ATHENS — Georgia replaced two offensive assistants recently, as James Coley is the new wide receivers coach and Josh Crawford is the new running backs coach and run game coordinator.
Coley will make $650,000, while Crawford will make $450,000. Those figures were obtained by DawgNation via an open records request.
Coley takes over for Bryan McClendon, who left the program to be the wide receivers coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. McClendon made $752,000 this past season at Georgia. McClendon worked at Georgia for two seasons.
This will be Coley’s second stint at Georgia, as he previously worked with Kirby Smart from 2016 through 2019. Coley spent two seasons as the wide receivers coach before becoming the quarterbacks coach and eventually the offensive coordinator. Coley spent the last four seasons at Texas A&M.
Crawford filled the running backs coach job that came open after Dell McGee took the head coaching job at Georgia State. McGee was the second highest-paid running backs coach in the country, as he made $852,000 in his eighth season at Georgia.
Crawford spent the 2023 season at Georgia Tech. Crawford, like McGee, has strong ties to the state of Georgia due to his time as a high school coach.
Georgia confirmed the hiring of Coley and Crawford on Monday.
“We are excited to have Coley and his family back in Athens,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said. “He is a tremendous teacher and leader of young men. His previous experience on our staff will make this a seamless transition. As for Josh, I’ve had the pleasure of observing his career unfold over the years and have been consistently impressed. His hard work and the significant impact he’s had coaching football in our state have earned him this opportunity.”
In total, Georgia hired four assistants this offseason. On the defensive side of the ball, Donte Williams takes over for Fran Brown and Travaris Robinson is now the replacement for Will Muschamp.
The new assistant coaches won’t have to wait much longer to take the practice field, as Georgia is set to begin spring practice on March 12. The Bulldogs will conclude spring practice on April 13 with G-Day. A game time and television network has not yet been announced.