Jeremy Pruitt picked Jim Chaney to replace Tyson Helton as Tennessee football’s new offensive coordinator. Here is how the OC can improve the Volunteers.
For Tennessee football fans, there’s relief more than anything about Jim Chaney heading back to Knoxville to be the Vols’ offensive coordinator once again. He may not have been the first or most splashy choice among Rocky Top, but he’s a solid one.
Chaney never took much blame for the dramatic failures that occurred when Derek Dooley was head coach. And since he’s left, he’s found success with the Arkansas Razorbacks, Pittsburgh Panthers and Georgia Bulldogs.
But as he gets set to replace Tyson Helton, he’s got a ton of work to do. It’s safe to say that Chaney is leaving behind a lot more talent that what he’s about to inherit, and it’s not like the road is any easier for the Vols given the fact that they play in the same division as the Dawgs.
In 2018, Tennessee football was ranked No. 121 in the nation in total offense, averaging 325.5 yards a game. They only scored just under 23 points a game, and it’s worth noting that the unit got progressively worse as the season waned on.
So as he takes the reigns, there’s a lot he needs to do to improve this unit. The good news? The Vols have a lot of returning talent, unlike their defensive front, and they now all have a year of experience working in the pro-style.
On top of that, Jeremy Pruitt has already made headway in elite guys at specific positions to solve some of the biggest problems with the offense from last year. This will all make life a lot easier for Chaney than it was the last time he took over on Rocky Top.
In addition to those things, though, what are some things he can do to make sure the offense is better? How can he put his stamp on it and improve it so the Vols have a better season? Let’s find out here. These are the 10 things Jim Chaney must do to improve the Tennessee football offense for the 2019 season.