Todd Bowles shares what drew him to hire Bryan McClendon out of Georgia
Tuesday at the NFL Combine gave Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles his first opportunity to comment on new wide receivers coach Bryan McClendon, and that he did.
“One of the first guys Liam (Coen) brought up when he got the job was Bryan McClendon. He’s a heck of a wide receivers coach,” Bowles told reporters. “He’s a guy all the pros go to during the offseason to help get ready. Didn’t know if we could get him out of Georgia. Kirby does a great job with his staff down there, but talking to him, bringing him in, we’re very excited to have him. I don’t know what led him to leave Georgia. I know he was very loved there like he is here. I’m just happy to have him.”
Bowles of course has ties to Georgia with a son on the team in Athens. Troy, a linebacker, is entering his second season with the program. He was the No. 88 overall player and No. 7 linebacker in the country according to the On3 Industry Ranking. During his first season with the Dawgs, Bowles saw action in five games, recording a total of five tackles including three in the season-opener against UT-Martin.
As for McClendon, he spent two seasons back at his alma mater, rejoining the Georgia staff after he had previously worked with the Bulldogs in the Mark Richt era. McClendon helped guide a Georgia offense that was elite through the air this past season. The Bulldogs finished No. 11 in the country, second in the SEC, for passing offense as they averaged 305.3 yards per game.
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In 2022, UGA also excelled with its passing offense. McClendon is partially responsible for the development of Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint, who is rising up NFL Draft boards after putting up two strong seasons in 2022 and 2023. Ladd McConkey is also headed to the next level after an impressive two-year run with McClendon as his coach. Both Rosemy-Jacksaint and McConkey will be in action this week at the NFL Combine.
McClendon previously coached at Georgia from 2007 to 2015, serving as a graduate assistant during his first two seasons. He was promoted into the role of running backs coach in 2009 and recruited the likes of Todd Gurley, Keith Marshall, Nick Chubb and Sony Michel, among many others. Then, in 2015, McClendon made the move to coaching wide receivers, where he has remained for the rest of his career to date. He also served as the interim head coach, leading the Bulldogs to victory over Penn State in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl.
Georgia worked quickly to replace McClendon in Athens, doing so in less than a week. The Bulldogs landed on James Coley, another former Georgia assistant making a return to the Classic City. Coley comes to Georgia from A&M by way of South Carolina. He was hired as the Gamecocks’ receivers coach in January, set to work under the direction of Shane Beamer in Columbia. That wouldn’t have been the first time those two paired up, previously doing so in 2016-17 on Kirby Smart’s first UGA staff. Coley coached wide receivers for the Bulldogs those two seasons before moving to working with the quarterbacks in 2018 and 2019. He also held the title of co-offensive coordinator the first of those two years before taking sole possession of the role following the departure of Jim Chaney.
