Could Hines Ward return to Georgia as new wide receivers coach?

Hines Ward is among the greatest players in Georgia football history, but could the Bulldogs legend return to Athens as part of Kirby Smart’s staff?

While the reigning national champion Georgia Bulldogs have come down from the celebration, there has been a bit of bated breath around Athens about NFL draft decisions and players like JT Daniels and Jermaine Burton entering the transfer portal. But Georgia football fans may have missed another bit of news.

Kirby Smart’s assistant coaching staff lost a quality name in the past week as wide receivers coach  Cortez Hankton took a job at LSU on Brian Kelly’s now-assembled staff. As such, the Dawgs will be looking for a replacement.

And one of the names that has been floated around as a possible replacement is actually a Georgia football legend already. Mark Weiszer of the Athens Banner-Herald named Hines Ward as a potential candidate to fill the role.

Georgia football: Hines Ward named as potential candidate for wide receivers coach

After his highly productive NFL career with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Ward has started getting more opportunities in the coaching world in recent years. He was a front office member for the Alliance of American Football in its short existence, an assistant for the New York Jets and is currently the wide receivers coach for Florida Atlantic.

Thus, there is reason to believe that Georgia football wouldn’t just be hiring Ward because of his ties to the program — though that doesn’t hurt — but, rather, because he’s a rising star in the coaching ranks. Heck, he reportedly got a look for the Texans’ head coaching job.

That last bit, though, is where things get interesting for the Bulldogs. Would Ward want to stay in the same assistant position in college while moving to his alma mater or are his sights set higher than that?

The answer to that question might actually determine whether or not he’s a realistic fit with Georgia. That being said, it’s hard to deny the intrigue of the potential match between Ward and the Bulldogs.

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