Tyler Bowen, who coached on James Franklin’s staff at Penn State from 2018-20, is leaving his job with the Jacksonville Jaguars to join former Brent Pry at Virginia Tech.
He’ll be the Hokies’ offensive coordinator and tight ends coach, and it will be Bowen’s first experience as a full-time offensive coordinator at the power five level.
At Penn State, Bowen worked primarily as the Nittany Lions’ tight ends coach and recruiting coordinator, and Franklin promoted him to co-offensive coordinator for the 2020 season. Perhaps Bowen’s most notable contribution to Penn State was the 2020 Cotton Bowl, when he stepped in as interim offensive coordinator after Ricky Rahne departed to become the head coach at Old Dominion.
In the Cotton Bowl, the Lions offense scored 46 points and put up 529 total yards in a 53-39 win over Memphis.
As tight ends coach, Bowen helped develop Pat Friermuth into a second-round NFL draft pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Bowen left Penn State after 2020 to become Jacksonville’s tight end coach under Urban Meyer. Before Penn State, Bowen coached at Maryland, Fordham and Towson. Bowen was a graduate assistant at Penn State in 2014, Franklin’s first season as head coach, and came back in a full-time role four years later.
