Bryan McClendon’s NFL defection gives Kirby Smart easy excuse to hire UGA legend

The coaching carousel is not yet complete. While the Georgia State Panthers are currently the only team without a full-time head coach, coaching staffs in college football and the NFL are still coming together for next season.

Since former Kentucky offensive coordinator Liam Cohen took over for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, he has clearly made recruiting college coaches a priority. Not only did Cohen bring former Kentucky head analyst Brian Picucci to Tampa, but he was also able to rescue versatile assistant coach Brian McClendon from Kirby Smart’s Georgia staff.

McClendon will coach wide receivers for the Buccaneers, just as he did in Athens. Georgia has already lost defensive backs coach Fran Brown to the Syracuse Orange’s head coaching vacancy. Considering Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles’ son Troy plays for Smart at UGA, I’m guessing he’d like to see the Dawgs have success on Saturday in addition to the Buccaneers on Sunday.

For this reason, I think Smart would benefit from hiring Georgia star and Pittsburgh Steelers legend Hines Ward, one of his former Bulldogs teammates and close friends, to replace McClendon. Ward has served as coach for about seven years, starting in 2017.

Now it’s time for him to return home. Ward played with Smart from 1994 to 1997 after playing in Between the Hedges. This appears to be a golden opportunity as coach San Antonio Brahmas has resigned.

Brian McClendon’s NFL retirement could lead to Hines Ward returning to UGA.

After retiring in 2011, Ward began a career in media, working primarily at NBC. Over the past few years, he has devoted himself entirely to coaching. I had the unique opportunity to speak with him via Zoom in November, and Ward couldn’t be happier to see Smart’s former Georgia teammates Mike Bobo and Will Muschamp have great success in Athens.

Since becoming a coach, Ward has taken on many roles. He was an offensive intern for the Steelers (2017), an offensive assistant for the New York Jets (2019-20), a wide receivers coach for the Florida Atlantic Owls (2021), and a head coach for an XFL team (2023).

I think Ward is a perfect fit for the coach and is well-qualified to join Smart’s staff. Keep in mind that spring training will begin soon and Muschamp will retire to become a defensive analyst so he can spend more time with his family. Bobo begins his second season as offensive coordinator.

Georgia is a strong candidate to win next year’s national championship. Smart will do whatever he wants, but hiring Ward would be nice. Just because it seems like a perfect fit doesn’t necessarily mean Ward will take over UGA.