There are a lot of people excited about Tennessee’s decision to hire Jim Chaney away from Georgia to be UT’s next offensive coordinator. Both former and current Vols took to Twitter to praise the hire, former Vol quarterback Tyler Bray said Chaney is a “great hire” for Tennessee, and head coach Jeremy Pruitt said Chaney is a perfect fit for UT’s offense and football program.
Apparently, everyone at UT is excited about Chaney returning to Knoxville to coach the Vols’ offense. And they’re happy he’s no longer at Georgia.
One of Tennessee’s official Twitter accounts sent out a tweet with a brief animated image on Wednesday that was likely intended as a troll reaction towards Georgia. Tennessee hired Chaney away from the Bulldogs after he had served as their OC the last three seasons.
— Tennessee Athletics (@Vol_Sports) January 9, 2019
Tennessee lured away Chaney from Georgia, but it came at a price. The Vols will be paying Chaney $4.8 million in base salary over the next three years to be their offensive coordinator according to contract details released today. His base pay in 2019 will be $1.5 million, which makes him the highest-paid offensive coordinator in college football right now.
We took a look at why Jim Chaney is the perfect hire for Tennessee right now over on RTI Premium!
As Georgia’s offensive coordinator, the Bulldogs ranked second in the SEC in points per game and fifth in total yards per game in 2018. They were third in the conference in average yards per play as well.
When Kirby Smart was hired as Georgia’s head coach prior to the 2016 season, he hired Chaney away from Pittsburgh to be his OC and quarterbacks coach. In his three years as Georgia’s OC, the Bulldogs had five running backs total over 900 rushing yards and had three eclipse the 1,000-yard mark. Georgia also totaled 66 passing touchdowns in those three seasons.
Against the Vols, Chaney’s offenses at Georgia averaged 36.7 points and 403.7 yards in three games. Georgia went 2-1 against Tennessee in those three contests.
Chaney coached for the Vols from 2009-12 and served as their offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. He was the OC for Tennessee’s record-setting offense in 2012.
