Zach Azzanni is in his second year as wide receivers coach with the Denver Broncos in 2019 after being named to his current position on Jan. 22, 2018.
Azzanni, who enters his 21st season coaching wide receivers, spent the last two seasons with Denver (2018) and Chicago (2017) following 18 years at the collegiate level.
Denver’s receiver group in 2018 featured little NFL experience behind veterans Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders, who only played eight and 12 games, respectively because they were traded (Thomas) or injured (Sanders).
Azzanni was instrumental in developing first-year receivers Courtland Sutton (42-704, 4 TDs), DaeSean Hamilton (30-243, 2 TDs) and Tim Patrick (23-315, 1 TD), who combined for 95 receptions for 1,262 yards (13.3 avg.) with seven touchdowns. Sutton’s 704 receiving yards ranked fourth in franchise history for a rookie as he became the team’s No. 1 receiving option during the last four weeks of the season.
Before his lone season coaching wide receivers for the Bears, Azzanni spent four years at the University of Tennessee. He joined the Vols as wide receivers coach/recruiting coordinator in 2013 before being promoted to passing game coordinator/wide receivers coach in 2015.
Tennessee went to three consecutive bowl games from 2014-16, 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).
Prior to joining Tennessee’s staff, Azzanni spent one season each at the University of Wisconsin (2012 – wide receivers coach), Western Kentucky University (2011 – offensive coordinator/wide receivers) and the University of Florida (2010 – wide receivers/passing game coordinator). Azanni coached in three bowl games, including two BCS Bowls, during this span with Wisconsin and Florida.
In his lone season at Western Kentucky, the Hilltoppers featured college football’s second leading rusher in Bobby Rainey (141.3 ypg) while Jack Doyle ranked fifth in the nation among tight ends with 614 receiving yards.
Azzanni was hired by Florida after the conclusion of the 2009 college regular season. In his first game coaching with the Gators—the 2010 Sugar Bowl—quarterback Tim Tebow threw for a career-high 482 yards in the Gators’ 51-24 win against Cincinnati.
Azzanni spent three years as assistant head coach/wide receivers at his alma mater, Central Michigan University, from 2007-09. He was the lead recruiter and position coach for current Oakland Raiders wide receiver Antonio Brown, who totaled 305 receptions for 3,199 yards (10.5 avg.) with 22 touchdowns during the same span in Mount Pleasant while transitioning from a high school quarterback.
After beginning his coaching career as wide receivers coach for Valparaiso University from 1999-2000, Azzanni worked as a graduate assistant under Head Coach Urban Meyer at Bowling Green from 2001-02. He stayed with the school for four more seasons (2003-06) as wide receivers coach, crossing paths with Broncos Head Coach Vance Joseph, who worked with the school’s defensive backs in 2004.
A former wide receiver at Central Michigan from 1994-98, Azzanni graduated from the school with a degree in sports management in 1999.
Azzanni is married to Julia and the couple has four daughters: Ava (12), Lyla (111), Zia (7) and Lucia (3).
