The following is a guest post by Scott Felts of the Blazer Chronicles and contributor to Rocky Top Tennessee 2012.
As the 2012 season approaches, it is easy to get excited about the crispness in the morning air, the smell of tailgate grills, and the sounds of pads popping from players old and new. However, on Rocky Top it is not just new players that Tennessee fans need to familiarize themselves with. Head Coach Derek Dooley's staff has seven new faces on it, and in Rocky Top Tennessee 2012, I profile these new faces along with staff holdovers Jim Chaney and Darin Hinshaw.
In the article, we talk in-depth about the details and tidbits about the coaching staff that will lead the Volunteers onto the field in 2012 and beyond, including the following:
- New Defensive Coordinator Sal Sunseri's 27 years of coaching experience and his two sons that play college football for other BCS schools.
- Defensive Line Coach John Palermo's 37 years coaching experience, which included a stint against his new co-worker, offensive coordinator Jim Chaney from Purdue, while at Wisconsin.
- Relative coaching newcomers' bios in cornerbacks coach Derrick Ansley and safeties coach Josh Conklin.
- What Tennessee legend and new running backs coach Jay Graham been doing since playing for the Vols.
- Versatile offensive line coach Sam Pittman,who coached from high school to community college to mid major universities all the way to BCS conference school North Carolina before arriving in Knoxville.
- Nine-year NFL veteran and new special teams/tight end coach Charlie Coiner, who has worked with three other Tennessee assistants at various stops over a 25-year period.
- Updated info about Tennessee's two "veterans," Jim Chaney and wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator Darin Hinshaw.
Which of the new coaches are you most excited about? Would you have made any different hires? Let us know below, and if you haven't already, order a copy of Rocky Top Tennessee 2012 in print, for $19.99, via Kindle for $9.99, or by ebook (a downloadable PDF) for $7.99.