In order to strengthen their offensive staff, the Bucs chose to remain in the Southeastern Conference and hired Bryan McClendon, an assistant from Georgia, to teach their wide receivers.
Brad Idzik, who chose to become offensive coordinator for the Carolina Panthers under Dave Canales, is replaced by him.
Following Canales’ departure, the Bucs earlier this month brought in former offensive coordinators Liam Coen of the Rams and Kentucky to oversee their offence.
McClendon, forty, was most recently the Bulldogs’ passing game coordinator and receivers’ coach. In 2007, he started working as a graduate assistant coach at Georgia, where he coached running backs from 2009 to 2014.
In 2015, McClendon received promotions to run game coordinator, wide receivers coach, and associate head coach. After Mark Richt resigned from the position late in the season, he was named Georgia’s interim head coach and won the TaxSlayer Bowl against Penn State.
McClendon departed Georgia to take a position as co-offensive coordinator and receivers coach at South Carolina after Kirby Smart was hired as head coach prior to the 2016 season. In 2018, he was promoted to offensive coordinator, but he was relieved of play-calling responsibilities when the offence managed just one touchdown in the last 12 quarters of the 2019 campaign. He continued to train the receivers.
McClendon was Oregon’s passing game coordinator and receivers coach from 2020 to 2021. He also filled in as interim head coach during the Ducks’ 2021 Alamo Bowl loss to Oklahoma. In 2022, he agreed to take a job at Miami as co-offensive coordinator. However, Georgia later hired him back to serve as the passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach.
McClendon collaborated with a number of talented running backs at Georgia, including Todd Gurley, Isaiah Crowell, Nick Chubb, Keith Marshall, and Sony Michel.
He is the son of Willie McClendon, a former running back for Georgia. Before joining the Chicago Bears, he was the 1978 SEC Player of the Year.
McClendon takes over a room full of Bucs receivers who should get younger. Mike Evans is scheduled to be released without restriction, and Chris Godwin is nearing the end of his contract. Trey Palmer and Rakim Jarrett are two guys Tampa Bay hopes to develop at that position.
