Tennessee's Charlton Warren brings military approach to coaching

Rhiannon Potkey, USA TODAY NETWORK - Tennessee

Charlton Warren left the military, but the military never left Warren.

Tennessee’s new defensive backs coach remains committed to the same core values he learned while serving in the Air Force.

“This is not the military but the principles I learned way back in those days still apply: discipline, accountability, hard work, trust, family, teamwork, brotherhood. All those things are not just taglines to me. They’re really who I was all those years, so I really try to put that on those guys in the meeting room,” Warren said. “I’m saying there is a bigger picture. We’re out here to do a mission. A lot of that carries over to these guys and it resonates with them.”

Warren was hired at UT two weeks ago after spending the last two seasons as the defensive backs coach at the University of North Carolina. During his first meeting with Tennessee’s players, Warren explained his coaching philosophy and provided some personal history.

New Tennessee defensive backs coach Charlton Warren played and coached at the Air Force Academy. He brings the same principles to UT.

"I had a chance to tell them what I'm about and what I want us to be about as a group," said Warren, who also takes over as special teams coordinator. "Nothing specific about football, just the mentality, attitude and what I'm looking for in them. Then, I gave them a chance to ask me any questions they may have about me and my background. I was in the military for 10 years before I got into coaching, and a lot of their eyes popped out of their head like, 'What?' ”

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Warren played defensive back at the Air Force Academy from 1996-98. Following his collegiate career, the Atlanta native performed his active service as a systems acquisitions manager at Robins Air Force Base in Georgia and Eglin Air Force Base in Florida.

He returned to the Air Force Academy as an assistant coach for nine years before becoming the secondary coach at Nebraska in 2014. After two years at North Carolina, Warren was ready to make the move to the SEC once UT coach Butch Jones offered him the chance.

“Growing up in the South and being in SEC country, you have always known the history and the tradition of Tennessee football,” Warren said. “You knew about the fan base, you knew about the national titles, the legacy of great players and the resources and tools you have and the players you can attract. So to me, just as you go through where you want to coach, being in the SEC East and having a chance to compete against the best and recruit against the best – those are things that really drew me to the University of Tennessee.”

Although he’s coached at bigger programs, Warren retains the same resourceful attitude he acquired while at Air Force.

“The Air Force was a great experience because to beat Notre Dame and BYU and Utah with the players we had, you had to be very efficient. You had to be able to instruct clearly and you had to do more with less,” Warren said. “So everything I do now is still trying to do more with less. That’s the mentality.”

Once he begins on-field instruction with Tennessee’s players, they will revert back to the basics and focus on player development.

"I am really big on the little things, because to me the little things add up to big things," Warren said. "From the standpoint of secondary play in general, I'm going to be a stickler for technique and fundamentals. There's no thing too little to coach when it comes to technique, eyes, footwork, hands, placement. And it's a process, it's a gradual process. But you instill it, you set a standard and you work it, and that's my plan."

Warren is aware of Tennessee’s struggles in the secondary this past season that eventually led to the firing of Willie Martinez. The Vols allowed 230.7 yards passing per game and were victimized by several explosive plays.

"It's definitely a clean slate," Warren said. "I'm coming in here with fresh eyes. I'm coming in here with no expectations but hard work. I'm coming in here with no expectations but compete your butt off every play, do what's right away from the building and do what's right in the classroom. I have no expectations except those."

Since being hired at UT, Warren hasn’t had much time to adjust to the area. He immediately hit the road recruiting to help the Vols secure commitments for their 2017 class in advance of National Signing Day on Feb. 1.

“It’s been a whirlwind,” said Warren, who is married with three children. “I’ll come up for air at some point about two weeks after signing week is done. But it’s been great so far.”

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