Bucs players will have a couple of new coaches to get familiar with on the offensive side of the ball. Offensive coordinator Liam Coen is the main one, but there’s also offensive line coach Kevin Carberry and wide receivers coach Bryan McClendon.

Similar to Coen, Bryan McClendon has recently worked in the college ranks. But unlike Coen, McClendon does not have any experience coaching in the NFL until this new job in Tampa Bay.

McClendon may get his first crack at it with the Bucs in the NFL, but in this year’s draft class Bryan McClendon has some good references that will back him up as he gets accustomed to new wide receivers such as Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. He was the the passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach at Oregon in 2020 and 2021, eventually becoming interim head coach. His next move was to go back to Georgia again as the passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach in 2022 and 2023 .

Because of his travels, there are several prospects that have worked with McClendon in college that are preparing for the NFL. Many of them were at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, including some top stars from the Bulldogs.

Bryan McClendon Gets Support From Former Players

Bucs WR Coach Bryan McClendon – Photo by: USA Today

Georgia wide receiver Ladd McConkey got a first-hand look at what Bryan McClendon brings as a coach and had nothing but good things to say about him.

“That’s my guy, I’ve always said it,” McConkey said. “B-Mac, he’s a great coach but he’s even a better person. Appreciate everything he did for me and wish him nothing but the best.”

Outside of some of the quarterbacks that made appearances, it was tight end Brock Bowers that was the talk of the town in Indy. Bowers showed plenty of support for McClendon and believes he’ll bring plenty of value to the Bucs wide receivers room.

“I think he’ll do great,” Bowers said. “He was awesome at Georgia, and I loved having him around and he helped out a lot.”

Bryan McClendon’s support goes further than just Georgia, though.

Oregon wide receiver Troy Franklin began his tutelage under McClendon as a true freshman in 2021, even seeing him as a head coach. McClendon helped Franklin at the beginning level and the effort he put in has stayed with the Ducks star all of these years later.

“It was pretty cool. Hard worker – he’s going to be on his guys making sure they’re working, for sure,” Franklin said. “He’s definitely going to get that room better over there, for sure. Most definitely.”

Working With Bucs’ Younger Group

Bucs WR Trey Palmer – Photo by: USA Today

The ability to work with and get the understanding of younger players should bode well for Bryan McClendon with the Bucs. Yes, he’ll get to work with two of the game’s greats in Mike Evans and Chris Godwin which will surely make his job easier.

But after that, the Bucs have a relatively young group of receivers. While Deven Thompkins is a third-year player, Trey Palmer and Rakim Jarrett are heading into year two, and it would come as a surprise to nobody if the Bucs drafted a wide receiver this year to compete for wide receiver three.

Tampa Bay will hope that McClendon can get the best out of Palmer and Jarrett. Palmer started to put the pieces together towards the end of the season. In Week 17 he had a good individual performance with four catches for 84 yards and a touchdown against New Orleans, showing he can make plays for the offense.

Then in the Wild Card round, Palmer had a flash of brilliance with a 56-yard catch-and-run for a touchdown against Philadelphia. The Bucs would like those types of moments to be sustainable. Although Jarrett suffered a quad injury in Week 11 that kept him out for several games, the team is still high on him.

Add in a rookie receiver and McClendon will have his work cut out to improve the rest of the Bucs wide receiver room.