Back in 2009, Lane Kiffin was hired as Tennessee’s head coach, and he brought Jim Chaney onto his Volunteer staff as the offensive coordinator.

Though Kiffin left after the 2009 season, Chaney remained through Derek Dooley’s failed tenure as head coach, taking over in an interim capacity when Dooley was fired in 2012.

On Wednesday, Kiffin — who now coaches at Florida Atlantic — joined FOX Sports Radio in Knoxville and said he loves the decision by current Tennessee coach Jeremy Pruitt to hire Chaney and bring him back to Rocky Top (via KnoxNews.com):

“This is not a home run. This is a grand slam,” Kiffin said of Tennessee’s hire on Wednesday. “With Chaney coming in there, I think that will help the other side of the ball, which will allow Jeremy to even focus more on defense.”

Obviously, Kiffin isn’t exactly the most popular guy in Knoxville these days, but he knows Chaney well, so Tennessee fans should be excited about his assessment of the hire.

Can he do for the Vols what he did for the Georgia Bulldogs? Only time will tell.