- Associated Press - Tuesday, February 22, 2011

NASHVILLE, TENN. (AP) - Tennessee coach Mike Munchak is closer to filling out his coaching staff after hiring four new assistants, including Dave Ragone as wide receivers coach.

The Titans announced the new hires Tuesday.

Munchak also hired Art Valero as assistant offensive line coach to work with Bruce Matthews, Chet Parlavecchio as assistant special teams coach and Arthur Smith as the new defensive assistant for quality control.

Munchak decided not to retain Marty Galbraith as special teams assistant or assistant secondary coach Tim Hauck.

Ragone, a third-round draft pick out of Louisville in 2003, played with the Houston Texans between 2003 and 2005. He spent last year coaching quarterbacks with the UFL’s Hartford Colonels for the Titans’ new offensive coordinator Chris Palmer.

“He has a great understanding of offense and how it all fits together, and I believe he will be a good fit for the receivers room,” Munchak said of Ragone. “He will give them a different perspective and different approach to the game.”

Valero has 21 years of coaching experience, including the last nine in the NFL coaching tight ends, running backs and the offensive line. He spent last season in Seattle as the assistant offensive line coach.

Parlavecchio was a teammate of Munchak’s at Penn State before being a sixth-round draft pick by Green Bay in 1982 with one season played in 1983 with the Packers and the Rams. He coached linebackers at Temple in 1992 and 1993 but has spent more than two decades as a high school coach in New Jersey.

Smith was an administrative assistant at Mississippi last year but spent three seasons with the Washington Redskins as a college scouting assistant and two years as defensive quality control coach.

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