Anthony Poindexter

Biography

Anthony Poindexter, a Class of 2020 College Football Hall of Fame inductee and Super Bowl champion, brings an accomplished resume to Rocky Top, including the last five seasons as the co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach at Penn State. He was named Tennessee's co-defensive coordinator and secondary coach on Jan. 2. Poindexter coached in five College Football Playoff or New Year’s Six games during his Penn State tenure. Four of his safeties were selected in the NFL Draft, including three in the first three rounds. Poindexter spent the 2025 season with Knowles in Happy Valley, and he served as the acting defensive coordinator in the Nittany Lions’ 22-10 win over Clemson in the Pinstripe Bowl. Poindexter’s group limited the Tigers to 236 total yards and only 3.6 yards per play. Poindexter’s 2024 safeties unit contributed to a secondary and defense that ranked fourth in the FBS in interceptions (20), seventh in total defense (294.8), eighth in scoring defense (16.5), 10th in takeaways (26) and 13th in passes defended (72). In Poindexter’s third season, Penn State finished the 2023 campaign second in the country in total defense (247.6) and allowed just 172.1 passing yards per game, good for seventh in the nation. A 23-year coaching veteran, Poindexter also coached at Virginia (2003-13), UConn (2014-16) and Purdue (2017-20). He has spent 12 seasons as either a defensive coordinator or co-defensive coordinator. Poindexter’s players produced a combined nine All-Big Ten laurels