James Coley leaving Georgia for job on Texas A&M coaching staff, reports say

Georgia’s offensive coaches room is about to get a little less crowded.

James Coley, Georgia’s much-maligned offensive coordinator in 2019, is leaving the Bulldogs to join Jimbo Fisher’s coaching staff at Texas A&M, TexasAgs.com and 247Sports reported Friday evening. He will coach the Aggies’ tight ends, according to the reports.

Neither school had confirmed the move as of Saturday afternoon.

Coley has been on head coach Kirby Smart’s staff for all four of Smart’s seasons as Georgia head coach. He spent 2016 and 2017 as the wide receivers coach before moving to co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2018. He held the offensive coordinator duties by himself last season after the departure of Jim Chaney to Tennessee.

As is often the case with Georgia offensive coordinators, Coley came under fire with the fan base for what was perceived to be a predictable style of play-calling.

Under Coley the Bulldogs ranked 61st in the country in total offense (408.1 yards per game), 41st in rushing offense (185.1 yards per game) and 72nd in the country in passing offense (223 yards per game). The Bulldogs struggled all year long to create explosive plays both in the running and passing game.

Smart knew changes had to be made to the offense, and he hired former Cleveland Browns and Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Todd Monken on Jan. 17 for the same position in Athens. This left Coley with the title of assistant head coach, a position he held publicly for a week.

The move leaves the Bulldogs with an open on-field coaching job. That opening could be filled by former Southern Mississippi offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner, who UGA added in the last week as an offensive quality control coach.

This story was originally published January 24, 2020 at 6:03 PM.