Photo by: Andrew Ferguson/Tennessee Athletics

Joey Halzle

Title:
Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks

updated summer 2025

Joey Halzle has served as Tennessee’s quarterbacks coach during one of the most prolific offensive eras in school history, and he enters his third season as the Volunteers’ offensive coordinator in 2025. He was elevated to the role in January 2023.

THE HALZLE FILE

PERSONAL INFORMATION

Birthdate: Jan. 29, 1986
Hometown: Oak Park, California
Education: Oklahoma, 2008 (bachelor’s in human relations); Oklahoma, 2014 (master’s in administrative leadership)
Wife: Cara
Children: Elliott, Saylor, Colson, Palmer

COACHING HISTORY

2009-11: Oklahoma, Offensive Quality Control Assistant
2012-14: Oklahoma, Offensive Graduate Assistant
2015: Utah State, Offensive Analyst/Assistant Quarterback Coach
2016: Missouri, Offensive Analyst/Assistant Quarterback Coach
2019: UCF, Offensive Analyst
2020: UCF, Quarterbacks
2021-22: Tennessee, Quarterbacks
2023-present: Tennessee, Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks

CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS (5)

2012 Big 12 – Oklahoma (OGA)
2010 Big 12 – Oklahoma (OQC)
2008 Big 12 – Oklahoma (player)
2007 Big 12 – Oklahoma (player)
2006 Big 12 – Oklahoma (player)

POSTSEASON APPEARANCES AS A COACH (13)

2024 CFP First Round - Tennessee
2024 Citrus Bowl - Tennessee
2022 Orange Bowl - Tennessee
2021 Music City Bowl - Tennessee
2020 Boca Raton Bowl - UCF
2019 Gasparilla Bowl – UCF
2015 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl – Utah State
2014 Russell Athletic Bowl – Oklahoma
2014 Sugar Bowl – Oklahoma
2013 Cotton Bowl – Oklahoma
2011 Insight Bowl – Oklahoma
2011 Fiesta Bowl – Oklahoma
2009 Sun Bowl – Oklahoma

BOWL GAME APPEARANCES AS A PLAYER (3)

2009 BCS National Championship Game – Oklahoma
2008 Fiesta Bowl – Oklahoma
2007 Fiesta Bowl – Oklahoma

NFL QUARTERBACKS COACHED (5)

Joe Milton III, New England Patriots – 2024
Hendon Hooker, Detroit Lions – 2023
Drew Lock, Denver Broncos – 2019
Trevor Knight, Arizona Cardinals – 2017
Landry Jones, Pittsburgh Steelers – 2013

Halzle (pronounced HALLS-lee) has worked closely with head coach Josh Heupel for 17 years. The two have been instrumental in elite quarterback development for 15 seasons at the collegiate level, and Heupel served as his position coach during his time at Oklahoma.

Tennessee is coming off an exceptionally productive four-year span of quarterback play under Halzle. That room has tossed for 113 touchdowns and only 18 interceptions on 1,578 attempts during that time frame. From 2021-24, the Vols’ combined quarterback passer rating of 111.3 leads the SEC and ranks third in the nation behind only Ohio State (119.1) and Oregon (113.5). At least one UT signal caller has eclipsed over 3,000 yards of total offense in three out of the last four seasons. For perspective, the Vols had a quarterback produce 3,000 yards of total offense only five times from 1950-2020.

Breaking in a first-year starter and freshman at quarterback in 2024, Halzle’s offense still ranked 15th nationally, averaging 447.0 yards per game en route to the program’s first-ever College Football Playoff berth. Tennessee finished the regular season tied for second in the final SEC standings and closed the year No. 8 in the Amway Coaches poll. It was the fourth straight year that the Vols concluded in the top 20 in total offense.

Halzle leaned on the SEC’s top rushing attack led by SEC Offensive Player of the Year Dylan Sampson as the Vols averaged 225.8 yards per game on the ground, which ranked ninth in the FBS. The offense engineered key game-winning or come-from-behind drives in victories against Florida and Alabama in 2024. Sampson was a first-team All-SEC selection and a second-team All-American.

In the spring of 2024, Tennessee achieved the rare feat of producing back-to-back NFL Drafts with a quarterback selected, becoming only the third program over the last six years to do so. Joe Milton III was taken by the New England Patriots in the 2024 sixth round (No. 193 overall), one year after his former roommate Hendon Hooker was selected in the 2023 third round (No. 68 overall) by the Detroit Lions. Milton III was traded to the Dallas Cowboys in the spring of 2025.

Hooker was the highest drafted Vol quarterback since Peyton Manning went No. 1 overall in 1998 and the third-highest UT QB all-time. It was also the first time since 1994-95 that the Vols produced consecutive drafts with a quarterback picked.

Hazle’s first season as offensive coordinator in 2023 saw Tennessee put up 448.1 yards of total offense per game and once again rank inside the top 20 in the nation. The Vols led the SEC in rushing offense and finished ninth in the FBS at 204.8 yards per game. Meanwhile, Milton III accounted for 3,112 yards of total offense—eighth in school single-season annals—and 27 touchdowns with only five interceptions.

Under Halzle’s tutelage, the two-longest interception-free streaks in school history have occurred as Milton III went 216 consecutive attempts without one, while Hooker owns the school record with 261 straight throws without a pick.

Halzle helped mentor true freshman Nico Iamaleava, who earned 2024 Citrus Bowl MVP honors after accounting for four touchdowns and no interceptions in his first career start. The 35-0 thrashing of Big Ten West champion Iowa capped a nine-win campaign and a No. 17 final ranking for the Vols in Halzle’s first year as offensive coordinator.

Halzle was part of a memorable 2022 campaign that saw Tennessee shatter 13 team offensive records en route to the program's first 11-win season since 2001. Despite missing three of the SEC's top offensive players, the season culminated with a 31-14 victory over No. 7 Clemson in the Orange Bowl with Halzle running point during December preparations. UT amassed 375 offensive yards against a scoring defense that ranked top 25 nationally.

A year after breaking eight single-season records, the Vols eclipsed many of those same marks in 2022, including total points (599), points per game (46.1), total offense (6,832), total offense per game (525.5), yards per play (7.2), total touchdowns (79), passing touchdowns (38), rushing touchdowns (40), completion percentage (68.7), passing efficiency (181.4), passing yards (4,239), fewest interceptions (3) and first downs (330).

Tennessee's offense led the nation in scoring offense, total offense and team passing efficiency, while ranking second in fewest interceptions thrown, third in red zone offense (94.0) and fifth in completion percentage.

It was Halzle's quarterbacks who served as the catalysts for the Vols' elite offensive identity. Hooker was a finalist for the 2022 Walter Camp Player of the Year and the Maxwell, Manning and Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Awards. He recorded the highest Heisman Trophy finish—fifth place—by a Vol in 25 years. He ranked second nationally in passing efficiency with a school-record mark of 175.51.

Hooker was named SEC Offensive Player of the Year by the league's coaches and the Associated Press, becoming the first UT player to do so since Peyton Manning in 1997. Of the 28 FBS signal callers who fired 25 or more touchdowns, Hooker threw the fewest interceptions with only two.

When Hooker sustained a season-ending knee injury in the final month of the season, Milton III carried the torch, leading the Vols to victories over Vanderbilt and Clemson. Halzle's development of Milton saw the Pahokee, Florida, native finish the year with 971 passing yards on 53-of-82 attempts with 10 touchdowns and no interceptions.

Hooker rewrote the Tennessee record books in his two seasons under Halzle, breaking school career marks in completion percentage (68.8), passing efficiency rating (178.34), consecutive attempts without an interception (261) and consecutive games throwing a touchdown pass (20). He also occupied the first and second spots in UT single-season annals in completion percentage and passer efficiency rating.

Halzle’s tutelage of Hooker enabled the Greensboro, North Carolina, native to become one of the elite signal callers in the country during his first season in 2021. Hooker led the SEC and ranked third in the FBS in pass efficiency rating, while his completion percentage was second in the league. Of the 72 FBS quarterbacks who attempted 300-plus passes during the season, Hooker tied for the fewest interceptions among those (3). His explosiveness was on display too as he tallied four 70-plus yard touchdown passes — tied for most in the nation — and averaged the FBS’ fourth-most yards per attempt at 9.7.

The Vols were the nation’s most improved offense, going from 108th to seventh in the FBS in scoring offense (39.3, +99) and 102nd to ninth in total offense (474.9, +93) in 2021. A season prior to Halzle’s arrival, UT quarterbacks combined for a 133.03 passing efficiency, which ranked 64th in the nation. His impact was felt as the Vols’ then-167.10 school-record mark in 2021 was sixth in the nation and second in the SEC.

Halzle spent two seasons on Heupel’s staff at UCF, serving as an offensive quality control analyst in 2019 before being promoted to quarterbacks coach in January 2020. In his first season as quarterbacks coach with the Knights, UCF ranked in the top 10 nationally in total offense (second – 568.1), passing offense (fourth – 357.4), scoring offense (eighth – 42.2) and first downs (seventh – 283).

Halzle mentored sophomore quarterback Dillon Gabriel, who responded with a brilliant season despite the challenges presented by COVID-19. Gabriel led the nation in passing offense (357.0), while ranking fourth in the FBS in passing touchdowns (32), second in total offense (373.9), fifth in points responsible for per game (21.2), seventh in completions per game (24.8) and 16th in passing efficiency (156.3). He reduced his interceptions from the previous season. For his efforts, Gabriel was named a second-team All-AAC selection, and he earned Manning Award Quarterback of the Week honors three times and AAC Offensive Player of the Week recognition three times.

Halzle’s first season in Orlando saw the Knights post a 10-win season, finish No. 24 in both final polls and defeat Marshall in the Gasparilla Bowl. Led by true freshman Gabriel, UCF ranked second nationally in total offense (540.5), fifth in scoring offense (43.4) and eighth in passing offense (316.7). Gabriel’s debut season saw him rank fourth nationally in passing yards per completion (15.5), 13th in passing efficiency (156.9), 13th in passing yards (3,653) and 17th in passing touchdowns (29).

The former Oklahoma quarterback previously spent the 2016 season as an offensive analyst and assistant quarterback coach at Missouri after a year in that same role at Utah State in 2015. Halzle teamed up with then-offensive coordinator Heupel as the Tigers produced the SEC’s No. 1 total offense, averaging 500.5 yards per game, good for 13th nationally. Quarterback Drew Lock, who would go on to become an NFL starter, finished the regular season with an SEC-best 3,399 passing yards. That figure also ranked 10th in the FBS.

Halzle was an offensive graduate assistant for his alma mater from 2012-14 after helping the Sooners from 2009-11 as an offensive quality control assistant. He worked in the private sector in 2017-18.

During his tenure with the Sooners, quarterbacks put up elite numbers, and Oklahoma won two Big 12 Championships and appeared in six bowl games, including a Fiesta Bowl, Sugar Bowl and Cotton Bowl. One of Halzle’s protégés, Trevor Knight, was named MVP of the 2014 Sugar Bowl, throwing for 348 yards and four touchdowns as the Sooners beat No. 3 Alabama.

Halzle was part of a 2012 offensive unit that ranked fifth in the nation in passing offense and 12th in total offense. He helped mentor Landry Jones, who finished his career with 16,646 passing yards and 123 touchdowns before being selected in the fourth round of the 2013 NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Halzle earned three letters as a Sooner signal-caller from 2006-08, helping Oklahoma to Big 12 Conference titles each of those years and an appearance in the BCS National Championship Game as a senior. He was part of a skilled quarterback room that included Sam Bradford, who captured the 2008 Heisman Trophy in Halzle’s final season. Bradford was a consensus All-American, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft and the 2010 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year.

Halzle attended Golden West (California) Junior College after graduating from Oaks Christian High School in Westlake Village, California.

He graduated from Oklahoma in 2008 with a degree in human relations and went on to earn a master’s degree in administrative leadership from Oklahoma in 2014.

Halzle and his wife, Cara, have three daughters, Elliott, Saylor and Palmer, and one son, Colson.