Report: Receivers Coach Zach Azzanni Leaving for Tennessee

The hits won't stop striking Wisconsin's coaching staff. Per Tom Mulhern of the Wisconsin State Journal, receivers coach Zach Azzanni is set to join the new staff Butch Jones is putting together at Tennessee.

Azzanni is wrapping up his first year with the Badgers after making a solid impression with a group of widely young, inexperienced receivers. Per Mulhern, Azzanni will coach the Rose Bowl before joining the Vols, though Tennessee has not confirmed the move. On Thursday, Tennessee announced the hiring of nine members on Jones' staff, though no receivers coach was named.

Azzanni's connection to Jones dates back to last decade, when he was Jones' assistant head coach and receivers coach at Central Michigan from 2007 to 2009. Nevertheless, Azzanni last week expressed interest in staying on with Wisconsin as Director of Athletics searches for a new head coach in the wake of Bret Bielema leaving for Arkansas. But as Mulhern lays out, keeping the leftover staff together only grows more difficult as time wears on.

In an interview last weekend, Azzanni expressed interest in staying at UW. But as athletic director Barry Alvarez's search for Bret Bielema's successor drags out, it becomes more difficult for current staff members to wait it out.

"No, it's not easy," Azzanni said of the prospect of another move. "If I don't get an opportunity to stay here, this will be my sixth house in five years."

"I don't know what coach (Alvarez) is going to do or who he's going to go with," Azzanni added. "Hopefully, I have a chance to stay on."