James Coley, Georgia's offensive coordinator this past football season who was reassigned last week by Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart, is leaving Athens to become Texas A&M's tight ends coach under Jimbo Fisher.
TexAgs.com was the first to report Coley's change in Southeastern Conference locations.
Coley coached Georgia's receivers during the 2016-17 seasons before moving to quarterbacks coach in 2018, when Jake Fromm ranked fifth nationally in passing efficiency. When Jim Chaney left last January after three seasons as offensive coordinator of the Bulldogs for the same role at Tennessee, Coley was elevated to coordinator, a position he held previously at Florida State (2010-12) and Miami (2013-15).
Georgia averaged 35.4 points per game in 2017 and 37.9 in 2018, but that averaged dipped this past season to 30.8 despite the presence of veterans such as Fromm and running back D'Andre Swift and one of the nation's most imposing offensive fronts. The Bulldogs struggled at receiver, however, especially when graduate transfer Lawrence Cager was sidelined due to injuries.
"Everybody has talked about the play on the outside and the questions about Jake, but I have to do a better job," Coley said before Georgia topped Baylor in the Sugar Bowl on New Year's night. "First and foremost, it starts with me, and I'm looking at myself hard and criticizing myself. We do have to put some pieces in place for a quarterback in the pass game. It comes down to players and how do you get your players to reach their full potential, and that's what we've been fighting all season long.
"You've got to score points regardless of the conditions or the injuries that you have. It's been tough, and ultimately that falls on me."
Fisher tried to hire Coley as the offensive coordinator for his first Texas A&M team in 2018, but Coley chose to remain at Georgia.
Smart last week announced the hiring of former Southern Mississippi head coach Todd Monken as his new offensive coordinator, adding that Coley was being reassigned and given the title of assistant head coach. Monken has been given a salary of $1.1 million, which tops the $950,000 that Coley made in 2019.
Georgia earlier this week revealed the addition of Buster Faulkner as an offensive quality control coach. Faulkner worked this past season as the Southern Miss offensive coordinator.
The Bulldogs have been down one full-time assistant since the start of the month, when special teams coordinator Scott Fountain left for the same post at Arkansas.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524. Follow him on Twitter @DavidSPaschall.