ATHENS — The staffing exchange between Georgia and Miami has added another name, this time with a coach who will join the Bulldogs.
Per multiple reports, former Miami receivers coach Kevin Beard is joining Kirby Smart’s staff in an unknown role.
Beard re-joins James Coley, who was Miami’s offensive coordinator, then wasn’t retained by new Hurricanes head coach Mark Richt. So Coley became the receivers coach at Georgia under Smart.
Richt has hired former Georgia running backs coach Thomas Brown for the same role, as well as strength and conditioning staffers Gus Felder (who is heading Miami’s S&C program), Kelin Johnson and John Thomas.
Beard is a fairly big name in South Florida, having played at Miami, where he caught nine touchdowns and was on the 2001 national championship team. He was a team captain two years later.
Support staffers are prohibited from doing any on-field coaching, per NCAA rules, or from actively recruiting. Coaching is limited to the head coach and his nine on-field assistant coaches, plus four graduate assistants. Recruiting is limited to the on-field coaches.
But the support staffers can help with off-field analysis — football and recruiting — as well as administrative work.
FootballScoop, which reported Beard’s hire, also reported that Georgia has hired Ron Prince, Jr. to its strength and conditioning staff. Prince played at Mississippi State from 2006-09 and had been on Louisville’s strength staff.
Smart has made a number of hires to Georgia’s support staff. Most are not being officially announced yet by Georgia, but the online directory has in the past month added:
- Will Windham, who had been Davidson’s defensive line coach, as quality control for defense.
- Blaine Miller, who had been an assistant strength coach at UAB, as quality control for defense.
- Jay Chapman, who had been Samford’s director of operations, in the same role at Georgia.