1. Jim Chaney has had bad offensive seasons.
When he was first hired, it was worth it for us to point out all the success Jim Chaney has had. As we said, the numbers are the most important barometer for a coordinator hire, and each of his last two years with the Georgia Bulldogs, Chaney averaged over 430 yards and 35 points, as he did with Tennessee football in 2012. And he went over 400 and 30 points a game with the Arkansas Razorbacks in 2014.
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However, the rest of his tenure is not so pretty. Some of his offenses have been mediocre to just above average, and others have been downright bad. Let’s just look at his first year with Georgia, when he averaged only 385 yards and 25 points a game. That’s just mediocre in scoring.
The same is true with the Pittsburgh Panthers in 2015, when despite making Nathan Peterman look very efficient, he still only had 377 yards a game and 28 points. That was against a weak ACC, where they could’ve at least dropped 30 or more points. And his first year at Arkansas was horrendous, as he averaged under 21 points a game.
But we can also go back to what Chaney did with Tennessee football. Sure, in 2012, the offense was flawless. In 2011, though, it was horrible, averaging only 330 yards and barely over 20 points a game.
Now, to be fair, supporters will point to the fact that Tyler Bray and Justin Hunter both went down while the Vols played the toughest schedule in history. But Bray was healthy against a horrible Kentucky Wildcats team in which the Vols lost because they could only score seven points. And there was still talent on offense that year.
Simply put, since coming back to the SEC, Chaney has had some highly mediocre to bad years. Usually, they’re his first seasons at a place. But that’s what he’s facing this year, and the Vols aren’t loaded with talent, which his system needs to thrive.
Chaney not a guy who uses cutting-edge play-calling. Instead, he maximizes his talent to overwhelm opponents. Does Tennessee football have enough of that for him to be successful the next two years? That’s a big question, and his history makes that a big concern for 2019. If anything, it makes recruiting even more important.