The Georgia Bulldogs recruited a former Florida State staff member from the NFL.
The coaching carousel never ends – even with spring practice beginning for the majority of teams around the country. Kirby Smart has built the Georgia Bulldogs into a consistent playoff contender and a brand that many other programs are trying to emulate.
The Bulldogs have made some changes to their coaching staff this offseason and that continued on Tuesday. Georgia announced it was hiring two new offensive assistants from the NFL level, John Lilly and Phil Rauscher.
Lilly joined FSU in 1995 as a videographer, quickly working himself into a graduate assistant role over the next two seasons. In 1998, he was promoted to tight ends coach and recruiting coordinator, a position he held until the end of his tenure with the program in 2007.
At the time, the up-and-coming coach was a useful asset for Florida State and Bowden on the recruiting trail, helping the Seminoles land plenty of talent prospects who went on to star in garnet and gold. Lilly was on staff for the program’s second National Championship in 1999 along with nine ACC Championships
Lilly actually departed from the Seminoles to join Mark Richt at Georgia in 2008. He stuck with Richt until the latter was fired following the regular season in 2015.
Following that he went on to coach with the Los Angeles Rams and Cleveland Browns. He dipped back into college to work with another coach with Florida State ties, Mack Brown, at North Carolina. Lilly spent the 2024 season at the professional level with the Carolina Panthers.
Already holding a great history of producing tight ends, Georgia could get even better with the addition of Lilly.