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Tennessee Football WR Coach Zach Azzanni Leaving the Vols for the NFL’s Chicago Bears

By Caleb Calhoun

Sep 24, 2016; Knoxville, TN, USA; General view during the second half of the game between the Tennessee Volunteers and the Florida Gators at Neyland Stadium. Tennessee won 38-28. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 24, 2016; Knoxville, TN, USA; General view during the second half of the game between the Tennessee Volunteers and the Florida Gators at Neyland Stadium. Tennessee won 38-28. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports /
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Tennessee football wide receivers coach Zach Azzanni is leaving the Volunteers to join Chicago in the same position in the National Football League.

Just when you thought everything was settling down, Tennessee football wide receivers coach Zach Azzanni added more turmoil to the Vols’ staff.

Rhiannon Potkey of the Knoxville News Sentinel reports that Azzanni is leaving the program for the NFL to join the Chicago Bears as their wide receivers coach. Azzanni will replace Curtis Johnson on Bears Head Coach John Fox’s staff. He has been with Butch Jones since his days at Central Michigan.

Here is what Jones said about Azzanni’s departure.

"“We are really excited for Zach and his family. I have known Zach for a long time and this is a path he has wanted to pursue for some time. We can’t thank him enough for his loyalty, dedication and hard work over the past four years to our football program. We will begin the process of filling this position immediately. It’s a position we want to fill as quickly as we can, but we also want to go through the detailed process, which we will.”"

We can’t say exactly why he left, but it seemed pretty clear that Azzanni was in consideration for the open offensive coordinator position and wanted the job.

His loss is a huge blow to the Tennessee football program.

After all, Azzanni is one of Jones’s longest serving staff members. His biggest asset is his ability to evaluate talent.

Azzanni helped Jones find Antonio Brown at Central Michigan and turned him into a superstar NFL wide receiver. In addition to being a great talent evaluator, Azzanni has been an elite recruiter.

With his departure, Jones will have to find a sixth new staff member on the season. This late in the game, with spring practice less than a month away, makes it tough.

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