Former Tennessee assistant coach and interim head coach Jim Chaney is working with Josh Heupel’s current UT staff, according to a new report on Thursday. The Knoxville News Sentinel’s Mike Wilson reports that Chaney joined the Tennessee staff as a remote analyst in late July. Wilson confirmed the news with a UT spokesperson on Thursday.
Chaney is a longtime coach in the football landscape with stints in both college football and the NFL. He first landed at Tennessee in 2009 under former head coach Lane Kiffin and stayed on staff when Derek Dooley took over the following season. Chaney served as the Vols’ offensive coordinator from 2009 to 2012 and took over as interim head coach in the 2012 season finale against Kentucky after Dooley’s firing. He led the Vols to a 37-17 win over the Wildcats at home.
In addition to his coordinator duties, Chaney also served as the Vols’ running backs coach from 2009 to 2011 and the quarterbacks coach in 2012.
Tennessee’s 2012 offense averaged 475.9 yards per game, with an emphasis on the passing game. Former quarterback Tyler Bray threw for 3,612 yards and 34 touchdowns during that season.
Chaney then took assistant coaching jobs at Arkansas, Pitt, and Georgia from 2013 to 2018, where he served as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach with all three programs. He returned to Tennessee as the Vols’ offensive coordinator from 2019 to 2020 under former head coach Jeremy Pruitt.
The Missouri native recently spent his 2024 season as the offensive coordinator at Georgia State. Chaney was Tennessee’s offensive coordinator when the Vols lost to Georgia State during the 2019 season.
More From RTI: Josh Heupel Explains What Tennessee Football is Doing Better this Year to Create Big Plays
Josh Heupel and his staff have orchestrated league-leading scoring success through the first three games of the season. Tennessee currently leads the SEC with 158 points through the first three contests, including a game against Georgia, with 52.67 points per game. The Volunteers also rank third in the SEC with 568.67 total yards per game.
Tennessee’s passing game has also found its footing here early in the season. Former transfer quarterback Joey Aguilar is second in the SEC in both passing yards (906) and touchdowns (9) through the first three games, and has helped Tennessee achieve the most passing yards in the SEC per game (358.67).
“I think Joey is throwing the deep ball extremely well,” head coach Josh Heupel said on ‘The Mike Keith Show’ on Thursday. “That’s one of the things that we saw on tape was that he was an accurate down-the-field passer and had the arm strength to do it. He’s been really good in his decision-making. The other thing was that our wide receivers have done a really good job of going and attacking the football. Winning some contested one-on-ones, too. You look at Chris Brazzell’s catch last week early in the football game. I think it’s a combination of all those things, and then a big part of that, too, is the protection up front giving us time to throw it down the football field.”
Tennessee wide receiver Chris Brazzell is also putting up big numbers early on with the Vols’ scorching pass game. Brazzell leads the SEC in receiving touchdowns (5) and is second in the conference in receiving yards (364).
With the explosive pass back in Tennessee’s pocket this season, excitement is high regarding what the Vols can continue to evolve into as the team embarks on its SEC slate. Tennessee will take on UAB this weekend in Knoxville as a non-conference matchup, but then gets back into its conference schedule with Mississippi State in Week 5. Joey Aguilar has proven to be a capable quarterback in SEC play and the Vols’ wide receivers have stepped up to give him options down the field. Tennessee is also supplementing its pass game with a three-man running back room featuring DeSean Bishop, Star Thomas, and Peyton Lewis.
Check out the initial news report from Knox News here.
