Pittsburgh Steelers wide receivers coach Zach Azzanni could be a candidate for the soon-to-be-vacant head coaching job at Central Michigan. The Athletic’s Chris Vannini created a list of possible candidates to replace Jim McElwain, who will retire at the end of the 2024 season. Azzanni was one of several names to appear on the list.
While the article doesn’t confirm Azzanni is definitively being considered, Vannini wrote that after “conversations with industry sources, here is a report card for the job and the potential candidates to watch.”
Vannini cites Azzanni’s ties with the school as one reason why he could be considered.
“A CMU alum who coached with the Chips from 2007 to ’09. He recruited Antonio Brown and Eric Fisher to the school during a dominant period under [Butch] Jones. He has also coached at Florida, Tennessee and Wisconsin and has been in the NFL since 2017. His receivers have played a big role in the Steelers’ 8-3 start this season.”
Azzanni, 48, has been coaching since the late 1990s. After playing receiver at Central Michigan, he got his first job at Valparaiso in 1999 and quickly moved up the ranks. After two years coaching wide receivers there, he was hired by Bowling Green as a grad assistant before being promoted to the team’s receivers coach.
It led him to Central Michigan in 2007 where, as the article points out, he recruited and coached Antonio Brown. Making the trek from Florida to Michigan, Brown had an impressive college career, posting 102 receptions as a freshman and finishing his time at the school with 3,199 yards and 22 touchdowns.
He didn’t receive much love from scouts in the pre-draft process because of his slight frame, lack of timed speed, and lower level of competition. But the Steelers took a chance on him in the sixth round, and he turned into a star.
Azzanni would bounce around several schools after Brown left. He’d find stability at Tennessee, coaching there from 2013-2016, before landing his first NFL job in 2017. The Chicago Bears hired him to be their wide receivers coach before he moved onto the Broncos, staying in Denver from 2018-2022. The New York Jets hired him in 2023 before he made the trip to Pittsburgh for 2024.
A high-energy and tough-love coach, Azzanni has helped George Pickens improve his game while Calvin Austin III is having the best season of his short NFL career. Azzanni is known for demanding consistent effort, run blocking, and being precise with details.
While his Chippewas connection makes him an interesting name to note, Azzanni has never been a coordinator, much less a head coach. It makes the leap a stretch to think he’ll be in the pool of serious head-coaching candidates. Still, he could receive an interview and may have the support of local boosters.
Central Michigan is looking for its first winning season since 2021. This season, they’re 4-7 and have lost five of their last six following a 3-2 start. McElwain was hired in 2019 and has taken the team to two bowl games, winning one.
The rest of Vannini’s list is full of college coaches with a mix of backgrounds. There’s Houston offensive coordinator Kevin Barbay, Butler head coach Mike Uremovich, and Iowa STs Coordinator LeVar Woods among several other names on the list.
