Two Georgia assistants could be candidates for Florida Atlantic’s head coaching vacancy
A few college football teams have already fired head coaches, so the coaching carousel is already turning. The Georgia Bulldogs have several viable coach candidates on their staff. Last offseason, two UGA assistants found head coaching jobs.
Florida Atlantic parted ways with coach Tom Herman on Nov. 18. According to Athlon Sports, Georgia tight ends coach Todd Hartley and wide receivers coach James Coley could be candidates to replace Herman.
Hartley serves as Georgia’s tight ends coach and assistant coach. Hartley has coached with Georgia, Marshall and Miami. He has also held positions as a safeties coach and a special teams coordinator. At Georgia, he developed Brock Bowers into a star NFL rookie and won two national championships with the Bulldogs.
Coley serves as Georgia’s wide receiver coach. He has coached since 1997, taking positions with LSU, Florida State, Miami, Texas A&M and the Miami Dolphins. He has served as the offensive coordinator for Georgia (2018-19) and Texas A&M (2022-23). At Florida State, he was considered the ACC’s top recruiter in 2011 and 2013. Florida State won a national championship with his recruits.
[lawrence-auto-related count=3]
Florida Atlantic is rife with recruiting opportunities. FAU’s campus is located in the Miami area, which is home to some of the best recruits in the nation. The Owls opened a state-of-the-art athletic facility in 2021. Whoever gets the chance to coach at FAU will inherit a young program in the American Conference.
UGA fans react after the Bulldogs hire James Coley for another stint in Athens
The Georgia Bulldogs have hired James Coley again. Georgia is hiring Coley to be the Bulldogs’ wide receivers coach.
Coley served on the Georgia coaching staff under Kirby Smart from 2016-2019 before heading to Texas A&M. During Coley’s time at Georgia, he was the wide receivers coach from 2016-2017, the co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2018, and the quarterbacks coach/offensive coordinator in 2019. Coley most recently took the wide receivers coach job at South Carolina, but has opted to return to Athens, Georgia, instead.
Kirby Smart is hiring Coley to replace the Dawgs’ previous wide receiver coach Bryan McClendon, who took the same position with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Coley knows what Smart expects and is a strong recruiter in South Florida.
How did Georgia football social media react after the Bulldogs hired James Coley for a second time?
The South Carolina Gamecocks are expected to hire former Georgia football offensive coordinator
The South Carolina Gamecocks are expected to hire former Georgia Bulldogs offensive coordinator James Coley as their wide receivers coach. South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer made some adjustments to his staff after the Gamecocks had a disappointing 5-7 season.
Coley previously coached at Georgia from 2016-2019 during the Kirby Smart era. Coley coached with Shane Beamer from 2016-2017 at Georgia. Coley served a variety of roles on the Georgia offensive coaching staff. Most notably, he was Georgia’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2019.
Coley joined the Texas A&M Aggies coaching staff in 2020 under Jimbo Fisher. He coached wide receivers and tight ends during his time with the Aggies.
South Carolina tight ends coach Jody Wright has been named as the head coach at Murray State, so South Carolina still has to make another coaching staff change.
I vehemently objected, publicly, to Kirby Smart retaining James Coley. I actually called for Coley to be removed mid-season, and kept on staff as a quarterback coach but definitely not a play caller.
With the addition of Todd Monken as offensive coordinator, Kirby addressed this. Georgia will open up the passing offense in 2019. Jake Fromm mentioned in his NFL combine presser that this was brought to him, and it was a consideration in him possibly staying.
Without Jake on campus, after his teams won 13, 11 an 12, a change was coming. Getting a grad transfer dual-threat guy in Jamie Newman under center eased that transition. Kirby has not won without Jake.
On defense, Mel Tucker moved on and Dan Lanning filled his shoes, well.
Offensive line guru Sam Pittman bounced to Arkansas, and Kirby brought in former Ole Miss head coach Matt Luke as an adequate replacement.
Georgia spent almost a million more than any other team in recruiting this year and got the number one class, as a result.
There are no excuses at UGA. Georgia must win it all. Until the ghosts of the 1982 season, the heartbreaks of the Bama collapses, are erased this way, nothing is won.
Georgia can no longer be at all happy just winning the SEC East.
Wide receiver George Pickens emerges for Georgia football, as the key returning offensive weapon. Todd Monken to open the UGA offense up.
In a late recruiting cycle flip of a one-time verbal commit to Auburn, Kirby Smart and UGA nabbed the talented wideout George Pickens from Hoover, Ala., prior to the 2019 football season. As a high school senior at fabled Hoover High, Pickens totaled 69 receptions for 1,368 yards and 16 touchdowns. He played in the Under Armour All-American Game.
By last season’s end, he was the Sugar Bowl MVP and widely considered “the future” at Georgia. With the early NFL departure of quarterback Jake Fromm – replaced by Wake Forest grad transfer Jamie Newman – and replacement of conservative play caller James Coley with Air Raid specialist Todd Monken, the future is now for a modernized Georgia passing offense.
Dec 30, 2018; Tampa, FL, USA;Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Todd Monken prior to the game at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
All was not sugar for Pickens as a true freshman at UGA, as early on he struggled with misalignments and attempting one-handed highlight catches which should have been routinely secured with both hands. In the second half of the regular season finale at Georgia Tech, Pickens fought a Yellow Jacket and was subsequently suspended for the first half of the SEC championship game, the biggest football contest of the year. He was missed.
Dec 7, 2019; Atlanta, GA, USA; Georgia Bulldogs quarterback Jake Fromm (11) is sacked by LSU Tigers safety Grant Delpit (7) during the first half in the 2019 SEC Championship Game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
While Georgia football would not have won the Notre Dame game in Athens or the Georgia-Florida game in Jacksonville without the heroics of rangy Miami grad transfer Lawrence Cager, Cager’s inability to stay healthy ended up giving Pickens more real chances as a true freshman.
The net result of that experience could be of great benefit.
Pickens stat line of 49 receptions, 727 yards, 8 touchdowns should go way up, with more maturity and a year under his belt. Doing most of his damage in the first half, Pickens caught a remarkable 12 passes for 175 yards and a touchdown in New Orleans.
Look for him to be UGA’s second ever thousand-yard receiver in 2020.
Can wideout Demetris Robertson finally breakout for Georgia football?
Or the life and times of D-Rob. The relative successes and limitations of Demetris Robertson last football season could be viewed as allegory for the Georgia passing offense as a whole. While he had some bright spots, he didn’t put up big enough numbers to be considered a national championship caliber starting wideout.
Back in March of 2019, head coach Kirby Smart was quoted as saying, “I think D-Rob’s stepped up.” But as the Georgia passing offense struggled, Robertson caught just 30 balls for 333 yards, with three touchdowns. He led the team with 3 catches in the Georgia-Auburn slugfest win on the plains.
The Savannah native signed with Cal out of high school and earned 2016 FWAA Freshman All-American status by catching 50 passes for 767 yards, with seven touchdowns. In 2017, Robertson caught seven passes for 70 yards before being injured and accepting a medical redshirt. He decided to transfer to his home state and UGA, where he could play immediately.
Log jammed in the deep lineup behind Jeremiah Holloman, Mecole Hardman, Riley Ridley and when-healthy Terry Godwin, Robertson was only thrown to twice with no competitions in 2018. He ran for 109 yards on four rushes, including a 72-yard score.
Sep 1, 2018; Athens, GA, USA; Georgia Bulldogs wide receiver Demetris Robertson (16) breaks tackles to run for a touchdown against the Austin Peay Governors during the first half at Sanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
The would-be biggest play of the UGA football season was robbed from him in 2019. Desperate for a late score, Jake Fromm found Roberston in the end zone in the Georgia-Carolina game, as the Sanford Stadium crowd erupted. In Athens myself at the time, I had chills as I recalled the famous Larry Munson line aloud, “The stadium is worse than bonkers.”
With some questionable at best game management head coaching decisions afterward and a rare miss by kicker Rodrigo Blankenship, the Bulldogs somehow found a way to lose to the downtrodden Gamecocks in double overtime. At that point, it was the biggest upset across the national college football landscape and may have ultimately cost UGA an at-large entry into the College Football Playoff, if all other things were equal. Georgia finished the final CFP rankings in slot #5 for a second consecutive season.
D-Rob has struggled with drops at times but is a smart wideout, generally aligning correctly and running the right routes, which his wide receiving core teammates did not do enough last season. Georgia left way too many points on the field in 2019, relying so heavily on D’Andre Swift’s running and the height and strong positioning play of grad transfer wideout Lawrence Cager. When those players were not healthy, outgoing offensive coordinator James Coley and quarterback Jake Fromm had no consistent answers.
Sep 17, 2016; Berkeley, CA, USA; California Golden Bears wide receiver Demetris Robertson (8) runs the ball against the Texas Longhorns in the second quarter at Memorial Stadium. Cal won 50-43. Mandatory Credit: John Hefti-USA TODAY Sports
Could 2020 be a breakout year for the (6-0, 190) speedy fifth-year senior, who once showed so much promise as a true frosh in the Golden State? Can new UGA coordinator Todd Monken get more guys open in space?
Texas A&M officially announced the hiring of former Georgia football OC James Coley.
On Tuesday, Texas A&M officially announced that the Aggies have hired former Georgia offensive coordinator James Coley.
Coley will join Jimbo Fisher’s staff in College Station as the program’s tight ends coach.
“I have known James since our days at LSU and Florida State,” Fisher said. “He is an outstanding coach and top notch recruiter, but an even better person. His creativity and coaching are great additions to our staff at Texas A&M.”
During his tenure in Athens, Coley graduated from a position coach to a co-offensive coordinator with Jim Chaney to a full-time offensive coordinator. He was demoted following a lackluster 2019 season during which the Dawgs’ defense stole the show.
Prior to the Bulldogs’ Sugar Bowl win against Baylor earlier this month, Coley admitted some of his shortcomings as OC:
“You know what? I’ve got to do a better job. I’m looking at myself hard, criticizing myself, and busting my tail to get those things better.”
Georgia brought in Todd Monken from the Cleveland Browns to be the program’s new offensive coordinator.
From TAMU:
Coley served as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Miami (Fla.) from 2013-15. Prior to joining the Hurricane staff, he worked with Fisher as offensive coordinator and tight ends coach (2010-12) and tight ends coach and recruiting coordinator (2008-09) at Florida State.
At FSU, Coley worked with Fisher to mentor three first round draft picks in quarterbacks Christian Ponder, EJ Manuel, and Jameis Winston. The Seminole offenses were high-powered, averaging 31.4 points per game in 2010, 30.6 in 2011, and 39.3 in 2012.
UGA now looks to hire a replacement QB coach to instruct Wake Forest graduate transfer Jamie Newman and freshman enrollee Carson Beck.
After former Cleveland Browns offensive coordinator Todd Monken was hired to perform the same role at the University of Georgia, former Bulldogs’ OC James Coley’s future was up in the air.
Is Coley now a co-offensive coordinator? Will he go back to coaching quarterbacks? Will he coach receivers?
It would appear none of these hypotheticals will come to fruition. James Coley will be the next tight ends coach at Texas A&M.
Bulldog faithful were introduced to Coley during Kirby Smart’s inaugural season as Top Dawg; Coley was hired as wide receivers’ coach in 2016 following Mark Richt’s removal in late 2015.
During his tenure in Athens, Coley graduated from a position coach to a co-offensive coordinator with Jim Chaney to a full-time offensive coordinator. He was demoted following a lackluster 2019 season during which the Dawgs’ defense stole the show.
Prior to the Bulldogs’ Sugar Bowl win against Baylor earlier this month, Coley admitted some of his shortcomings as OC:
“You know what? I’ve got to do a better job. I’m looking at myself hard, criticizing myself, and busting my tail to get those things better.”
So what will Georgia football’s offense look like next year? Without its beloved offensive line coach Pittman and its mildly maligned offensive coordinator Coley, it’s difficult to predict anything aside from “eh, maybe just a little different.”
In terms of points per game against conference opponents, hopefully it’s a lot different.
Georgia will now look to hire a replacement quarterbacks coach to instruct Wake Forest graduate transfer Jamie Newman and freshman enrollee Carson Beck.
Ole Miss pledge Daran Branch is in Athens for weekend to meet with Kirby Smart and Matt Luke.
The Georgia Bulldogs have a visitor on campus committed to a conference rival.
Ole Miss pledge Daran Branch is in Athens for weekend to meet with Kirby Smart and company. His primary recruiter is Matt Luke, former University of Mississippi head coach and current offensive line coach at Georgia.
It will be one of Branch’s five allotted official visits.
Branch, a three-star senior cornerback out of Amite, Louisiana, committed to Ole Miss on November 17, two weeks before Luke was ousted from Oxford.
The lengthy cornerback certainly fits Kibry Smart’s mold for an ideal defensive back’s size and has the speed, awareness, and ball skills to be a ball hawk at safety.
Georgia’s 2020 defense will return the vast majority of the team’s 2019 starters, but only have two cornerbacks (five-star Kelee Ringo and four-star Jalen Kimber, the latter of whom already enrolled at UGA) and one saftey (Major Burns, enrolled) in the 2020 class.
Branch previously committed to Miami in March. It seems like a spot is there for him in Athens given his relationship with Matt Luke, but his commitment will be one to keep on eye on in the next week and a half before National Signing Day.
After a mediocre offensive performance last season, Kirby Smart has hired NFL offensive coordinator Todd Monken to take over the call playing duties in 2020. ESPN’s Mark Schlabach reported Monken’s hiring and a reshuffling of the offensive staff. …
After a mediocre offensive performance last season, Kirby Smart has hired NFL offensive coordinator Todd Monken to take over the call playing duties in 2020.
ESPN’s Mark Schlabach reported Monken’s hiring and a reshuffling of the offensive staff.
“Monken will take over playcalling duties for the Bulldogs this coming season, after their offense struggled at times in 2019. Georgia was fifth in the SEC in scoring (30.8 points per game), total offense (408.1 yards), passing (223.0) and rushing (185.1). Georgia assistant coach James Coley, who called offensive plays this past season, is expected to move into a new role. Former Ole Miss coach Matt Luke previously joined Georgia’s staff to replace offensive line coach Sam Pittman, who left to become head coach at Arkansas.”
Monken, 53, spent the 2019 season as the offensive coordinator for the Cleveland Browns. He directed the NFL’s top passing offense while calling plays for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 2016 thru 2018. He is considered an expert in the “Air-Raid” style of offense. The coaching move appears the Georgia offense will open up next season and fit the talents of incoming grad transfer Jamie Newman.
He was the quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator for Oklahoma State in 2011 and 2012, where the Cowboys ranked second in the nation in scoring offense (48.7 points per game) and second in passing offense (387.2 ypg) during his first season and third in the nation in scoring (45.6 ppg), fourth in total offense (547.0 ypg) and seventh in passing (331.7 ypg) during his second year. He also was the quarterbacks coach under Les Miles at LSU and head coach at Southern Miss for three years.
Georgia’s offense ranked 61st in the nation in total offense (408.1 ypg) in 2019, 72nd in passing (223.0 ypg) and 50th in scoring (30.8 ppg).
… 