NFL coach Tyler Bowen named offensive coordinator, tight ends coach for Virginia Tech
by: Colleen Guerry
BLACKSBURG, Va. (WFXR) — On Monday afternoon, Virginia Tech's head football coach, Brent Pry, announced that Tyler Bowen — who worked on the coaching staff for the Jacksonville Jaguars during the 2021 season — will serve as the new offensive coordinator and tight ends coach for the Hokies.
WFXR Sports Sitdown: Virginia Tech Head Football Coach Brent Pry
You can read the full statement released on Monday, Jan. 10 by Virginia Tech Athletics below:
Virginia Tech Football head coach Brent Pry announced Monday that Tyler Bowen has joined his coaching staff as offensive coordinator/tight ends coach. A 12-year coaching veteran, Bowen most recently served as the tight ends coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars during the 2021 season.
Bowen previously worked with Pry at Penn State, serving as Penn State's co-offensive coordinator/offensive recruiting coordinator/tight ends coach during the 2020 season. He coached tight ends and handled the offensive recruiting coordinator duties for the Nittany Lions from 2018-19.
During his time in State College, he mentored 2021 NFL second-round pick TE Pat Freiermuth, who hauled in eight touchdowns in 2020, the second-most of any tight end in the FBS that season. Freiermuth earned the 2020 Kwalick-Clark Award as the Big Ten Tight End of the Year, becoming the first-ever Penn State tight end to win the honor. Freiermuth earned first-team All-Big Ten honors from the league's coaches and was a second-team pick by the media. He was a second-team All-America selection \by the AFCA & The Athletic in 2019 and concluded his collegiate career with 16 TD receptions, the most ever by a Penn State tight end.
Bowen helped lead Penn State to a 53-39 victory over Memphis in the 2019 Goodyear Cotton Bowl, his first game after taking over play-calling duties. Those 53 points marked Nittany Lions' bowl record, while their five rushing TDs tied a Cotton Bowl record and their 396 rushing yards ranked as the second-highest total in the Cotton Bowl's illustrious history.
Prior to his tenure at Penn State, Bowen served as the offensive line coach at his alma mater of Maryland during the 2017 season. The Terrapins began that season with a 51-41 upset win at No. 23 Texas that featured 263 rushing yards and four ground scores. Maryland also opened its 2017 Big Ten schedule with a 31-24 victory at Minnesota that featured 262 rushing yards and a pair of TDs. One of his offensive line pupils, T Derwin Gray, was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Helena, Georgia native spent two years at Fordham, serving as offensive coordinator/offensive line coach in 2016 after joining the Rams as offensive line coach in 2015. Under his direction in 2016, the Rams' offense led the Patriot League and finished fourth in the FCS in both scoring offense (40.1 ppg) and total offense (498.2 ypg). He tutored 2018 NFL fourth-round pick RB Chase Edmonds, who led the FCS in rushing (163.5 ypg) and finished fourth in the Walter Payton Award voting, which is given each year to the FCS' most outstanding offensive player.
Two Fordham offensive players earned All-America accolades under Bowen's tutelage as Edmonds earned the honor in both 2015 and 2016 and G Garrick Mayweather, Jr. received those honors in 2015. Thanks to Bowen's offensive line, Fordham finished second in the FCS in passing efficiency (168.3) and ninth in scoring (36.8 ppg) in 2015.
Prior to his time at Fordham, Bowen worked as an offensive graduate assistant for Penn State in Pry's first season with the Nittany Lions in 2014. He previously served as the tight ends coach at Towson in 2013 where he helped the Tigers advance to the FCS Championship Game and a No. 2 national ranking.
Bowen began his collegiate coaching career as a student assistant with Maryland in 2010 before serving as a graduate assistant with the Terrapins from 2011-12. He worked with the offensive line and wide receivers while in College Park and helped the team register a 55-10 victory over East Carolina in the 2010 Military Bowl. He played three seasons as an offensive lineman at Maryland before injuries derailed his playing career and he began coaching.
Bowen and his wife, Ginny, are the parents of a son, William.
BOWEN'S COACHING CAREER
2022 Virginia Tech Offensive Coordinator/Tight Ends
2021 Jacksonville Jaguars Tight Ends
2020 Penn State Co-Offensive Coordinator/Offensive Recruiting Coordinator/Tight Ends
2018-19 Penn State Offensive Recruiting Coordinator/Tight Ends
2017 Maryland Offensive Line
2016 Fordham Offensive Coordinator/Offensive Line
2015 Fordham Offensive Line
2014 Penn State Graduate Assistant – Offense
2013 Towson Tight Ends
2011-12 Maryland Graduate Assistant – Offense
2010 Maryland Student Assistant
BOWL/PLAYOFF GAMES COACHED
2019 Goodyear Cotton Bowl Penn State
2019 VRBO Citrus Bowl Penn State
2017 Fiesta Bowl Penn State
2015 FCS First Round Fordham
2014 New Era Pinstripe Bowl Penn State
2013 FCS First-Round, Second-Round, Semifinals & Championship Game Towson
2010 Military Bowl Maryland
PROMINENT NFL PUPILS
TE Pat Freiermuth D2-2021 – Pittsburgh
TE Nick Bowers FA-2020 – Las Vegas
T Derwin Gray D7-2019 – Pittsburgh
TE Mike Gesicki D2-2018 – Miami
T Anthony Coyle FA-2018 – Houston
RB Chase Edmonds D4-2018 – Arizona
T Brendan Mahon FA-2018 – Carolina
T Donovan Smith D2-2015 – Tampa Bay