Dabo Swinney explains what stands out about Garrett Riley as an offensive coordinator

Garrett Riley fits the bill for what Dabo Swinney wants out of his offense.

The former TCU offensive coordinator’s football philosophy aligns with Swinney’s but adds a bit more youth and excitement to a not-so-sexy Clemson offense that has struggled mightily since losing Trevor Lawrence to the NFL.

“We’ve got to run the football. A lot of people get freaked out about the Air Raid and all that stuff, but honestly, we’re not doing much different,” Swinney said of the Riley hiring. “Football is football. … But procedurally how you do those things systematically, maybe how you do those things in, obviously, how it’s called, how it’s taught, and just the demeanor and energy. It’s easy to watch him and see why he’s successful.”

Swinney praised Riley’s time at SMU, where he had success as the Mustangs’ offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2020 and 2021. He took over the OC duties at TCU and turned a five-win Horned Frogs team into a squad that made it to the College Football Playoffs National Championship game in one season.

Behind Riley’s influence, former TCU quarterback Max Duggan turned into a superstar before our eyes. He was a backup before the season started and four months later he was a Heisman finalist. Swinney needs that same swagger on his sidelines.

“We’ve got to get better in our passing game. We’ve been elite throwing and catching around here for a long time and the last two years, we haven’t been what we need to be,” Swinney said. “I think he can help us do that without sacrificing the run game. Again, he’s an Air Raid guy, his roots, but as he likes to say, it’s a Power Air Raid.”

TCU threw for nearly 4,000 yards and rushed for nearly 3,000 more in 2022. The passing game was emphasized — those were the highlights we watched on a weekly basis this past season, but knew that when Kendre Miller had the ball in his hands, he was going to work.

The same type of balance — and success — is expected at Clemson. It’s the standard in Death Valley, and Swinney seems to have hired one of the brightest young minds in all of college football.