Zach Azzanni (born August 10, 1976) is an

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

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

who is the wide receivers coach for the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). Azzanni, who enters his 23rd season coaching wide receivers, previously coached with the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...

and spent the 2017 season with the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

following 18 years at the college level.

Early years

Azzanni played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

as a wide receiver at

Central Michigan University Central Michigan University (CMU) is a public research university in Mount Pleasant, Michigan. Established in 1892 as the Central Michigan Normal School and Business Institute, the private normal school became a state institution and renamed Cen ...

from 1994 to 1998. He graduated from Central Michigan with a degree in sports management in 1999.

Coaching career

College

Azzanni began his coaching career as wide receivers coach for

Valparaiso University Valparaiso University (Valpo) is a private university in Valparaiso, Indiana. It is a Lutheran university with about 3,000 students from over 50 countries on a campus of . Originally named Valparaiso Male and Female College, Valparaiso Universit ...

in 1999. He spent two seasons there before working as a graduate assistant under Head Coach

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

Bowling Green A bowling green is a finely laid, close-mown and rolled stretch of turf for playing the game of bowls. Before 1830, when Edwin Beard Budding of Thrupp, near Stroud, UK, invented the lawnmower, lawns were often kept cropped by grazing sheep on ...

from 2001 to 2002. Azzanni remained at Bowling Green after Meyer left to become Utah's head coach in 2003 and coached receivers for four seasons. Azzanni then served as the wide receivers coach, as well as the assistant head coach, at

. His CMU teams compiled a three-year record of 28–13, including three consecutive bowl appearances. Azzanni was hired by

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

after the 2009 college regular season. In his first game coaching with the Gators—the

2010 Sugar Bowl The 2010 Allstate Sugar Bowl was an American college football bowl game that was part of the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) for the 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season and was the 76th Sugar Bowl. The Florida Gators defeated the Cincinnati Be ...

—quarterback Tim Tebow threw for a career-high 482 yards in the Gators’ 51-24 win against Cincinnati. Azzanni then went on to be the offensive coordinator/wide receivers coach at

Western Kentucky Western Kentucky is the western portion of the U.S. state of Kentucky. It generally includes part or all of several more widely recognized regions of the state. ;Always included * The Jackson Purchase, the state's westernmost generally recogniz ...

in 2011 for one season. In 2012, he spent one season coaching the wide receivers at the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

. In 2013, Azzanni joined and spent four years at the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee (officially The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or UT Knoxville; UTK; or UT) is a public land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th state, ...

. He joined the Vols as wide receivers coach/recruiting coordinator before being promoted to passing game coordinator/wide receivers coach in 2015. Tennessee went to three consecutive bowl games from 2014 to 2016, winning each contest and averaging nearly 43 points per outing. The Vols’ passing attack in 2016, which featured six different players with at least 200 yards receiving, helped the offense set school records for single-season points (473) and touchdowns (63).

NFL

Chicago Bears

The Bears hired Azzanni as their wide receivers coach for the 2017 season.

Denver Broncos

The Broncos hired Azzanni as their wide receivers coach on January 22, 2018.

New York Jets

The Jets hired Azzanni as their wide receivers coach on February 20, 2023.

Coaching success

Azzanni has experienced three Bowl seasons at Central Michigan, a BCS All State Sugar Bowl win, another Outback Bowl win at Florida, 2 Bowl wins while Wide Receiver's Coach at Bowling Green, including one over Big Ten Opponent Northwestern and a TaxSlayer Gator Bowl and Outback Bowl win at Tennessee against the Iowa Hawkeyes. Players he has coached include

Antonio Brown Antonio Tavaris Brown Sr. (born July 10, 1988), nicknamed "AB", is an American football wide receiver who is a free agent, and an American rapper. Raised in Liberty City, Miami, Brown attended Miami Norland High School. He played college fo ...

(CMU), Charles Sharon (Bowling Green), and Western Kentucky running back

Bobby Rainey Bobby Gene Rainey, Jr. (born October 16, 1987) is a former American football running back and return specialist. He signed with the Baltimore Ravens as an undrafted free agent in 2012. He has also played for the Cleveland Browns, Tampa Bay Bucca ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Azzanni, Zach 1976 births Living people American football wide receivers Bowling Green Falcons football coaches Central Michigan Chippewas football coaches Central Michigan Chippewas football players Chicago Bears coaches Denver Broncos coaches Florida Gators football coaches Tennessee Titans coaches Tennessee Volunteers football coaches Valparaiso Beacons football coaches Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football coaches Wisconsin Badgers football coaches