GOING A NEW ROUTE
Later in the interview he revealed how he popped up on their radar in the first place and what their plan was regarding the entire restructuring of their coaching staff.
“They called me based off reputation of how our players have played here and in my past performance as a receivers coach,” Azzanni said. “They wanted to go the college route and wanted someone with energy and new ideas. They interviewed some guys and didn’t like them and they just kept going and calling people. My name kept popping up. They called a bunch of coaches in the SEC and they told them you need to call this guy. This is the guy you need to hire. It was the darndest thing.”
This revelation is in keeping with the reputation of John Fox. He’s always been known as a head coach who takes his staffs seriously. He’s quite good at finding quality assistants and has been for years. It’s apparent he took his time and did his research carefully before settling on Azzanni.
History of Success
Indeed the young coach is deserving of the attention. Since joining the staff at Tennessee, there has been a steady improvement from the receiver position. From his arrival in 2013 the team went from passing for 1,979 yards to 3,100 this past season. Josh Malone is his latest success story, viewed by many as a major sleeper in the upcoming NFL draft.
Azzanni is only 40-years old. He’s still quite young but already brings a wealth of experience with him. He’s a disciple of the great Urban Meyer, a three-time national champion college coach. His lone stint as an offensive coordinator in 2011 resulted in two of his players finding future NFL success in running back Bobby Rainey and tight end Jack Doyle. Of course he was also the one who helped mold future superstar Antonio Brown at Central Michigan.
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No doubt the Bears feel they may have found a hidden gem with this hire. Time will tell if that’s true. If nothing else Azzanni has a great story for how his jump to the NFL came to pass.
