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CLEMSON — Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney is in pursuit for his fourth defensive coordinator.
In a school release Monday, Swinney announced Wes Goodwin will not return as defensive coordinator. Swinney added he hopes to fill the vacancy by “the end of the month or sooner.” Whomever he hires will have a talented and experienced defensive unit that is returning eight of its 11 end-of-year starters and has an incoming recruiting and transfer class.
But, will Swinney continue his trend of external hires or will he promote someone already at Clemson as he did with Goodwin? Swinney has faced criticism in the past for his internal promotions instead of finding coaches outside of Clemson. Yet, his recent coaching hires suggest he will seek outside help to fill the defensive coordinator position.
Swinney’s last four assistant hires — defensive tackles coach Nick Eason (2022), offensive coordinator Garrett Riley (2023), offensive line coach Matt Luke (2024) and defensive ends coach Chris Rumph (2024) — were not at Clemson prior to joining the staff, but all have generated immense results to their respective groups.
Riley replaced Brandon Streeter after Streeter spent one season as Clemson’s offensive coordinator. Streeter, an internal hire, filled in for now-Virginia coach Tony Elliot, who served as Clemson’s co-offensive coordinator from 2015 through 2019 and sole offensive coordinator from 2020 through 2021.
Riley came from TCU, where he served as the Horned Frogs’ offensive coordinator to help lead them to a national championship appearance. His efforts helped him win the Broyles Award, given to the nation’s top assistant, in 2022. In two seasons at Clemson, he has helped Tigers quarterback Cade Klubnik blossom into a better player, finishing third in the nation in passing touchdowns with 36.
Eason returned to…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/dabo-swinneys-coaching-hire-trend-201344551.html
Author : Greenville News
Publish date : 2025-01-06 20:13:00
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