Georgia football has been national champs for almost a week now, and with all the success comes some coaching turnover.
There have been rumors circling offensive coordinator Todd Monken and wideouts coach Cortez Hankton about them heading other places.
The Monken news seems to have less traction than the Hankton one as 247Sports reports that he is taking the wide receiver coaching job at LSU. Hankton is a Louisana native, so it would be understandable to see him return home and contribute to the Bayou Bengals staff.
Georgia football is looking for a new wideouts coach, and these five would be the first guys to call.
With Hankton leaving, the Dawgs will need to find a new wide receiver coach, and they could promote from within or find another talented coach. However, the coach head coach Kirby Smart targets will have to be a talented recruiter on top of being able to jump in and buy into his culture.
Some names circling the fan base are Hines Ward, of course, and while he could be a big hit, there seem to be other names out there that could elevate the Dawgs even more. Ward is an option, and it wouldn’t be surprising, but this list focused on others outside Ward being the most obvious choice from the fans.
Indiana’s Grant Heard has ties to the staff with Matt Luke, which is another name Georgia could look at for this position.
Joe Brady is another big name the Bulldogs could target, but it’s extremely unlikely.
Other names that aren’t likely to make Smart’s desk but could be strong coaches are Ohio State’s, Brian Hartline. While he is a Buckeye alumnus, he is the highest-ranked 247Sports wide receiver recruiter. Dameyune Craig out of Texas A&M is a decent recruiter, but I don’t think he would ever come to Athens.
There are so many talented coaches out there, but these are a few the Dawgs could consider but have stronger options. Oklahoma State’s wideouts coach Kasey Dunn is another name. Holman Wiggins, the Alabama wide receiver coach, is underpaid for where he is, Georgia could target him, but it isn’t very likely.
The Dawgs used their wideouts a lot this season, and they were a big reason Georgia won the national championship this season as the passing game had a little more emphasis. Hankton had a room full of talented wideouts the Dawgs targeted all season.
Georgia is moving toward using these playmakers more as they want to be more explosive offensively, so whoever they hire needs to be able to match this, which most wideout coaches are for that anyway, but this hire needs to be a good one.
The Dawgs need someone who wants to help evolve the offense and help make it better. There are some elite receivers out there, and Georgia continues to miss out on them because they aren’t a primarily passing offense, but maybe this hire could be the first step in the evolution process.
This hire could be the beginning point of Georgia evolving its offense to the next level. It could be one of Smart’s most significant hires yet.
We’ve included a couple of different scenarios and a few new coaching names the Dawgs should target when replacing Hankton.
Former Georgia football wideout, Terrence Edwards
One of the first people Georgia football head coach Kirby Smart should call is Terrence Edwards.
Hines Ward would likely be most of the fan bases alumni choice, but Edwards is young and knows how to relate to these players. He runs his receiver academy, has been a great mentor to Arik Gilbert, and is a big advocate for the Dawgs.
Edwards was the last receiver to have 1000-plus yards in a single season and held the single-season record for most touchdowns until this year. After playing with the Atlanta Falcons, he went on to play in the Canadian Football League for a while, then turned to coach.
However, what he has done since playing football should get the Dawgs’ attention. Edwards runs a receiver academy where he trains with kids and helps them improve their craft.
He is getting his hands on so many players, and he currently has three of the four wideouts in the state of Georgia training with him. However, he has been doing this for a while. There are always top-rated wideouts coming out of his academy each year, so Smart needs to consider that.
Kids know who he is, and Edwards is already proving he can develop guys. There is no telling what he could do as a recruiter in college or as a coach.
This guy understands football because it’s what Edwards’ has done all his life, so this could be the underrated hire the Dawgs need. He knows Georgia needs to evolve their offense.
If he can help do that, then some of these elite wideouts we see at Ohio State, Alabama, and other places will start considering Georgia. Edwards understands, is young, and guys would love to learn from him, so why not a risk here and hire him?
While the headline says proven, Edwards is a proven developer who knows the game, which is why he makes this list.
Todd Monken takes over WRs and hands QBs off to Buster Faulker
This situation could be the easiest to make happen, as both guys are already on staff at Georgia. Offensive coordinator Todd Monken is currently the quarterbacks’ coach as well. Still, if the Dawgs want to promote quality control coach Buster Faulkner to quarterbacks coach and let Monken take over the receivers, that would be feasible.
This scenario could be the head coach Kirby Smart goes with if whoever he wants to hire doesn’t come to Athens, or this could be the plan they will do regardless.
Monken is already doing a great job on the recruiting trail, and Faulkner is also a solid recruiter. He was the wideouts coach for Oklahoma State from 2002 to 2004 before becoming the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.
Faulkner is more of a quarterback mind anyway, so this could be the most seamless transition if Smart is that happy with how this staff looks right now. While there have been rumors that Monken could be heading back to the NFL, they seem to be more like rumors than anything.
Monken seems happy in Athens, plus he is about to go into year three, so things are finally working how he wants them to, and the players know what to expect. It seems silly to assume he would leave after two seasons, but you never know about coaches nowadays.
Winning a national championship makes you a hot commodity for other jobs. We will see how Georgia treats him regarding raises and such, which will give a better idea if this scenario could happen or if Georgia will go outside the staff to make the hire.
Buffalo Bills WR coach Chad Hall
Another name Georgia football should consider is Buffalo Bills wide receiver coach Chad Hall. He has been a name that has gotten mentioned throughout the countless options, but he isn’t a bad choice at all.
Hall played at the Air Force Academy and spent time in the NFL in Jacksonville, Kansas City, Philadelphia and San Francisco. He knows what it takes to be an NFL wide receiver, he is young and the players could really connect with him.
Sean McDermott took a shot on him after he finished playing football, and so far, it’s paying off in a big way.
The Bills wideouts seem to love him, and they’ve done videos on how inspirational he is to them. This guy works hard and puts in the work to make sure he does his job well, which sounds like a great fit for Athens.
Recruiting could be a concern here, but maybe not, as most coaches enjoy it. That could be the biggest downside to taking a chance on him, but if the Dawgs want a young, fiery coach Hall could be that guy.
He would be an under-the-radar hire, but he could really be the guy Georgia needs developing the receivers.
Dallas Cowboys WR coach Adam Henry
The next name Georgia football should look into replacing Cortez Hankton with is Dallas’ receiver coach Adam Henry.
He has a long career in both the NFL and college football, with stints at LSU, the Oakland Raiders, 49ners, the Giants and Cleveland Browns.
Henry has connections to Todd Monken as he worked with him in 2019 in Cleveland, so this could be an excellent route since the two know each other.
He was at LSU from 2012 to 2014 and was responsible for developing Odell Beckham Jr. and Jarvis Landry. The Duo was the first set of Tiger receivers to both have 1,000-yard seasons each in 2013, and the Tigers were No.2 in the SEC in passing efficiency that year with a 164.7 rating. LSU threw for 3,263 yards and 23 touchdowns through 13 matchups.
Henry knows how to recruit and develop at the college level, and even though he has been in the league since 2015, maybe it’s time for him to give college football another try.
Having experience with Monken could help him come to Athens, but this name could be a long shot for the Dawgs. He may not want to leave the league, which would be understandable, but Henry is still a name to know.
Oklahoma State RB coach John Wozniak
Before clicking off this page because you see running backs coach beside John Wozniak‘s name — he has experience coaching wideouts with Todd Monken at Southern Mississippi.
He has been around college football a while and is in his fifth season at Oklahoma State, but he could be someone to consider since he has worked with Monken.
Before Wozniak took the job at Oklahoma State, he was the wide receivers coach at Southern Miss from 2013 to 2016. He also was a Special Teams Analyst at Alabama in 2012, which was during head coach Kirby Smart’s tenure with the Tide.
Wozniak is a familiar name for both Smart and Monken, so they could reach out to see if he wants to coach the receivers. He played quarterback and receiver at Knox College when he was in school, so he knows the position. While he has done a solid job with the Pokes running backs, I’m sure coaching receivers again wouldn’t be so bad.
He was a big help to Monken in building a potent offense at Southern Miss. When Wozniak took over, they ranked No. 108 in passing offense. When they left, the Golden Eagles were No. 12 in 2015 and No. 16 in 2016.
It is another long shot for the Dawgs, but it is good to put his name out there because of his connection with Monken.
Georgia football will likely marinate on who to pick as their wide receiver coach as Smart usually doesn’t get in any hurry to hire someone until he feels like it’s the right decision.