Derek Owings is now the highest paid strength and conditioning coach

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MIAMI — Less than eight hours after winning the College Football Playoff National Championship, Indiana football lost an important piece to its staff.

Derek Owings, the Hoosiers' director of athletic performance, is leaving the program for the University of Tennessee, according to multiple outlets. CBS Sports first reported the news.

The 32-year-old Owings is viewed as one of the nation's best strength and conditioning coaches. He received a new contract in May of 2025 that paid over $900,000 and made him one of college football's highest-paid strength coaches.

Indiana coach Curt Cignetti hired Owings to his staff in 2020 at James Madison University, and he completed his sixth season working under Cignetti in Monday night's national championship victory.

Owings earned FootballScoop.com's strength and conditioning coach of the year award in 2025.

Cignetti often credited Owings for the Hoosiers' on-field success, and Owings earned specific praise for developing receiver Omar Cooper Jr.'s core strength after the redshirt junior's acrobatic, physics-defying, game-winning catch against Penn State during the regular season.

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