Tennessee football: Ranking all 10 assistant coaches on Vols 2019 staff
Tennessee football made the splash move of the offseason by hiring Jim Chaney away from the Georgia Bulldogs. Jeremy Pruitt made Vols fans wait six weeks and took them through a list of names, but he got a known commodity from a division rival when the dust settled.
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Although not everything that happened last year was on Tyson Helton, Chaney is still a massive upgrade. He’s had success everywhere, even if it took him a couple of years to develop the offense. And he can adapt to his personnel.
His last two years with Georgia, Chaney used record-setting rushing offenses to put up tons of points and yards. But in his one year with the Pittsburgh Panthers and the final year of his last stint with the Vols, he was known for what he did with quarterbacks Nathan Peterman and Tyler Bray respectively.
Heck, he set records with UT in 2012, even if the year didn’t work out under Derek Dooley. Nobody blamed Chaney for Dooley’s horrible defensive coordinator hire in Sal Sunseri. Chaney did everything he could.
Now, there are some slight drawbacks to Chaney. He’s not the most creative coach all the time, his play-calling can get predictable, and he’s not the best at in-game adjustments. But it’s very clear that he’s a good offensive coordinator who can adapt to his personnel.
That type of known commodity is all Tennessee football needs as an offensive coordinator, so they will be fine. There is no worry of what Chaney will bring to the table for the Vols. His role, however, just doesn’t put him at the top of this list.