According to multiple reports, Clemson will hire TCU offensive coordinator Garrett Riley for the same position. Riley, 33, was named the winner of the Broyles Award for Best Assistant Coach in College Football after helping lead the Horned Frogs to their first appearance in a national championship game.
Riley helped oversee a transformation at TCU as the Frogs jumped from 5-7 to 13-2 under first-year coach Sonny Dykes. The Horned Frogs moved from No. 65 to No. 9 thanks to Riley’s efforts as quarterback Max Duggan earned a trip to New York as a Heisman finalist.
Like his older brother, USC coach Lincoln Riley, Garrett has a long history on the air assault offense … but with some wrinkles. Riley worked for his brother as a research assistant for two years before joining fellow Texas native David Beaty in Kansas. He later spent a year learning the Appalachian State system with now-Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz and would take on play-calling duties under Shawn Clark before Dykes poached him to lead SMU’s offense to great success .
Riley’s hiring is a departure for Clemson coach Dabo Swinney, who has historically relied on internal candidates to fill vacancies. Former offensive coordinator Brandon Streeter — a longtime assistant and Clemson player — was fired Thursday just a year after his promotion from quarterbacks coach to play-caller. Former offensive coordinators Tony Elliott and Jeff Scott were also promoted internally. 247 sports Scott will reportedly return to the program after South Florida dropped him, but Swinney opted to hire an outside offensive coordinator and limit Scott to an offfield role.
“As the leader of this program, I am accountable for our people and our results, and while we made a step forward offensively in 2022, after a thorough assessment of our offense, I felt it was in the best interests of our program to have new leadership in.” to seek this position,” Swinney said in a statement. “These decisions are never easy, but it is my job to evaluate and evaluate every part of our program each year and this was exactly the right time to make a change. “
Streeter was Clemson’s quarterback coach from 2015-21, developing stars like Deshaun Watson and Trevor Lawerence — both of whom were drafted in the first round of the NFL Draft. However, offensive numbers fell sharply in 2021 and were better last season – but not good enough. The Tigers ranked sixth in the ACC in passing offense and ninth in yards per passing attempt in 2022 with 232.4 (6.8).
Quarterback DJ Uiagalelei took much of the blame for the Tigers’ inability to stretch the field deep, and he was eventually replaced by true freshman Cade Klubnik in the ACC Championship Game win over North Carolina. However, Clemson’s offensive struggles rarely ended at the quarterback position. Clemson’s top receiver, Antonio Williams, had just 604 yards of reception. That’s a far cry from what Clemson produced in the glory days with stallions like Amari Rodgers, Tee Higgins and Justyn Ross. Of more concern, however, is that Clemson has lost six games over the past two seasons, their worst two-year streak since 2012.
Streeter’s firing is a 180-degree change from the head coach’s typical methodology. Swinney was fiercely loyal to his assistants, as he also promoted Wes Goodwin to take charge of defense after Brent Venables left to take the job as head coach at Oklahoma. The method dates back to 2014 when Jeff Scott and Tony Elliott were promoted to co-offensive coordinators when Chad Morris took over at SMU. When Scott and Elliott left to take head coaching jobs, Streeter got his chance.
However, Swinney has a strong track record of hiring outside coordinators. Morris was a Texas high school coaching legend with just a year of college experience, but he helped turn the Tigers into a consistent 10-win program before taking over SMU. Venables was ousted as Oklahoma’s defensive coordinator but joined Clemson and immediately established himself as one of the best assistants in football. He later rejoined Norman in 2022 to replace Lincoln Riley.