Georgia roots run deep for Bryan, Willie McClendon

Willie and Bryan McClendon are a father and son team steeped in University of Georgia history as students, football players and coaches during a span that stretches from the first year of the Jimmy Carter administration to the present.

That's why it could be a painful parting if new Bulldogs coach Kirby Smart doesn't elect to retain interim coach Bryan McClendon when he takes over following Alabama's final game of the season -- either Jan. 1 or Jan. 12, depending on whether the Crimson Tide beats Michigan State in a College Football Playoff semifinal in the Cotton Bowl.

But McClendon's father Willie, a Brunswick native who became a record-breaking running back for the Bulldogs and later a position coach under Ray Goff, believes his son will have an important perspective if he has to leave Georgia after playing for the 'Dogs, then coaching under Mark Richt for 13 of the last 14 years.

"If the situation is right, I think he should branch out," Willie McClendon said. "You can always go home again."

But for Bryan McClendon, there's only one task at hand: guiding the Bulldogs (9-3) against Penn State (7-5) in the TaxSlayer Bowl on Jan. 2 (noon, ESPN).

He will not speculate on a future beyond kickoff against the Nittany Lions. To Bryan McClendon, anything less than his full attention is a disservice to the players, many of whom he recruited.

"They're my entire focus," he said. "To think about anything else is not right for them."

Athens in their hearts

Home means several places to the McClendon family.

Willie's hometown, for example, where he was a star for Glynn Academy and went on to break Georgia's single-season rushing record in 1978 -- which lasted all of two years before a guy named Herschel Walker set foot on campus two years later.

"He was a natural," said former Georgia coach Vince

Dooley of McClendon. "He broke Frank Sinkwich's record for rushing yardage, but he didn't get to hold it very long before Herschel came along."

Home also is in Atlanta, where Willie McClendon runs a commercial roofing business and lives with Susan, his wife of 35 years, whom he met while attending Georgia.

There's also Chicago, where Willie McClendon played four seasons for the Bears and where Bryan was born, the middle child of three sons.

But Bryan McClendon's earliest childhood memories start in Atlanta, where he grew up and became a star at football and track at Mays High School.

No place, however, means as much to this family as Athens, Ga.

It's a classic case of home being where the heart is.

First the father

Willie McClendon waited his turn, at a time in college football when patience was still a virtue.

He played one season of freshman football, for the team they called the Bull-pups (the NCAA was not allowing freshmen on the varsity at the time) and got 40 carries (for 5.3 yards per attempt, and five touchdowns) as a sophomore, backing up junior Kevin McLee for the 1976 SEC champions.

He split time with McLee the following season, gaining 705 yards. McClendon had the job all to himself in 1978 and he made the most of it, breaking Sinkwich's record with 1,312 yards, scoring 13 touchdowns and being named SEC offensive player of the year.

McClendon was drafted in the third round by the Chicago Bears and played four seasons, backing up Walter Payton and gaining 369 yards. His three sons were born there, but after his pro career ended following the 1982 season, McClendon moved to Atlanta and became a full-time husband and father.

McClendon was called back to the Bulldogs by Ray Goff and coached running backs from 1989-1993. Shortly after that stint ended, his son began to chomp at the bit to play football but didn't immediately get his father's blessing.

"I didn't play as young as I wanted to," he said. "My father didn't push football, but he also wanted me to be able to handle everything that went with it."

Then the son

Once unleashed on a football field, Bryan McClendon was a star in high school, both running and catching the ball. He was an All-American at Atlanta Mays as a senior in 2001, running for 424 yards and catching 37 passes for 736 yards as a senior. He also was on two state champion relay teams in track.

Bryan McClendon arrived at Athens in 2002 and initially wore his father's No. 36 jersey. He later switched to No. 16, his number in high school, when the Georgia player who had been wearing it graduated.

Bryan McClendon also took some time to develop -- just like Dad. After catching 21 passes for 301 yards and no touchdowns in his first three seasons, Bryan caught 35 passes for 529 yards (15.1 yards per catch) and six TDs as a senior in 2005.

McClendon's senior class won 44 games, two SEC titles, three SEC East titles and went 3-1 in bowl games.

However, McClendon's college career wasn't enough to attract much NFL attention. He signed a free-agent contract with his father's old team, the Bears, but he didn't last and another direction was in order.

Finding balance

Since Bryan McClendon never saw his father play in person (he was born one year after Willie McClendon's final pro season), he was influenced more by watching his father coach. Young Bryan was a fixture at Bulldog practices, always watching, always learning.

"I always knew I wanted to coach," he said. "I didn't know at what level, to be honest, but I knew I wanted to coach."

It was about a year ago that his son told him when: Bryan McClendon, who had just turned 7 years old, decided during the week of the 1990 Citrus Bowl that one day he wanted to do what he had been watching his father and the other UGa coaches do.

"Until then, I never knew how long he had wanted to coach," Willie McClendon said.

The father then gave the son the best advice he ever received.

"He told me to be sure it's what I wanted to do," Bryan McClendon said. "He told me that it eats up a lot of time and you can't be halfway in and halfway out with this. You have to balance work and life, which is very, very tough in this profession."

McClendon was hired by Richt as a graduate assistant in 2007, two years after his last season as a player. After two years, he was promoted to running backs coach and became one of Richt's most effective recruiters.

McClendon coached players such as Isaiah Crowell, Todd Gurley and Nick Chubb and was promoted to wide receivers coach, passing game coordinator and recruiting coordinator in 2014. His designation as interim coach was met with wide approval within the program but it's up to Smart as to whether McClendon stays in Athens.

This story was originally published December 25, 2015 at 9:45 PM with the headline "Georgia roots run deep for Bryan, Willie McClendon ."