COACHING CAROUSEL
Coach Position at UTC New PositionBrandon Staley Defensive Coordinator Outside Linebackers Coach, Chicago BearsShawn Bryson Running Backs Head Coach, Rabun Gup-Nacoochee HSDemarcus Covington Outside Linebackers Coaching Assistant, New England PatriotsTom Kaufman Defensive Coordinator Defensive Coordinator, Kent StateBrian Cochran Defensive Line Defensive Line Coach, Kent StateJonathan Cooley Cornerbacks Defensive Backs Coach, Kent StateRyan Aplin Wide Receivers Offensive Coordinator, North AlabamaZac Etheridge Defensive Backs Defensive Backs Coach, Louisiana-LafayetteShelton Felton Outside Linebackers Quality Control Assistant, TennesseeSteve Donatell Quality Control Outside Linebackers, UTCAustin Fleming Personnel Department Jacksonville Jaguars ScoutPatrick Kramer Quality Control/Quarterbacks Quality Control/Quarterbacks, Notre DameSteven Ruzic Personnel Department Recruiting, Ole MissTommy Tupa Offensive Assistant/Wide Receivers Assistant, San Francisco 49ers
With a recruiting class ranked in or around the top 10 of the Football Championship Subdivision this past offseason, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga head coach Tom Arth has shown that he has an eye for talent.
He’s also shown that he has an eye for coaching talent as well.
Former outside linebackers coach Shelton Felton recently took a quality control position with the University of Tennessee that was made official by UTC on Monday. Felton’s loss continues a trend of coaches leaving the Mocs’ program for higher positions since Arth arrived in Chattanooga in December of 2016.
Since his first national signing day at UTC in February of 2017, Arth has made 11 new hires. Although four of his initial staff members remain on staff, only two – offensive coordinator Justin Rascati and offensive line coach Nick Hennessey – are in their original positions.
Chris Hurd was hired as a special teams/tight ends coach but transitioned from tight ends to running backs after Shawn Bryson left for a high school head coaching job in North Carolina. Matt Feeney was promoted to defensive coordinator after Tom Kaufman – who had replaced Brandon Staley when he left for a job with the Chicago Bears – took a position at Kent State.
“I think you have to have a really good idea of what you’re looking for,” Arth said of his hiring process. “What are the most important traits and qualities in that position; how that person relates to the staff and their ability to teach the players; what are the non-negotiable things you can have and determining if they are a good fit for the staff, for the players. Lots of times, guys sort themselves out.
“You bring in the right people and rely on the right people to help you with recommendations. You always hope that somebody stands out and sets themselves apart to make it an easy decision. I think in a lot of cases, that’s what we’ve had: somebody that’s really stood out. That makes it an easy decision.”
In addition to the on-field coaches, five unpaid assistants have moved into new positions, the most recent being when Steve Donatell was hired to replace Felton and coach UTC’s outside linebackers. Two of those assistants, Austin Fleming and Tommy Tupa, moved on to NFL jobs, with Fleming becoming a scout for the Jacksonville Jaguars and Tupa taking a position with the San Francisco 49ers.
The other two, Patrick Kramer and Steven Ruzic, are now at Notre Dame and Ole Miss, respectively. Arth said that the opportunity to come and learn football in a system designed to get people ready for the next level has been a strong selling point.
“I think the way we play offensively, defensively, on special teams, there’s a lot to learn,” Arth said. “It’s not a cookie-cutter system: You have an opportunity to learn around really good coaches that can teach the game. These guys get a great opportunity to be around very knowledgeable coaches, very successful coaches they get to learn from, and when they get the chance to go interview for other jobs, they usually do pretty well.”
Of course, the revolving door is not something Arth wants. Ideally, one doesn’t want to lose his initial defensive coordinator prior to his first spring practice, like when Staley left, which postponed the start. Nobody wants to lose an assistant coach like Felton a month prior to the first game. But both things have happened, and the key has been for everyone to adjust.
“You never want to lose coaches every single year, but that’s part of it and we’re happy for them,” Arth said. “We’re very proud of them when they do have those opportunities to move on in their careers. One things as a head coach you have to be aware of is sometimes the pieces may change, the people may change, but we try to do a good job of keeping the system in place, keeping the program in place, the terminology in place so that for our players, they are having the opportunity to meet somebody new. Our outside linebackers will always have Coach Felton to rely on; they’ll always have Coach Covington they can call up and be a resource for them. Now they get this new person that they build a great relationship with.
“The scheme, the offense, the defense aren’t changing. That’s something that’s really important to me, that the systems we play, the scheme we play is what I believe in, and for as long as I’m a head coach that’s how we’re going to play. We have to find the people that can come in and understand that, that understand that coming here you have to learn how we do things and what we’re about and believe in what we’re about.”
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3.