Jim Chaney, the offensive coordinator at the University of Tennessee under Lane Kiffin and Derek Dooley, is back in the Southeastern Conference as the new offensive coordinator at Georgia.
New Georgia head coach Kirby Smart announced Saturday the hiring of Chaney and offensive line coach Sam Pittman. Pittman was Tennessee's line coach in 2012, when he and Chaney helped develop an offense that produced 5,711 yards, the second-highest total in Volunteers history behind the 1997 team quarterbacked by senior Peyton Manning.
Chaney and Pittman also worked together at Arkansas during the 2013 and 2014 seasons, helping the Razorbacks average 406 yards and 31.9 points per game in 2014.
"Jim and Sam are highly respected nationally as individual coaches," Smart said in a release. "Together, we have a tandem that has worked alongside each other before in the SEC and been extremely productive and successful."
Georgia held its annual team banquet Saturday night in Athens, with former head coach Mark Richt receiving a standing ovation. Richt told the gathering that the Bulldogs and Miami, where he now coaches, would be vying for a national championship in the not-too-distant future.
Senior tackle John Theus was voted as the overall captain for this year's team, while senior inside linebacker and UAB transfer Jake Ganus was chosen as the overall MVP. Sophomore tailback Sony Michel was voted the offensive MVP and senior outside linebacker Jordan Jenkins the defensive MVP.
Chaney was Tennessee's interim coach for the final game of the 2012 season, when he replaced the fired Dooley and led the Volunteers to a 37-17 win over Kentucky. That was Tennessee's only SEC win that year after an 0-7 league start.
After two seasons at Arkansas, Chaney was hired last winter by Pittsburgh first-year coach Pat Narduzzi. The Panthers lost returning All-ACC tailback James Conner to a torn MCL in the opener against Youngstown State but have managed an 8-4 season behind quarterback Nathan Peterman, who began his college career with Chaney at Tennessee.
"On behalf of our entire program, I would like to thank Jim for his contributions to Pitt," Narduzzi said Saturday in a released statement. "His hard work was very important as we established our program in this first year. In addition to being an excellent football coach, he is a tremendous person, and we wish him and his family the best."
Narduzzi said earlier this year that Chaney has the expertise to run different offenses and to tailor game plans to the strength of his personnel, adding that he helped develop Drew Brees into an eventual Super Bowl MVP. Smart said at his introductory news conference at Georgia last Monday that you can't "pigeonhole yourself" into being either pro-style or spread and that you simply have to use your talent.
Chaney was Purdue's offensive coordinator from 1997 to 2005. Brees led the nation in total offense during the 2000 season and won the Maxwell Award as the nation's top player.
Between his time at Purdue and Tennessee, Chaney spent three seasons with the NFL's St. Louis Rams, coaching the offensive line for two years and tight ends for one.
Pittman has been at Arkansas ever since his one year with Tennessee. The Razorbacks currently rank second in the SEC in total offense (456.8 yards per game), second in scoring offense (40.2) and third in passing offense (264.2).
Arkansas has led the SEC in fewest sacks allowed each of the past three years, yielding 1.00 sack per game this season, 1.08 last season and 0.67 in 2013. Pittman's one line at Tennessee also led the SEC, giving up just eight sacks in 12 games (0.67 per game).
Smart on Saturday also announced that Glenn Schumann would be one of his defensive assistants but did not specify where. Schumann worked with Smart at Alabama as an undergraduate analyst and as a graduate assistant before being named associate director of player personnel in February.
"Glenn did an outstanding job in several areas during his eight years at Alabama, and he'll be a great addition to our staff," Smart said.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.