Reports: UGA OC Brian Schottenheimer will not coach in bowl game
Georgia will be without its head coach and both coordinators for the TaxSlayer Bowl against Penn State.
The school parted ways with head coach Mark Richt (who is now at Miami) and defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt left the Bulldogs for Alabama. Now, according to UGASports.com and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer will not be on the sidelines against the Nittany Lions on Jan. 2 in Jacksonville.
Both outlets reported Monday that Schottenheimer has already told the Georgia players that he won’t be with the team when bowl practices begin on Wednesday. Schottenheimer, who was in his first season with the program, was not retained to the Georgia staff by new head coach Kirby Smart.
Smart, who served as defensive coordinator at Alabama for the past eight seasons, hired Jim Chaney as offensive coordinator over the weekend. Chaney spent the 2015 season as offensive coordinator at Pitt.
With Schottenheimer out of the picture, the AJC reported that tight ends coach John Lilly is a likely candidate to assume play calling duties, just like he did in the 2014 Belk Bowl after Mike Bobo left UGA to become the head coach at Colorado State.
Several graduate assistants are set to handle added responsibilities in the bowl game while receivers coach Bryan McClendon serves as interim head coach.
Smart has not completely filled out his staff yet, so it’s unknown which position coaches will be with the team when practice begins on Wednesday.
From the AJC:
The bowl practices are going to see a handful of positions coached by graduate assistants. Georgia has also lost its defensive coordinator, Pruitt, who took the same job with Alabama. It’s expected that outside linebackers coach Kevin Sherrer will serve in the role in the short term. Inside linebackers coach Mike Ekeler might also be gone, as he’s expected to land a job elsewhere. Offensive line coach Rob Sale has also seen his job filled, by Sam Pittman, but it’s not known if Sale will serve through the bowl.
Georgia has a 9-3 record heading into the game against 7-5 Penn State.
For more Georgia news, visit UGASports.com.
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Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!
