KNOXVILLE – From the moment that Tyson Helton left for a head coaching position at Western Kentucky, Jeremy Pruitt had an idea of what he was looking for in the next Tennessee offensive coordinator.
It may have taken a while, but in the end it appears he got exactly what – and perhaps whom – he wanted.
According to multiple reports, including by 247Sports.com, Pruitt has hired Georgia offensive coordinator Jim Chaney to take over as the Volunteers’ play-caller next season. Chaney has experience in the Tennessee program, having served as the offensive coordinator from 2009 to 2012 under former head coaches Lane Kiffin and Derek Dooley.
He has spent over 20 years as an offensive coordinator at various levels of college football – and nine of the past 10 in the Southeastern Conference. He wasn’t retained in Knoxville after the hiring of Butch Jones as head coach in 2012 and took over at Arkansas, where he had a 1,000-yard rusher and a 900-yard rusher his first season, and a pair of 1,000-yard rushers and a 2,000-yard passer in 2013.
He then spent a season at Pittsburgh, developing former Vol Nathan Peterman into an NFL-level quarterback before moving back to the SEC and coaching at Georgia.
The past two seasons, the Bulldogs have had two 1,000-yard rushers and a quarterback throwing for more than 2,500 yards. In 2018, Georgia averaged 464.9 yards and 37.9 points per game.
Chaney’s mission will be to help revive a Tennessee offense that while showing improvement from 2017, still ranked 121st in the FBS in total offense (325.5 yards) and 108th in scoring (22.8) per game in 2018 – up from 291.1 yards and 19.8 points in 2017, which ranked 124th and 117th, respectively.
The search for Helton’s replacement lasted six weeks, with a number of names being linked to the opening. Not long after Helton’s departure, Pruitt decided to focus his efforts on recruiting, helping the Vols sign 19 players in the early period, most of whom are already on campus as early enrollees.
Now it appears the offense has its leader.
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3 or at Facebook.com/VolsUpdate.