Athens—If you're the running backs coach at Georgia, you're permitted to feel a little frustrated at this point. But Bryan McClendon, who has held that position for the Bulldogs since 2009, insists he is not.
McClendon has seen Isaiah Crowell, Washaun Ealey and Caleb King come and go. But he says he's neither beaten down nor disillusioned by their tumultuous tenures.
"I tell people all the time, we've met our quota for headlines," McClendon said. "Hopefully anything else that is written about us will be in a positive regard."
Here are 10 things to know about McClendon:
1. Turmoil at tailback.
Since taking over as Georgia's running backs coach, McClendon has had five tailbacks transfer or be dismissed.
"It drives you crazy," McClendon said. "They're 18-year-old kids and anybody who has had an 18-year-old knows what that means. They look like men when they get here but they're really just kids. So you've got to be kind of like a counselor. You're not their buddy; you've got to be an authority over them. But they've got to know you care about them and your love for them is not based on what they do on the field."
2. Breaking in young backs
As a result the attrition, for the third time in four seasons, McClendon has to get a true freshman tailback ready to play.
"The hardest thing about coaching young backs if you have to get them playing well without the ball," said McClendon. "With the ball, a lot of things transfer over. But without the ball is where you win or lose ballgames."
3. One back is never enough
McClendon believes you can never recruit enough tailbacks and that goes beyond their ability to stay out of trouble.
"I have not seen one guy carry the load in this league yet, not since Herschel [Walker] and Bo Jackson were playing," McClendon said. "The one guy who came close to doing it was Marcus Lattimore and he hasn't lasted a full season yet and he's a great player. You need more than one guy so they can take the load off each other and stay fresh."
4. A Bulldog by birth
McClendon's father, Willie, was an All-SEC running back at Georgia in the late 1970s and also coached running backs for the Bulldogs. Bryan's first recollection was attending a Georgia game when he was 4.
"My dad wanted everybody to sit in the stands because he had never sat in the stands at a Georgia game before," McClendon said. "This was before he coached, right around when he had just finished up playing in the NFL. I remember him teaching us, 'Go Dawgs, sic 'em!' I don't remember anything about that day, but I remember that."
5. Dad's one of Georgia's greats
Willie rushed for 1,312 yards and 13 touchdowns in 1978 and is still considered one of the Bulldogs' best backs ever. But Bryan had no idea his father was famous until the family moved to Athens in 1989.
"I was old enough then to notice that people treated him differently," Bryan said. "We would walk into a place and people would walk up and ask for his autograph and tell him they enjoyed watching him play and stuff like that. My dad has always been very humble. He never boasted one word about what he's done or how good he was when he played."
6. Everybody's little brother
Bryan is the middle of three sons, all of whom played college football. Big brother Brandon played at Georgia Southern and little brother Brent is currently a cornerback at Georgia State. But Bryan felt like he had a bunch of big brothers. He talks about playing with Rodney Hampton, Garrison Hearst, Terrell Davis, Mack Strong and Larry Ware.
"I was everybody's little brother," he said. "I was always running and jumping on Garrison and playing video games and stuff with those guys when they came to the house."
7. Coaching's in his blood
Many coaches' sons want to do something different when they grow up. McClendon can't imagine himself doing anything else.
"I always knew I wanted to be a coach and I approached the game that way," said McClendon, who played wide receiver at UGA. "I always wanted to know the 'why' about things when I was playing. ... I tried to figure out how the defense was trying to attack us and understand the reasons behind the game. But I always knew wanted to be a coach at any level. Obviously I love being back here because Georgia runs through my veins."
8. Briefly considered a law career
For a brief time after his seven-week NFL career, McClendon considered law school and becoming a sports agent. He worked at an Atlanta law firm to learn the ropes.
"They taught me how go about things in an office setting," McClendon said. "But it drove me crazy. I'd get up from my desk every day at 2:30 and go outside to walk a lap around building. I had to get out of there. I just couldn't see how people did that all day."
9. Known his wife most his life
McClendon and his wife Amber attended middle school and high school together in southwest Atlanta. But they didn't actually date until after McClendon was attending Georgia. Amber graduated from Clark-Atlanta College and got a masters in social work at UGA. They married on Sept. 2, 2006.
"I was with the Chicago Bears," McClendon said. "We had just found out I made the team. I was probably the 53rd out of the 53 guys that made the team and I had to go ask coach Lovie [Smith] if I could have the weekend off to get married. I flew into Atlanta on Friday, we got married on Saturday and Sunday I had to be back up there. We had to play Green Bay."
10. A father to "Bam-Bam" and Brooke
Like every other Georgia coach, McClendon has to juggle the responsibilities of being a husband and father with the demands of being a coach. That's even more challenging with a working wife. Amber is a program supervisor at the Athens' non-profit Families 4 Change.
"It's not easy," McClendon said. "Right now it's just us and we're making it work. We have to utilize daycare and school and things like that. But Amber gets the trophy. I don't know how she does it and looks as good as she does. When I'm with them they beat me down. They wear Daddy out."
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