Kirby Not So Smart in Hiring of Jim Chaney as OC for Georgia Bulldogs
Written by Ryan Wright
Twitter: @HogManInLA
The landscape of college football has drastically changed over the last decade where seeing a head coach stay at a given program for life is not likely to happen. Case in point the Georgia Bulldogs. The Georgia upper crust felt it necessary to part ways with head coach Mark Richt after he posted an 145-51 career record in Athens nine times posting 10 or more wins with a tenth cut short at nine wins after being fired at the end of the 2015 college football season.
Richt only had one losing season, which was in 2010 when the Bulldogs finished 6-7. Three seasons ago Georgia was one play away from winning the SEC Championship Game and playing Notre Dame in the BCS National Championship Game but all of that has quickly been forgotten.
In the “what have you done for me lately” world of college football where every program somehow now expects to win a conference championship every year, new Georgia head coach Kirby Smart is not starting his tenure in Athens off wisely. Reports surfaced via the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that Smart had hired Jim Chaney as the team’s new offensive coordinator replacing Brian Schottenheimer.
Georgia fans should be the first to know that Chaney’s offenses are largely underperforming and are paint by numbers in terms of creativity trying to get the ball into the hands of different play-makers. Chaney was at Tennessee from 2009, Lane Kiffin’s first year and only year, and was there through the Derek Dooley years. Under Kiffin, the Vols went 7-6 after Philllip Fulmer. Under Dooley and Chaney, Tennessee went 6-7 and then posted back-to-back 5-7 campaigns.
Bret Bielema rolled the dice on Chaney in 2013 hiring him to head up the Arkansas Razorback offense. The Hogs claim to fame was their stout running game highlighted by two surefire NFL caliber running backs, Jonathan Williams and Alex Collins. Arkansas had a young but big and talented offense blowing up holes. Through all of the ground game success the Hogs never developed a passing attack under Chaney and starting quarterback Brandon Allen did not start to blossom as a passer until Dan Enos took over.
In 2013, Allen passed for 1,552 yards with 13 touchdowns against 10 picks. The Hogs finished with the 105th ranked scoring offense and the No. 114 passing attack. Arkansas got better in 2014 thanks to the running game. Williams and Collins both went over the 1,100 yard rushing mark with each scoring 12 touchdowns on the ground. The passing attack had more open windows but a vast improvement was not had going from 149 passing yards a game to 188.
Chaney has made his living off his work with Drew Brees while at Purdue (1997-2001). Smart wants to keep the nation’s No. 1 pro-style quarterback, Washington’s Jacob Eason committed to UGA. Eason is visiting Athens this weekend thus the outside perception of a rush to hire an offensive coordinator.
Athens beware. Chaney went to Pitt for the 2015 season as the team’s offensive coordinator. In some fairness, Pitt lost their top offensive player, running back James Conner in Week 1 due to a torn MCL. Regardless of the circumstances, it is the job of the offensive coordinator to produce offensive numbers. Pitt finished with the nation’s No. 95 passing attack, 195 yards per game, and the nation’s No. 49 rushing attack, 186 yards per game. Pitt had the nation’s No. 76 overall offense with the nation’s No. 70 scoring offense posting 28 pointer per game, ranked No. 70 in FBS on their way to an 8-4, 6-2 campaign.
The numbers were a dramatic drop off from a 2014 squad that posted 435 yards of offense per game ranked No. 40. A scoring offense posting 32 per, ranked No. 43, and a rushing game ranked No. 15 at 250 yards per contest. Guess the silver lining is an improvement from the nation’s 102nd ranked passing attack to the No. 95? Or 186 yards to 195 yards per game? Anyone remember wide receiver Tyler Boyd?
Chaney has done one smart thing for Kirby, reportedly hiring away his offensive line coach at Arkansas, Sam Pittman.
One can argue that the talent level will be better at Georgia thus Chaney will be able to do better. If that argument rings true then Richt would have never been fired. Chaney has not produced championship winning teams and will eventually be an albatross around the neck of Smart and Georgia… Athens beware!
Photo credit: arkansasonline.com; Jim Chaney at Tennessee
I doubt you know a damn thing you stupid twat. Kirby Smart has forgotten more about football than a dumb Arkansas hick like you will ever know. Arkansas is trash, doesn’t have the talent, and never had a defense. Worry about your own program you stupid idiot.
Hubert Hammack (if that is your real name),
First, thanks for reading. Secondly, not sure which team you’re following, Alabama or Georgia, but Arkansas had the nation’s No. 10 total defense in 2014. The pass defense for the Hogs was really bad this year but had the nation’s No. 16 ranked rush defense. Their horrible defense held 2015 Heisman Trophy Award winner Derrick Henry to 95 yards rushing on 27 carries. Georgia allowed Henry to rush for 148 yards on 26 carries. Arkansas was the only SEC team to hold him under 100.
If Arkansas was so bad in so many ways as alluded in your post, why is Smart trying to hire away several of Bielema’s assistants? Went after OC Dan Enos but could not get him because of a no-compete clause. Went after his previous OC, Chaney, who was let go, and then went after their OL coach, Sam Pittman, and got because of Chaney and Pittman’s relationship.
If you followed the SEC you would know Chaney does not produce prolific offenses per say but at times focuses the offense on one player highlighting that player at the expense of the offense as a whole. If you’re a UGA fan, if your program is so great, why was Mark Richt let go? When was the last time Georgia won a national championship??? 1980. How could a team one-year removed from the Big 12 beat Georgia in consecutive years for the SEC East title? How could a first-year coach at Florida beat Georgia for a SEC East title?
The article pointed out that Chaney was not a good hire, thus not a smart hire by Smart. Guess all of this needs to be pointed out to you since I doubt you know a damn thing as well… (see your above comment for the fill in the blank portion).
Thanks again for reading.
You were/are on target. His offense is worse than Shotty’s last year. Greg McGarity Needs to go with Chaney. The only reason I’m not calling for Kirbys head is that it is his first year as a head coach. However, the seat needs to get hot… Preformance and wins matter… the current staff is not making it.
Roger,
Thanks for reading and posting a comment. This article was not too popular with UGA fans at the time. lol
Thanks for reading!
RNG
Funny how awsome it is now. You sir are a Gentleman and a scholar.
Chaney just might cause Kirby to lose this team if he ain’t careful. When Chubb and Sony have a problem with your play calls and hold a meeting with the OC……it ain’t good. I would like to see Kirby help rehabilitate Art Briles’ career like saban is currently doing for Sark.
Larry,
Thanks for reading and commenting. Briles would be an interesting hire. He is obviously a great football mind. I wonder if any school will move on him until all the Baylor problems clear up. Might be easier to hire him early and then deal with it once everything comes to light???
RNG
Whoever hires Art is going to have to deal with some sort of backlash. Personally I think it’s worth it. Did he make some bad decisions? Yes, but who hasn’t? Chaney will be the death of Kirby. It took Chaney 9 games to figure out that the toss sweep should be run more than once per game. I can’t stand him as a coach. He has zero creativity, zero adjustability and is just all around terrible. UGA’s offense is horrendous due to him alone. I’ve never seen a UGA offense look this bad. Makes you miss Bobo. Kirby is going to have to do something but we all know he won’t. Chaney will be around for at least one more year, producing absolutely nothing on offense with all the talent in the world. Kirby will be forced to fire his fat ass after next season. That gives Kirby two more years to figure it out before being canned himself. He’s got the defense moving in the right direction but man the O looks like garbage. Art or even Kendall Briles would take this same offense and turn them into a machine. I’m hoping and praying all my tweets and facebooking and prayers payoff and get his buffet eating ass outta Athens. He is even disgraceful to look at.
LOL! Larry, thanks again for reading and sharing!
I hope UGA can turn it around sooner than later.
RNG
Larry, I think at this point anyone decent offensive mind we can get to replace Chaney would be welcomed (or should be). Chaney has had a less than stellar OC career in the SEC, and the day they announced he was hired I was unimpressed knowing what the future would hold with him at the reigns. I agree with you that Smart will not fire Chaney until all other options are gone. But given the God awful loss to Tech yesterday, it may be getting closer. Not to mention Smart may be replacing our DC as well, given that I’m sure Tucker will take the GA State job. All we can do now it try not to get embarrassed in whatever underwear bowl we go to, and pray for better results next year.
Hey Mac,
Thanks for reading. Hopefully Smart will be able to get his staff set. Head coaches are only as good as their staff, in most cases. He will not last long in Athens, even if he continues to recruit well, if he cannot get wins on the board.
RNG
This was spot on Ryan. Chaney is terrible. I hope Kirby is smart enough to call this a rookie Head Coach mistake and make a change fast. If not, it may cost him dearly.
John,
Thanks for reading. The SEC is better as a whole when Georgia is good. I hope they find a good OC to compliment all the talent in Athens!
RNG
I went and looked up Chaney’s past seasons at Purdue, Pitt and all SEC schools and saw that he’s never been a part of a 10 win campaign! He’s had a couple of 9 win seasons and that’s it! It took a Super Bowl winning QB to get this coach killer 9 wins! What the hell was CKS thinking? I’m positive that Kirby will see the writing on the wall after next years flop. Worst hire in UGA history, in all sports!