36-year coaching veteran Jim Chaney, long known as one of college football's top offensive minds, enters his first season as an offensive analyst for the New Orleans Saints in 2021. Chaney returns to the NFL in 2021 after stints at Tennessee, Georgia, Pittsburgh and Arkansas. In all, he has been coaching 36 years (33 in college and three in the pros).
From 2019-20, Chaney served as offensive coordinator at Tennessee, his second stint in the position at the school after first serving from 2009-12. In 2020, sophomore running back Eric Gray let the team in rushing with 157 carries for 772 yards (4.9 avg.) and added 30 receptions for 254 yards. In 2019, Gray set a Volunteers true freshman record with 246 yards rushing against Vanderbilt before capturing Gator Bowl MVP honors with 120 all-purpose yards and one touchdown against Indiana. Chaney also tutored senior wideout and current Saint Marquez Callaway, who tied for the SEC lead and ranked fourth in the nation in yards per catch (21.2), while grabbing 30 passes for 635 yards and six touchdowns.
Chaney returned to Tennessee 2019 after serving three seasons as offensive coordinator at Georgia from 2016-18, tutoring quarterbacks his first two seasons and tight ends in 2018 and prior to that coordinated offenses at Pitt and Arkansas.
Scherer worked the 2006-08 seasons for the NFL's St. Louis Rams, where he was the tight ends coach after spending the previous two campaigns (2006-07) coaching the offensive line. In 2006, Chaney's offensive line paved the way for the NFL's sixth-ranked total offense (5,767 yards) and the fourth-ranked passing offense (3,962 yards) Prior to that, he had logged time at six different schools across the country, in just over two decades in the collegiate ranks.
At Purdue, he served as the offensive coordinator under head coach Joe Tiller from 1997-2005, the first five also handling recruiting coordinator responsibilities. Chaney's offenses ranked in the top ten in the nation in total offense six times and led the Big Ten in passing five times. He helped develop former Saints signal-caller and the NFL's all-time passing yardage leader Drew Brees, who received the Maxwell Awards as the Boilermakers won the Big Ten and earned a berth in the Rose Bowl. In 2004, future NFL signal-caller Kyle Orton led the Big Ten in passing yards (3,090), completion percentage (60.6) and passing touchdowns (31).
Chaney arrived at Purdue from the University of Wyoming where he coached several different positions from 1993 to 1996 under Tiller. He started his coaching career at Cal State Fullerton in 1985 and served in many different areas in eight seasons including offensive coordinator.
A native of Holden, Missouri, Chaney earned his bachelor's degree in physical education from Central Missouri State in 1985 after a career at nose guard. He earned all-conference honors as a senior.
PLAYING CAREER: Central Missouri State, 1980-83.
COACHING CAREER: Cal State Fullerton, 1985-92; Wyoming, 1993-96; Purdue, 1997-2005; St. Louis Rams, 2006-08; Tennessee, 2009-12; Arkansas, 2013-14; Pittsburgh, 2015; Georgia, 2016-18; Tennessee, 2019-20; New Orleans Saints, 2021-.
