Report: Jim Chaney working with Tennessee Football staff as remote analyst

Former Tennessee Football offensive coordinator and interim head coach Jim Chaney is back on staff with the Vols as a remote analyst, according to a report from the Knoxville News Sentinel on Thursday. 

The News Sentinel reported that the Vols hired Chaney in late July.

Chaney first worked at Tennessee under former head coach Lane Kiffin in 2009, when he was offensive coordinator and running backs coach in 2009.

He was offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach under Derek Dooley beginning in 2010, then was the interim head coach after Dooley was fired in November 2012. 

Chaney led the Vols to a win 37-17 home win over Kentucky as interim head coach, before Butch Jones was hired for the 2013 season. 

He returned to Knoxville as offensive coordinator under Jeremy Pruitt for the 2019 and 2020 season, before Pruitt was fired in January 2021. 

Chaney was an offensive analyst with the New Orleans Saints in 2021, then at Georgia Tech (2022) and Texas A&M (2023) before working as Georgia State’s offensive coordinator in 2024. 

Between his two stints at Tennessee, Chaney went to Arkansas (2013-14), Pittsburgh (2015) and Georgia (2016-18) as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at all three stops. 

Tennessee’s offense has been back on track through the first three games this season, after struggling to score and create big plays during SEC games last season. 

The Vols lead the SEC in scoring (52.7 points per game) and passing offense (358.7). They’re third in the SEC in total offense (568.7) and sixth in rushing offense (210.0).

Big plays are back, too, with Joey Aguilar already this season throwing touchdowns of 73, 72, 56 and 53 yards. 

“We certainly tried last year, too,” Tennessee coach Josh Heupel said Thursday on The Mike Keith Show. “Historically, being able to throw the football vertically down the field has been one of our strong points and creating explosive plays in the pass game.

“I think it all plays together, from protection, to wide receiver playing with discipline, winning at the line of scrimmage, going and making plays down the field and the quarterback certainly being accurate with the ball down the field, too.”

The 73-yarder was to Braylon Staley in the 45-26 win over Syracuse to open the season in Atlanta on August 30. 

The 72-yarder and 56-yarder went to Chris Brazzell II against Georgia in the 44-41 overtime loss on Saturday and the 53-yarder went to Mike Matthews in the 72-17 win over ETSU two weeks ago. 

Aguilar also had a 32-yard touchdown pass to Staley against Georgia.

Tennessee leads the SEC in scrimmage plays of 50 yards or longer (5), 60 or longer (2) and 70 or longer (2).

“I think Joey is throwing the deep ball extremely well,” Heupel said on Thursday. “That’s one of the things that we saw on tape was that he was an accurate down-the-field passer and had the arm strength to do it. He’s been really good in his decision-making. 

“The other thing was that our wide receivers have done a really good job of going and attacking the football. Winning some contested one-on-ones, too. You look at Chris Brazzell’s catch last week early in the football game. I think it’s a combination of all those things, and then a big part of that, too, is the protection up front giving us time to throw it down the football field.”