KNOXVILLE - Butch Jones may not have to go far to find Tennessee's next offensive coordinator, and it could provide him more flexibility as he looks to upgrade the coaching staff entering his fifth season with the Volunteers.
During a conference call on Tuesday, Jones indicated he was speaking with coaching candidates in both the college and NFL ranks, and he also didn't rule out promoting one of his current assistant coaches.
Tight ends coach Larry Scott and wide receivers coach Zach Azzanni are the two possibilities should Jones elect to go that route, which could allow him to focus on a quarterbacks coach for the vacancy on his staff.
"We have some very talented coaches on our staff already, and obviously I will speak with them and make a decision based on is there somebody that I feel comfortable doing that," Jones said. "I see these coaches every day. I'm in every single meeting with them. I'm on the headphones with them on game day. I'm in the game-planning meetings.
"I know their strengths and I know everyone's contributions and how valuable they are to our football program. I witness that on a day-to-day basis."
Scott has head-coaching experience from his interim stint at Miami in 2015, but he's never been a play-caller at the college level. Azzanni was named Tennessee's passing game coordinator following the 2014 season, and he also held that title at Florida under Urban Meyer in 2010. He was Western Kentucky's offensive coordinator in 2011.
Both have reputations as bright coaches. Scott was instrumental in helping former OC Mike DeBord orchestrate Tennessee's late-season explosion on offense. He was in the mix for the Florida Atlantic job that ultimately went to Lane Kiffin.
After indicating his No. 1 priority for this hire was finding an excellent developer of quarterbacks, Jones downplayed the necessity of play-calling experience as he outlined what he's looking for during this coaching search.
Neither of the internal candidates have coached quarterbacks in the past.
"That's obviously one of the qualities that we look for, but a lot of times, in terms of calling plays, a lot of those plays are scripted," he said.
"A lot of those plays are already done in your preparation from Sunday to Thursday to Friday, from situational football, obviously communication on the headsets in between series, communication at halftime and being able to make the proper adjustments. Calling plays is important, but that's not the only thing.
"I've been around a lot of great, great play callers that didn't have the experience prior to getting their first-time opportunity. It's like Coach DeBord and I spoke about, he had never called a play, and his first time calling plays at a high level, they won a national championship and went undefeated.
"It's really the direction of the staff. It's the ability to communicate, but also motivate that side of the ball as well. Calling plays and experience is important, but there's a lot of other things that go into determining who our next offensive coordinator will be as well."
While former Oregon coach Mark Helfrich may be the biggest name among Tennessee's potential targets, he's spent his entire playing and coaching career on the West Coast. His coaching resume includes stops at Boise State and Arizona State prior to landing at Oregon under Chip Kelly. His track record of offensive success is hard to ignore, though.
Most offensive coordinators also coach quarterbacks, but DeBord was a de facto co-offensive line coach with Don Mahoney as Nick Sheridan essentially coached the quarterbacks from his quality control spot. Sheridan is in line for a full-time position at Central Michigan.
If Jones is leaning toward an internal hire, the focus of his search shifts from looking for an offensive coordinator toward looking for a quarterbacks coach.
"The timeline goes back to finding the right fit," Jones said. "We're going to do what we do (because) we've been very successful on offense. To the recruits that are committed or that we are (targeting), it's pretty much going to be the same offense.
"But it's also exciting because it's an opportunity again to maybe get a fresh set of eyes, get some new ideas and bring some new energy. It's the ability to go maybe from good to great. It's the ability to enhance yourself and enhance the offense."
Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com.