James Allen Chaney (born January 12, 1962) is an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

coach and former player. He is an offensive analyst for

Georgia State University Georgia State University (Georgia State, State, or GSU) is a Public university, public research university in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1913, it is one of the University System of Georgia's four research universities. It is al ...

, a position he has held since 2024. 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 The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...

from 2016 to 2018. Chaney also served as the offensive coordinator at

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas, United States. It is the Flagship campus, flagship campus of the University of Arkan ...

from 2013 to 2014 and

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee, Knoxville (or The University of Tennessee; UT; UT Knoxville; or colloquially UTK or Tennessee) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee, United St ...

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 An offensive coordinator (OC) is a Coach (sport), coach responsible for a gridiron football team's offense (American football), offense. Generally, the offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator and special teams coordinator represent the second ...

at the

from 2019 to 2020, under Head Coach Jeremy Pruitt

Coaching career

Chaney served as the offensive coordinator and multiple other assistant positions for other NCAA football programs such as: Purdue,

Wyoming Wyoming ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...

, Cal State Fullerton, and Western Michigan. Between 2006 and 2009, he served as an assistant coach for the St. Louis Rams of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL), working with the offensive line and tight ends. Chaney was brought to Tennessee in 2009 by Lane Kiffin. After the hiring of Derek Dooley in January 2010, it was confirmed that Chaney would remain at Tennessee as the offensive coordinator. Tennessee named Chaney as the interim head coach on November 18, 2012, after it fired Dooley. Six days later, Chaney won his only game as interim head coach as Tennessee defeated

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

37–17. Following his time at Tennessee, he had roles at Arkansas, Pitt, and Georgia as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. On January 8, 2019, Chaney was hired to return to the University of Tennessee to serve as Jeremy Pruitt's Offensive Coordinator. Following his departure at Tennessee, he was an offensive analyst for the New Orleans Saints and later Georgia Tech and Texas A&M. He was named the offensive coordinator for Georgia State starting in the 2024 season. He transitioned into an analyst role for Georgia State following the 2024 season.

Offensive philosophy

While 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. This was evidenced by the fact that future

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual History of the NFL championship, league championship game of the National Football League (NFL) of the United States. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966 NFL season, 1966 (with the excep ...

-winning quarterback

Drew Brees Drew Christopher Brees (; born January 15, 1979) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 20 seasons. A member of the New Orleans Saints for most of his career, Brees is sec ...

(starting quarterback from 1997-2000) thrived in Chaney's offense and went on to break and set college, Big Ten and

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

records. When

Urban Meyer Urban Frank Meyer III (born July 10, 1964) is an American Sports commentator, sportscaster and former college football coach. He spent most of his coaching career at the collegiate level, having served as the head coach of the Bowling Green F ...

took his first coaching job at Bowling Green, he sought advice from several of the best coaches using the spread offense, including Jim Chaney. After spending a few years in the NFL Chaney gained a newfound appreciation for the pro-style offense. When Chaney came to Tennessee, he and Kiffin fielded a very pro-style offense, very similar to what Kiffin used at

USC USC may refer to: Education United States * Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, Santurce, Puerto Rico * University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina ** University of South Carolina System, a state university system of South Carolina * ...

Head coaching record

References

External links

Georgia State Panthers bio

Tennessee Volunteers bio

Georgia Bulldogs bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chaney, Jim 1962 births Living people American football defensive tackles Arkansas Razorbacks football coaches Cal State Fullerton Titans football coaches Central Missouri Mules football players Georgia Bulldogs football coaches Pittsburgh Panthers football coaches Purdue Boilermakers football coaches St. Louis Rams coaches Tennessee Volunteers football coaches Western Michigan Broncos football coaches Wyoming Cowboys football coaches People from Holden, Missouri Players of American football from Missouri Georgia State Panthers coaches