I'm sorry, that's just a little teasing on my part because other than a little message board chatter, there is no reason to believe Mr. Ward will be gracing the Butts-Mehre building or the University of Georgia anytime soon.
That said, the former Georgia standout, and recently retired Pittsburgh Steeler, is getting some love from his hometown in the shape of a job offer from a prestigious high school in the Atlanta-area.
"I got an email from the athletic director, asking if I had any interest," Ward said with a laugh about his first post-retirement job offer. "I woke up this morning and it was the first thing I read."
The offer, Ward said, came from the prestigious private Westminster School in Atlanta. Ward lives in suburban Atlanta.
He is not ready, however, to jump at any offers now and coaching football is not on his radar.
"I just thought we could open the door and talk to him and see if there was anything there,'' Westminster AD Rusty Hudson said. "If we could figure out a way to get him on our staff, that would be great."
My initial reaction to that story was, nice job by that AD to go out on a limb and at least take a shot at Ward—all he could say it "no" right?
Of course, my second reaction was, why haven't the Bulldogs done the same?
I mean, they are taking applications and it couldn't hurt to have a great player like Hines Ward to bring some signature talent to the Classic City—he could show off all those rings he's procured as a pro.
That would be pretty impressive, don't you think?
Now before I get the naysayers jumping on me to remind me that it takes a lot more than a few Super Bowl rings and a great smile to recruit, please understand that I'm not advocating that being the job Ward is offered.
However, can you imagine Ward being the guy who consults with Bryan McClendon on a regular basis where development of the wide receiver talent is concerned? Or how about being the guy who assists on the tours of the football facilities during special events like VID?
Of course I say this off the cuff and completely ignorant of how the NCAA would view such involvement, but it's Hines-freaking-Ward people, so it's difficult for me not to get a little excited at the idea of such a marriage. However, for now, this is all the dream of an admitted Georgia fan who cheered mightily for Ward back in the day.
The reality is Ward hasn't decided what he wants to do for the rest of his post-football career and it's not certain he'll end up in coaching when he does.
But a lady can dream a little bit, can't she?
