Butch Jones and Tennessee are now in search of a new wide receivers coach.
Zach Azzanni is leaving the Vols to coach wide receivers for the Chicago Bears in the NFL, Tennessee confirmed via a press release on Wednesday morning.
It will be Azzanni’s first time as a coach in the NFL. Azzanni has been Tennessee’s wide receivers coach since Jones took over as head coach prior to the 2013 football season and has coached receivers for Bowling Green, Central Michigan, Florida, and Wisconsin prior.
Azzanni was considered a candidate for Tennessee’s vacant offensive coordinator position when it came open after Mike DeBord left the Vols to take a similar position at Indiana. Instead of promoting Azzanni, however, Jones elected to promote tight ends coach Larry Scott despite Scott only being on staff for one season.
Azzanni is the fifth departure for the Vols’ coaching staff this offseason, joining DeBord, offensive line coach Don Mahoney, defensive line coach Steve Stripling, and defensive backs coach Willie Martinez.
Butch Jones released a statement on Azzanni’s departure shortly after the news broke:
“We are really excited for Zach and his family. I have known Zach for a long time and this is a path he has wanted to pursue for some time. We can’t thank him enough for his loyalty, dedication and hard work over the past four years to our football program. We will begin the process of filling this position immediately. It’s a position we want to fill as quickly as we can, but we also want to go through the detailed process, which we will.”
We will continue to bring you coverage as Tennessee searches to fill their vacant wide receivers coach position.
