ATHENS -- Tennessee's flirtation with Georgia wide receivers coach Tony Ball was drama-free and quiet, especially compared to the more publicized interactions between the Bulldogs' two coordinators and teams that were interested in acquiring their services. But that doesn't mean Ball's decision to remain at UGA was any less significant.

To hear Georgia coach Mark Richt talk about it, keeping Ball represented a major victory for the Bulldogs.

"I can tell you that I'm thrilled to death that he's still here," Richt said following Georgia's first spring practice on Saturday. "Tony's one of the best coaches I've been around. He's just so meticulous in his work. He's not takingt anything for granted with these kids. He's going to teach them the fundamentals of how to play that position from the very grassroots. Every little detail you would think of, he's going to cover it. If you're coachable and teachable, you're going to get better because of Coach Ball."

Georgia Athletic Director Greg McGarity confirmed that Ball interviewed with the Vols on Thursday. Tennessee reportedly offered Ball a job as running backs coach. Former Vol Jay Graham recently left Knoxville to take a similar position at Florida State.

McGarity declined to confirm reports out of Tennessee that the Bulldogs agreed to match the Vols' financial offer. Ball currently has a one-year contract as the Bulldogs' wide receivers coach and earns $210,000 a year, which is the average among Georgia's seven assistant coaches who are not coordinators.

In any case, the entire interplay was completed in a couple of days.

"I don't even know if the players knew what was going on," Richt said. "Tony's a very private guy. But I sure am glad he's staying."

Richt raved about Ball's unique abilities to coach offense. He came to Georgia in 2006 from Virginia Tech, where he was coaching receivers. But he coached running backs for the Bulldogs his first three years in Athens.

Then Georgia promoted Bryan McClendon (a former wide receiver) from graduate assistant coach to running backs coach in 2009 and moved Ball to receivers. Ball helped mold wide receiver A.J. Green and running back Knowshon Moreno into NFL lottery picks.

"Not only is he a good position coach, he's an outstanding special teams coach," Richt said. "I also see Tony as a guy who has a great understanding of the big picture. I think Tony understands the running game, I think he understands the passing game and he's got some really strong leadership qualities, too. I think he's a guy that could be a coordinator one day somewhere. But I'm really glad he's here."

Ball is the third Georgia assistant coach who has been the subject of overtures from other teams since the end of the season. Defensive coordinator Todd Grantham interviewed for the same position with the New Orleans Saints and offensive coordinator Mike Bobo was offered the same position with Virginia Tech this year.

Georgia lost Rodney Garner, who held the titles of defensive line coach, recruiting coordinator and assistant head coach, to Auburn shortly before Christmas. That the Bulldogs were able to retain the rest of their assistants in the wake of an SEC East title and a 12-2 season is the first victory of 2013.