Clemson eyeing former SEC head coach for Dabo Swinney’s staff
Many believed there would be big changes coming for the Clemson Tigers after going 7-6 and losing 22-10 to Penn State in the Pin Stripe Bowl on Saturday.
The 7-6 finish was the second-worst season of Swinney’s 17-year-plus stint with the Tigers. He’d won nine or more games every year from 2009 to 2024 except for a 6-7 season back in 2010.
The first of those changes happened on Monday when Clemson fired offensive coordinator Garrett Riley, who served as the team’s OC and quarterbacks coach since 2023.
More News: Bryce Underwood Drops Cryptic Update on Michigan Future Before Citrus Bowl
More News: Miami Predicted to Land No. 1-Ranked Transfer Portal QB
According to Bruce Feldman of The Athletic, a possible frontrunner tp replace Riley has already emerged just a few hours after news of his firing.
“A name to watch for Clemson as Dabo Swinney looks for Garrett Riley’s replacement as the Tigers next OC: Chad Morris, who took the 2025 season off to watch his son Chandler play QB at Virginia,” Feldman wrote.
The 57-year-old Morris is already well-known by Clemson fans. He served as Swinney’s offensive coordinator/QB coach from 2011 until 2014, and he serves as an offensive analyst for the Tigers in 2023.
More News: Top Michigan Recruit Demands Release Immediately After Kyle Whittingham News
More News: Lane Kiffin, LSU Lose Key Stater to Transfer Portal Before Texas Bowl
Morris also has offensive coordinator experience in the college ranks beyond Clemson, occupying that role at both Tulsa (2010) and Auburn (2020).
He also has head coaching experience as well, spending three years as the HC at SMU, where he went 14-22 with a bowl appearance, and he had a two-year stint as the head coach at Arkansas, where he went 18-40.
Whether it’s with Clemson or somewhere else, Morris will be back on a college football sideline in 2026, according to Feldman.
“Chad Morris said he will get back into coaching next year,” Feldman added. “He’s not ready to give that up — he is much more comfortable with a headset on watching and calling a game than he is from way up at the top of the stands.”
