Tom Arth needed time to find a replacement the last time the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football coach lost his defensive coordinator.
This time around, he was prepared.
Arth announced Friday that inside linebackers coach Matthew Feeney will be taking over as the Mocs' defensive signal-caller in 2018. Feeney succeeds Tom Kaufman, who left for an associate head coach/defensive coordinator position at Kent State. Also leaving for the Football Bowl Subdivision program is defensive line coach Brian Cochran.
Arth also promoted outside linebackers coach Shelton Felton to assistant head coach.
Kaufman - who replaced Brandon Staley, who accompanied Arth from John Carroll University but left two months later for a job with the Chicago Bears - had just finished his first season as a defensive coordinator. His UTC defense improved throughout the season and was at its best at the end, holding Samford, Wofford and East Tennessee State to 238.7 yards per game and helping the Mocs defeat then-eighth-ranked Samford as well as ETSU.
For the season, the Mocs finished first in the Southern Conference and 25th in the country in yards allowed (326.4) and first in the league and 11th in the country in passing yards allowed (163.2). They were fifth in the league against the run and fifth in pass-efficiency defense.
Feeney, who at 26 will be one of the youngest coordinators in the NCAA, has coached with Arth the past four seasons. In their three seasons together at Division III member JCU, the Blue Streaks finished in the top 15 in the nation in total defense.
He was also a standout linebacker at the school, earning the Gene Slaughter Award his senior year as the top linebacker in the Ohio Athletic Conference.
"There are very few people who have been more impactful in my coaching career than Matt Feeney," Arth said in a news release. "As the captain of my first team at John Carroll, to a volunteer assistant, graduate assistant and linebackers coach, Matt has played a significant role in our success. His understanding of our defense and his ability to effectively teach it to players and coaches alike has positioned him well for this opportunity, but it is his character and innate leadership abilities that will allow him to flourish in his new role as defensive coordinator.
"Matt has a rare demeanor and ability to think critically and apply his knowledge in stressful situations. As our defensive coordinator, Matt will also be excellent in recruiting. He is a humble, conscious and honest man who will earn the trust of student-athletes, family members and school personnel just as he has with all the players and coaches he has worked with."
Felton was one of the final additions to the UTC coaching staff, replacing Demarcus Covington, who left for a position with the New England Patriots in May. He had spent two seasons as the head coach at Crisp County High School in Georgia, improving the team from three wins in his first season to 13 in his second and a trip to the state semifinals, a first in school history.
"We knew that we had hired a special person and coach in Shelton last spring, but the contributions he has made to our program and the confidence, trust and belief that I have found in him have proven to be invaluable," Arth said. "Shelton is truly a person who has earned a strong voice within our organization and someone who I believe in to help me make the right decisions to positively impact our players and program."
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenleytfp.