Dabo Swinney addresses why Clemson made changes on coaching staff

Earlier this month, Clemson parted ways with offensive linemen coach Thomas Austin and defensive ends coach Lemanski Hall. On Dec. 12, Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney revealed why the program decided to make such significant changes to the staff.

“[Lemanski Hall] and I, we talked about it for a while and he was just honestly kind of ready for the next step,” Swinney said. “We just talked about again what that looked like and the process of that and so excited for him.

“He did a great job for us man. He’s coached those defensive ends every game since 2018… He’s done a great job, but he was ready for a different path.”

Hall moved into one of the 10 full-time coaching positions as defensive ends coach in 2018. Last season, both of his starting defensive ends earned spots on the 2022 All-ACC team, as Myles Murphy (first-team) and K.J. Henry (second-team) contributed to Clemson’s fourth-place finish nationally in sacks (44).

Nonetheless, it was time for change. Chris Rumph is the answer to that change. Rumph is returning to Clemson after spending the past four seasons working in the NFL, most recently as the defensive line coach for the Minnesota Vikings.

Dabo Swinney on Thomas Austin’s exit

While Hall’s exit appeared mutual, the same can’t be said about Austin. Swinney claims the decision wasn’t easy.

“At the end of the season, you got some time. So what I do every year is evaluate everything in our program,” Swinney said. “You stay the course in some areas or some years you make some tweaks that you don’t even know about. Sometimes, you make some changes that unfortunately — it’s a personnel change.

“That’s the hard part of our business because you’re dealing with people and you’re dealing with their lives and there’s no greater person on the planet than Thomas Austin.”

It wasn’t an easy decision for Swinney and Co. but the difficult choice led to a valuable asset. Former Ole Miss head coach Matt Luke will lead Clemson’s offensive line next season.

Luke was most recently the associate head coach and offensive line coach at Georgia in 2020 and 2021. He stepped away from his position following the 2021 season to spend more time with his family but is now ready to get back into coaching.

The future is bright

Swinney is excited to work with his new staff members.

“Matt is exactly what we needed with his hire,” Swinney said. “He brings an incredible résumé and a wealth of experience and has worked with a bunch of great coaches and players over his career. He is very familiar with our footprint in recruiting. I have no doubt he will be a great addition.

“Chris really fits what I was looking for in this hire,” Swinney added. “I wanted someone with NFL experience — and he certainly brings that — and I was looking for the right recruiting fit as someone who grew up in this state and played in this state.”