Tennessee football: 5 concerns with Vols revamped staff heading into 2019

6 of 6

Photo by John Sommers II/Getty Images /

1. Staff members’ history as part of failed stints

Production matters the most when it comes to staff changes. And in many ways, Tennessee football’s new staff members have a history of quality production. But there are also many issues with their history.

More from All for Tennessee

Let’s start with two current staff members who changed positions. Chris Weinke’s last experience coaching quarterbacks was in the NFL. It was part of the failed Jeff Fisher tenure, and the Los Angeles Rams didn’t take off on offense until Sean McVay took over. Weinke was already gone.

Then there’s David Johnson. The last time he coached running backs was with the Tulane Green Wave from 2012 to 2015. He produced some talent, but Tulane was dead last in rushing in the C-USA in 2012 with a historically bad 39.6 yards a game. They were third from last the next year, and his final year, they were near last again. He was part of the failed Curtis Johnson tenure there.

What about new staff members? Well, Derrick Ansley did have success with the Alabama Crimson Tide. But while he performed in his actual role with the Kentucky Wildcats, they had back to back losing seasons with him there in 2014 and 2015. The year after, he went back to Alabama, and Kentucky made a bowl game.

Meanwhile, Tee Martin is coming back to Knoxville only after getting fired by the USC Trojans. He was demoted midway through last year as offensive coordinator. However, that’s the least concerning thing since he’s back at receivers coach this year, where he’s been very successful.

Finally, though, there’s Jim Chaney. And Chaney’s most notable failed stint was specifically with the Vols. He was on Rocky Top from 2009 to 2012, and that included the three-year Derek Dooley stint. Say what you want about the 2012 offense, it never did enough to win and failed on three different chances at game winning drives. So Chaney is also a concern.

Next. Vol football's top 30 players since 1998. dark

There is plenty of history when it comes to production on Tennessee football’s new staff. But failure is there as well, and that’s something that can’t be ignored. We’ll have to see what happens in 2019 and beyond. This is a concern, though, for the Vols.

Home/Vols Football