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Tennessee football: Ranking all 10 Vols coordinator changes this decade

By Caleb Calhoun

STARKVILLE, MS - OCTOBER 13: Tennessee Volunteers defensive coordinator Sal Sunseri coaches on the sideline in place of head coach Derek Dooley, who is coaching from the booth after hip surgery, in a game against the Mississippi State Bulldogs on October 13, 2012 at Davis Wade Stadium in Starkville, Mississippi. (Photo by Butch Dill/Getty Images)
STARKVILLE, MS - OCTOBER 13: Tennessee Volunteers defensive coordinator Sal Sunseri coaches on the sideline in place of head coach Derek Dooley, who is coaching from the booth after hip surgery, in a game against the Mississippi State Bulldogs on October 13, 2012 at Davis Wade Stadium in Starkville, Mississippi. (Photo by Butch Dill/Getty Images) /
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7. Mike Bajakian

Role: Offensive Coordinator

Hired by: Butch Jones

Year hired: 2013

Coach replaced: Jim Chaney

Mike Bajakian could probably have been even lower on this list when you consider the significant drop in offensive production from the previous year when he arrived in 2013 and the significant increase in offensive production the year after he left, in 2015. And that is why he’s down on this list overall.

However, such analysis is a bit lazy. Bajakian followed Butch Jones to Tennessee football and spent his first year installing the spread offense. He didn’t have any quarterback ready yet to run it, as Justin Worley was too slow, Nathan Peterman was horrible, and Joshua Dobbs wasn’t ready.

So the 2013 season was always destined to be a major struggle year. The Vols were replacing their quarterback and top three receivers from an elite pro-style offense the previous year. But the problem was things didn’t get much better in 2014.

That year, there was another excuse, as the pattern of attrition left the Vols in a random year in which they had to replace all five linemen. Combine that with Worley being the starter again, and the start to the season was a disaster.

However, the offense finally came alive in the Alabama Crimson Tide game, as the Vols put Joshua Dobbs back in. They lost that day to fall to 3-5, and the next week, the legend of Dobbs was born as he had his first of many five total touchdown and 400 total yard games, leading a 14-point comeback with three minutes left to beat the South Carolina Gamecocks on the road.

From then on, Bajakian’s offense took off. He then left after 2014 before he could fully realize the offense he built in 2015. However, it’s worth noting that waiting so long to start Dobbs in 2014 was a major indictment against Bajakian and Butch Jones. That’s another big negative on the resume, and it keeps him down here.

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