. He has a 77–73 record on the field. Stoops guided Kentucky to two 10-win seasons on the field (2018, 2021) and five losing campaigns during his tenure.
The Wildcats are slated to host Ole Miss and Texas, while playing at South Carolina and Georgia, before their home game versus Tennessee on Oct. 25.
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Strength of schedule, when open dates occur and prior coaching history could allow for Tennessee to face up to four interim head coaches during the regular season in SEC play. The Vols are ranked No. 21 nationally for preseason strength of schedule by ESPN FPI.
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This article originally appeared on Vols Wire: Vols could face up to four interim football head coaches in SEC play
