James Allen Chaney (born January 12, 1962) is an American college football coach and former player who is the offensive coordinator for the Georgia State Panthers as of March 2024.[1] He previously served as an offensive analyst for the Texas A&M Aggies. Chaney previously served as the offensive coordinator for the University of Georgia from 2016 to 2018. Chaney also served as the offensive coordinator at University of Arkansas from 2013 to 2014 and University of Tennessee from 2009 to 2012, assuming the role of interim head coach for the final game of the 2012 season after Derek Dooley was fired. He was also the offensive coordinator at the University of Tennessee from 2019 to 2020, under Head Coach Jeremy Pruitt
 Chaney in 2018 | |
| Georgia State Panthers | |
|---|---|
| Position: | Offensive coordinator |
| Personal information | |
| Born: | January 12, 1962 Holden, Missouri, U.S. |
| Career information | |
| College: | Central Missouri State |
| Career history | |
| As a coach: | |
| |
| Head coaching record | |
| Regular season: | NCAA: 1–0 (1.000) |
| Career: | NCAA: 1–0 (1.000) |
Coaching career
editChaney served as the offensive coordinator and multiple other assistant positions for other NCAA football programs such as: Purdue, Wyoming, Cal State Fullerton, and Western Michigan.[2][3] Between 2006 and 2009, he served as an assistant coach for the St. Louis Rams of the National Football League (NFL), working with the offensive line and tight ends.[4] Chaney was brought to Tennessee in 2009 by Lane Kiffin.[5] After the hiring of Derek Dooley in January 2010, it was confirmed that Chaney would remain at Tennessee as the offensive coordinator.[6] Tennessee named Chaney as the interim head coach on November 18, 2012, after it fired Dooley.[7] Six days later, Chaney won his only game as interim head coach as Tennessee defeated Kentucky 37–17.[8] Following his time at Tennessee, he had roles at Arkansas, Pitt, and Georgia as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.[9][10] On January 8, 2019, Chaney was hired to return to the University of Tennessee to serve as Jeremy Pruitt's Offensive Coordinator.[11] Following his departure at Tennessee, he was an offensive analyst for the New Orleans Saints and later Georgia Tech and Texas A&M.[12][13][14] He was named the offensive coordinator for Georgia State starting in the 2024 season.[15]
Offensive philosophy
editWhile at Purdue, Chaney, along with head coach Joe Tiller, became known for using the spread offense – famously dubbed "basketball on grass" – at a time when it was still considered a novelty and not commonly used. The system relied on a strong passing game and Chaney's offense was one of the most potent in the country.[16] This was evidenced by the fact that future Super Bowl-winning quarterback Drew Brees (starting quarterback from 1997-2000) thrived in Chaney's offense and went on to break and set college, Big Ten and NCAA records.
When Urban Meyer took his first coaching job at Bowling Green, he sought advice from several of the best coaches using the spread offense, including Jim Chaney.[17] After spending a few years in the NFL Chaney gained a newfound appreciation for the pro-style offense.[18] When Chaney came to Tennessee, he and Kiffin fielded a very pro-style offense, very similar to what Kiffin used at USC.
Head coaching record
edit| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tennessee Volunteers (Southeastern Conference) (2012) | |||||||||
| 2012 | Tennessee | 1–0 | 1–0 | 6th (East) | |||||
| Tennessee: | 1–0 | 1–0 | |||||||
| Total: | 1–0 | ||||||||
References
edit- ^ "McGee Names Coordinators Jim Chaney, Kevin Sherrer". Georgia State University. March 5, 2024. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
- ^ Toppmeyer, Blake (January 11, 2019). "UT Vols: Jim Chaney's career took him across the country and back to Tennessee". Knoxville News Sentinel. Retrieved March 20, 2024.
- ^ "Jim Chaney - Football Coach". University of Tennessee Athletics. Retrieved March 20, 2024.
- ^ Odum, Charles (December 12, 2015). "Georgia hires Jim Chaney as offensive coordinator". The Florida Times-Union. Retrieved March 20, 2024.
- ^ Toppmeyer, Blake (January 9, 2019). "Lane Kiffin: Jim Chaney is a 'grand slam' hire for UT Vols". Knoxville News Sentinel. Retrieved March 20, 2024.
- ^ "Vols assistant Chaney stays; Baggett added". ESPN.com. Associated Press. January 19, 2010. Retrieved March 19, 2024.
- ^ Wolken, Dan (November 18, 2012). "Tennessee fires Derek Dooley after embarrassing loss". USA Today. Retrieved November 18, 2012.
- ^ Wiedmer, Mark (November 25, 2012). "Wiedmer: Vols' interim Chaney king for a day, at least". Chattanooga Times Free Press. Retrieved March 20, 2024.
- ^ Jones, Matt (January 11, 2015). "Reports: Chaney leaving Arkansas". Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Retrieved March 20, 2024.
- ^ Sostek, Dan (December 12, 2015). "Offensive coordinator Jim Chaney departing Pitt for Georgia". The Pitt News. Retrieved March 20, 2024.
- ^ Sallee, Barrett (January 9, 2019). "Tennessee reportedly hires Georgia offensive coordinator Jim Chaney for same role". CBSSports.com. Retrieved January 9, 2019.
- ^ Toppmeyer, Blake (March 4, 2021). "Jim Chaney, former Tennessee football offensive coordinator, lands NFL job". Knoxville News Sentinel. Retrieved March 20, 2024.
- ^ Riley, Connor (March 30, 2022). "Former Georgia offensive coordinator Jim Chaney joins coaching staff of UGA rival". DawgNation. Retrieved March 20, 2024.
- ^ Ohnysty, Cameron (February 24, 2023). "Texas A&M hires veteran coordinator Jim Chaney for analyst position". Aggies Wire. USA Today. Retrieved March 20, 2024.
- ^ "McGee Names Coordinators Jim Chaney, Kevin Sherrer". Georgia State University. March 5, 2024. Retrieved March 20, 2024.
- ^ Lay, Ken (December 26, 2021). "Looking back at Purdue's basketball on grass offense under Joe Tiller, Jim Chaney". Vols Wire. USA Today. Retrieved March 20, 2024.
- ^ Edwards, Drew (May 2, 2009). "Chaney knows his role, willing to adjust". Go Vols Xtra. University of Tennessee Athletics. Archived from the original on May 6, 2009.
- ^ Edwards, Drew (May 2, 2009). "'Country guy' Chaney says it's time to roll at UT". Go Vols Xtra. University of Tennessee Athletics. Archived from the original on March 9, 2012.