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What Dabo Swinney's coaching hire trend means for Clemson football's defensive coordinator job
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- What Dabo Swinney's coaching hire trend means for Clemson football's defensive coordinator job
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.
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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.
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Eason returned to Clemson, his alma mater, after one season as the defensive line coach at Auburn. He replaced Todd Bates, who followed Brent Venables to Oklahoma . Eason, who was an assistant in the NFL and in college, has produced multiple all-ACC honorees for Clemson, including Tyler Davis (2023), Ruke Orhorhoro (2023) and Payton Page (2024). He also mentored defensive lineman Peter Woods, helping him earn freshman All-America distinction in 2023.
Luke replaced Thomas Austin , an internal hire who spent two seasons as Clemson's offensive line coach. In his first season, Luke added his 20-plus years of experience to bring confidence and improvement to a unit that allowed 28 sacks in two straight seasons. Last year, the Tigers gave up 28 sacks and held up against dominant pass-rushing teams, including Georgia, SMU and Texas .
MORE: Clemson football defensive coordinator candidates to replace Wes Goodwin for Dabo Swinney
Rumph took over for Lemanski Hall, another internal hire who served as Clemson's defensive ends coach from 2018 through 2023. Rumph left his defensive line job with the NFL's Minnesota Vikings to join Swinney's staff. He brought in over 25 years of coaching experience at the high school, college and pro level to improve the Tigers' edge rushers.
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The biggest benefactor was T.J. Parker, who led Clemson in sacks with 11 and set a program record for forced fumbles in a season with six.
These external and experienced hires provided a jolt to Clemson and its players that helped the team win two ACC championships and make its first College Football Playoff appearance since 2022. The positive results may be difficult for Swinney to break this pattern and hire someone in-house again.
Swinney labeled the Tigers' defense as "extremely talented" entering next season and may have his sights set on another veteran coach to maximize the group in 2025.
Derrian Carter covers Clemson athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at dcarter@gannett.com and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DerrianCarter00
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: What Dabo Swinney's hiring trend could mean for Clemson football opening
