The name Zach Azzanni was a complete unknown to NFL fans everywhere just a week ago. He was enjoying a quiet but fulfilling existence as the wide receivers coach and passing game coordinator for the Tennessee Volunteers. Almost out of nowhere he received a call and request from the Chicago Bears. He'd had no advanced warning about it and wasn't sure what it was all about.
Turns out they were interested in making him their next receivers coach. According to the Knoxville New Sentinel, Azzanni was absolutely blindsided when he got word that the Bears were interested.
To say Zach Azzanni was surprised by the interest from the Chicago Bears would be an understatement. The University of Tennessee wide receivers coach had no clue he was even on any NFL radars. “Hell yeah, I was shocked. Absolutely,” Azzanni said late Wednesday night. “I was all full speed, throttle down for next season here. That thing came and kind of staggered me a little bit.”Indeed it was also somewhat of a shock to the NFL media and Bears fans. Most had expected the team to explore the pro ranks for their next solution. Somebody with experience who could help further the development of young guys like Cameron Meredith and Kevin White. When word hit that it Azzanni, people were left scrambling for an idea of who he was.
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.
