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Oklahoma hires former Clemson football defensive coordinator Wes Goodwin. What it means for Tigers
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- Oklahoma hires former Clemson football defensive coordinator Wes Goodwin. What it means for Tigers
Oklahoma hired former Clemson football defensive coordinator Wes Goodwin as its assistant linebackers and outside linebackers coach on Saturday.
Goodwin will reunite with Oklahoma coach Brent Venables, who was the defensive coordinator at Clemson from 2012 through 2021. Goodwin worked as a defensive analyst and senior defensive assistant under Venables.
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Goodwin spent the past three seasons as Clemson 's defensive coordinator, taking over in December 2021 for Venables. Goodwin kept Clemson's defense afloat after Venables' exit, earning a nomination for the Broyles Award, given to the nation's top assistant, in 2023. However, Clemson's defense struggled mightily in 2024.
As a result, Goodwin was fired in January, and former Penn State defensive coordinator Tom Allen replaced him.
How much Clemson football owes Wes Goodwin
Clemson terminated Goodwin's contract early without cause, meaning he would have been owed the remainder of his contract, $3.1 million − $1.5 million in 2025 and $1.6 million in 2026.
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However, his buyout will be reduced because he landed with Oklahoma, triggering mitigation. This occurs when an employee finds new employment, and the person's buyout amount owed is reduced by the amount earned at the new job during the remainder of the terminated contract.
The details of Goodwin's Oklahoma contract aren't known, so the buyout reduction isn't available.
If Goodwin had taken a new job before getting fired, he would have owed Clemson 25% of his remaining salary ($775,000), though the university had the discretion to waive that.
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: Former Clemson football assistant Wes Goodwin joins Oklahoma staff
