Report: Dabo Swinney expected to stay in-house for coordinator hires

Dabo Swinney is going to have a drastically different looking coaching staff behind him at Clemson next season. Clemson lost both coordinators to head coaching gigs over recent weeks. Offensive coordinator Tony Elliott was named Virginia’s head coach on Friday and defensive coordinator Brent Venables is now Oklahoma’s head coach.

Losing Elliott and Venables forced Swinney to replace two key parts of Clemson’s staff. According to ESPN’s Chris Low, Swinney will be promoting internally to round out those open spots on the Clemson coaching staff.

“Similar to his own path, Clemson’s Dabo Swinney is promoting from within to fill his OC and DC positions,” Low tweeted about Clemson’s staff. “Sources tell ESPN that senior defensive assistant Wes Goodwin will be DC and QBs coach Brandon Streeter the Tigers’ OC. Kyle Richardson will also move into on-field role.”

Streeter has been Clemson’s quarterbacks coach since 2015, and he was the Tigers’ passing game coordinator this season as well. Goodwin worked as a grad assistant at Clemson from 2009-2011, and then as a defensive assistant from 2012-2014. He returned to Clemson as a senior defensive analyst and has been in that role since 2018.

Clemson is excited about Goodwin’s role on staff

A Clemson staff member had a lofty comparison for Goodwin, comparing him to NFL great head coach Bill Belichick.

“He is a brilliant football mind,” said a Clemson staff member via On3’s Matt Connolly. “We called him Wesilchick – short for Belichick. Probably the most underrated football coach in all of college football. He is one of the best defensive minds I’ve ever been around. He is a great teacher. He has great patience. He has a humbleness about him, although as smart as he is, he carries himself in a great way.

“I just think he’s been around sports and been around people that know sports at a high level for a long time. I think he just gets it. He’s very passionate about what he does. There’s nobody that’s going to work harder than Wes. He’s always the first one in and last one out. That’s all I’ve known him as is a worker, a grinder, just a brilliant football mind.”

Despite having to make major changes to Clemson’s staff, Swinney is glad to see his former assistants having success and moving up in the coaching ranks. Swinney knows that Elliott and Venables will do well wherever they go.

“To see him now have a chance to go be the head coach at Virginia — like Brent [Venables] having the chance to go be the head coach at Oklahoma — it’s a blessing because I know what he’s going to bring,” Swinney said of Elliott. “Those young men will be blessed by the way we do things here at Clemson. I have no doubt he’s going to be successful. And I’m super excited I’m still going to have a chance to interact with him on head coach calls, our ACC head coach meetings, etc.

“It’s good to see him move on and sad to see him move on, but it’s also exciting for new opportunity here as well.”