Georgia Tech quarterbacks and B-backs coach Bryan Cook accepted the offensive coordinator job at Georgia Southern Friday. Georgia Southern announced the hire, confirming an AJC report earlier in the day. Cook has been on coach Paul Johnson’s staff since the 2013 season and was instrumental in the development of Tech quarterback Justin Thomas. Cook is expected to stay with the team through its TaxSlayer Bowl matchup Dec. 31 against Kentucky.
Georgia Southern had an opening after coach Tyson Summers dismissed co-offensive coordinators David Dean and Rance Gillespie at the end of the season, Summers’ first in Statesboro. Georgia Southern has enjoyed its greatest success with Johnson’s offense, which he developed and refined starting in 1983. Georgia Southern won four FCS national championships with him serving as offensive coordinator and later as head coach.
Tech offensive line coach Mike Sewak and former Tech assistant coach Jeff Monken later ran their versions of the scheme during their terms as head coach.
For Cook, the move from position coach to coordinator will provide the opportunity to run his own offense and call plays.
Cook is the third offensive assistant coach to be hired away from Tech in Johnson’s tenure. Monken took the head coaching job at Georgia Southern after the 2009 season and is now at Army. Brian Bohannon was Johnson’s first quarterbacks and B-backs coach before leaving in March 2013 to start Kennesaw State’s program.
Johnson likely will have plenty of options to replace Cook, particularly given the upward moves that Bohannon and Cook have made from Tech. One in-house candidate is assistant football operations director Craig Candeto, who previously was a head coach at Division III Capital University for three seasons and before that was quarterbacks/B-backs coach for two seasons at The Citadel. He also played quarterback for Johnson at Navy and was a graduate assistant at Tech for one season.
Another is A-backs coach Lamar Owens, who has held that role since 2010 and also played quarterback for Johnson at Navy.
The hire was first reported by Scout.
