A few weeks after Tennessee parted ways with now former defensive coordinator John Jancek, he’s reportedly landed a new job.
Jancek will coach the safeties at the University of South Florida under head coach Willie Taggart, according to a report from Sports Illustrated’s Thayer Evans.
Ex-Tennessee DC John Jancek will be new safeties coach for South Florida coach Willie Taggart per source.
— Thayer Evans (@ThayerEvansCR) January 29, 2016
Jancek will be on staff there with wide receivers coach T.J. Weist, who was with Jancek under Butch Jones at the University of Cincinnati. The Bulls were 8-5 (6-2 in the AAC) in 2015, finishing the season with a loss to Western Kentucky in the Miami Beach Bowl.
Jancek served as Jones’ defensive coordinator for the past six years, three at Tennessee and three at Cincinnati, before Jones announced that they parted ways following the 2015 season. Tennessee hired Penn State defensive coordinator Bob Shoop to the same position earlier this month to replace Jancek.
“Well, first of all, any time you make a change, it’s very difficult,” Jones said after announcing Shoop’s hiring. “Obviously, there are relationships that are built, and families are involved. I’ll tell you this, it’s the hardest thing I’ve had to do as a head football coach. Sometimes you have to step back and look at everything. You have a personal side and a professional side. I’m very thankful for Coach Jancek. Coach Jancek has done a very good job for us. I love his family and I love John, but sometimes you have to step back.
“As a leader you’re forced to make very, very difficult decisions. It’s a decisions that I wanted to do my due diligence in because everything is affected – families, your staff, your players, all that. I just felt that was in the best interest, but John’s a great football coach and football mind. I will help him every way I can because I have a tremendous amount of respect for him and his family.”
Tennessee will owe Jancek the difference in his salary at South Florida and the $520,000 base contract at UT that runs through Feb. 2017.
