If you’ve been paying attention at all, you know the Clemson Tigers are at a bit of a crossroads.
Even casual college football fans can see the writing on the wall, as the once-proud national powerhouse has fallen on hard times, culminating in a 51-10 beatdown at the hands of LSU on Saturday night.
I’ve written a lot about Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney and the thin line between respecting his past accomplishments and ushering the program into the NIL era, but lately I’ve found myself wondering if he’s used up his nine lives.
HOW MUCH LONGER DOES CLEMSON HEAD COACH DABO SWINNEY REALISTICALLY HAVE IN DEATH VALLEY?
Saturday wasn’t anything new – Clemson getting clobbered by a quality opponent has happened quite often post-Covid – but the fact that the general public has changed its reaction to the ritualistic sacrifices from shock to apathy shows that the Tigers aren’t what they used to be.
And that starts at the top.
It’s probably not a hot take to say that it’s time for Clemson to make a change at head coach.
The game appears to be passing Dabo by at warp speed, and although he won the ACC and made the College Football Playoff just two seasons ago, the conference is only getting tougher, and opponents like Miam, which used to be stepping stones for the Tigers on their way to a championship, are now leaning into the “new model” and lapping the old rulers of the realm.
But getting rid of a coach is only half of the equation, and the question still remains: Who does Clemson replace Swinney with should it choose to move on from him?
The Tigers are one of the few “haves” in a world of “have nots,” meaning they could pick from a list of elite head coaches and not have to go too far down before hearing a “yes.”
However, going “big game hunting” isn’t always the answer.
Texas A&M, LSU, and USC are all some of the biggest brands in college football, and when they were in the market for a head coach, all three went after names who were “too big to fail.”
The Aggies secured Jimbo Fisher, who had won a national championship at Florida State less than half a decade ago.
The Tigers and Trojans were searching for a new head coach during the same hiring cycle, and both came away with options that were deemed absolute coups at the time in Brian Kelly and Lincoln Riley, respectively.
Today, only one of those three coaches is still employed by the last school to hire him, as Fisher and Kelly both failed to live up to the lofty expectations placed upon them when they arrived on campus.
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Riley is still plugging away at USC, and although things seem to be trending up in Los Angeles, he’s in year five without a single Playoff appearance to show so far, hardly the type of tenure any Trojans fan would have envisioned when they plucked him from Oklahoma in late 2021.
All that is to say, Clemson doesn’t need to hire the “sexy name” to have a successful coaching search. They need to hire the right guy.
And I believe the answer is staring the Tigers right in the face.
If Clemson pulls the plug on the Dabo Swinney era, its first call should be to Tony Elliott at Virginia.
Elliott is fairly young for a head coach at only 46 years old, and he has the Cavaliers trending in a historic direction.
After increasing Virginia’s conference win totals every season since arriving in Charlottesville, Elliott guided the Cavs to an 11-win season and an ACC title game berth.
Those 11 wins were the most in school history, and the up-and-coming head coach was awarded the Paul “Bear” Bryant Coach of the Year award for his efforts.
He has the Cavaliers ranked in the AP Top-25 again this season after a rout of NC State in week zero, a team many thought would be a darkhorse contender in the ACC.
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that Clemson has far more resources and deeper pockets for football than Virginia.
If he’s doing this well with the Cavaliers in the same conference, imagine what Elliott could do with the Tigers.
But it’s not just his coaching acumen that should have him at the top of the list.
Because Tony Elliott is also a Clemson alum.
He played for the Tigers in the early 2000s, and in addition to that, he was the offensive coordinator under Swinney for seven seasons, helping his alma mater win two national championships in the process.
The idea of having an alum coach his school is becoming increasingly popular, particularly in the ACC.
Brent Key (Georgia Tech), Jeff Brohm (Louisville), and Mario Cristobal (Miami) are all coaching at the schools they played for, and experiencing great success in the process.
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Elliot is crushing the previous baseline established at Virginia, he will be a hot name in any coaching search for the next few seasons, and he’s a former player and coordinator with the Tigers.
Let’s not overthink this, Clemson.
Dabo’s replacement is there for the taking, just make the call.
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