South Carolina Football Coach Bryan McClendon to Join Oregon Staff
By Jacob Elsey
First reported by FootballScoop, it appears that former Gamecocks’ offensive coordinator Bryan McClendon is set to become the University of Oregon’s next wide receivers coach. The news of the move was also tweeted out by college football reporter Bruce Feldman.
The opening was made available when former Ducks’ coach Jovon Bougknight left Eugene to join the University of Kentucky staff in March. Oregon head coach Mario Cristobal adds someone with play-calling experience and expertise in teaching the skill positions to take Bougknight’s place. McClendon has coached receivers and running backs in the SEC for more than 10 years.
After spending the first six years of his career on Mark Richt’s staff at the University of Georgia, McClendon made the move to Columbia when Will Muschamp was hired by the Gamecocks in 2016. He’s been on the South Carolina staff for four years, having been the offensive coordinator for the last two.
As a position coach, he helped mold Deebo Samuel and Bryan Edwards into NFL talents. Samuel, now a San Francisco 49er, was a first-team All-SEC performer as a senior, while Edwards left Columbia as the program’s all-time leading pass catcher. McClendon saw his first play-calling duties in the last game of the 2017-18 season, where he led the Gamecocks to an Outback Bowl victory over Michigan. He was promoted from an interim role to full-time offensive coordinator four days later.
Unfortunately, he was unable to sustain success in the new role. The Gamecocks finished last year ranked 12th in the SEC in scoring at 22.4 ppg, and 11th in production at just under 372 ypg. It should be noted that Carolina lost its senior quarterback in the first game of the season, and was forced to start a true freshman for the remainder of the year, but regardless, McClendon was relieved of his play-calling duties after 2019. The Gamecock offense scored only one touchdown in its final three games of the year vs. Clemson, Texas A&M, and Appalachian State. He was demoted following the Gamecocks’ hiring of Mike Bobo, and resumed his previous role as receivers coach in December.
McClendon’s move leaves an open spot on the South Carolina coaching staff. It will be interesting to see how Will Muschamp decides to address the void.