Being Georgia’s OC nothing new for James Coley

Offensive coordinator James Coley talks about the progress of the offense at start of preseason camp. (Video by Chip Towers/AJC)

In the span of a 20-minute interview session with reporters on Monday, Georgia offensive coordinator James Coley dropped the phrase “we’re only in jerseys” four times. Add other derivatives of that like “still in grind mode” and “just three days in” and that number doubles.

Yes, this ain’t Coley’s first rodeo.

Coley succeeded Jim Chaney as the Bulldogs' offensive chief on Jan. 10. But he'd actually been doing a good bit of coordinating before that. The 46-year-old Miami native was promoted to co-coordinator and quarterbacks coach before the 2018 season at UGA. Before that, he was offensive coordinator and play-caller for three seasons at Miami. He also was a co-coordinator his final three seasons at FSU preceding that.

So, it’s not like Coley is an unknown commodity in college coaching circles. But Georgia fans are certainly curious about what the Bulldogs might look like under a new offensive brain trust.

Coley said it won’t be radically different.

“In the pro-style game, you coordinate to your players,” said Coley, whose offenses at Miami were very pass-oriented. “Players, not plays, right? It’s a little cliché but it’s the truth. Coach Smart is about players, not plays, too. He definitely preaches that to us. … So, I don’t know that there’s been much of an adjustment.”

Coley was asked a myriad questions Tuesday. Here’s some of the highlights:

On the dynamic with last season with Chaney …

“We definitely consulted in between series, but Jim called all the plays. Jim headed the whole deal and I was kind of his right-hand up in the press box. He’d turn around say look at these different scenarios and tell me what you think. And then he’d choose what he liked. So that was our dynamic.”

On whether he’ll be in the box or on field for games …

“We haven’t decided that yet.”

On how his style may have changed over the years …

“I think your personnel changes you. Your personnel changes you completely. Whatever you had, wherever you're going, wherever you’ve been. When I was the coordinator at Florida State, we had different personnel than when I was at Miami. And that’s different personnel than we are here. So I think that changes you as a coordinator when you're a pro-style guy.”

On working with QB Jake Fromm …

“Jake's a grinder. That’s part of his greatness. … So, it’s always inspiring to go in there when it really matters to that person. Being with really great quarterbacks and really good quarterbacks — the good ones do have that they have that passion for the game. And he's passionate. The constant strive for him is to bring it every day, which he does, and to get better every day so that one day become great.”

On freshman running back Zamir White …

“We’re still in jerseys, but love seeing the kid play. We all we love this kid. It’s very unfortunate his injuries so just seeing them out there getting plays, running the ball, catching, swing passes and picking up protections. It’s fun coaching him because you know how grateful he is to be back out there. Just love the kid though. He’s a moose. He’s a big dude.”

On junior wide receiver Demetris Robertson …

"D-Rob has continued to improve within our system. He's definitely a guy who has a great skill set. He's fast, he's quick. We just have to continue to develop him into the type of player we need him to be. Right now, he's playing multiple spots. As a player, he's growing. I think that was the biggest part for him to continue to grow within our system. Coming out of high school was a really good athlete. And now when he went to college, he's learning to be a wide receiver. Coach [Cortez] Hankton has done a good job with him. I like what I see right now. I just want to see it continue with consistency from these guys."

On scaling back offense for young wideouts …

“I don’t think you simplify it for them early. I think you figure out how much they can retain, what they are bringing to the table. And then at some point, you sit back and say, ‘OK, this guy has exceptional skill, we’re going to feature him doing this and that because this might be too much.’ But ultimately, the goal is not to be so complicated that you can’t execute. You want to be complicated enough so that you’re not predictable. Those kids have been thrown in the fire a little bit this early in this camp. We want to see what they know, what they can pick up, and what they can do.”

On running back James Cook versus brother Dalvin Cook …

“Dalvin Cook is a great player. James is little brother. I think James is moving towards that. I they’re both different players, though. You don’t see Dalvin Cook and James Cook in the same light. They’re just different and if you watch their games you know they’re different.”