Dabo Swinney 'really excited' by Garrett Riley addition

Garrett Riley has everyone in Death Valley excited with his decision to come to Clemson and join the Tigers’ staff. This season’s Broyles Award winner cemented himself as one of the best assistants in the nation and, now, he’ll get his chance to showcase it at one of the country’s premiers programs. With that match coming to fruition, there’s no one more pumped about the hire than Dabo Swinney.

Swinney spoke volumes about Riley during his introductory press conference last week. He was happy with how the process worked out, especially after what they’ve seen from their new offensive coordinator at his previous two stops.

“Obviously I know his pedigree, his background, and all that stuff. But this was something that kind of happened in short order. And the best part about it is nobody knew about it until they needed to know about it,” said Swinney. “We’re really, really excited. Again, we’re just very impressed with what he did at SMU by taking the reins there. And then walking into TCU and they went from five wins to playing in the national championship.”

Riley was a key cog on Sonny Dykes’ first staff at TCU that took them to the Big 12 Championship and the College Football Playoff. That’s because, offensively, the Horned Frogs posted a Top-10 unit by averaging 38.9 points per game.

Considering his style, Swinney couldn’t think of a better new fit for his program. So many things line up where he believes it’s the kind of move that will be beneficial for both sides in the years to come.

“He’s a great fit for us. I think that he is one of the bright offensive minds in the game. I think he’s a great fit for Clemson, a great fit for me, a great fit for our personnel. Philosophy wise? We really match up,” Swinney said. “I have no doubt he’s going to make us better offensively. And I think we can help him grow continue to mature and get better as well as he navigates his career. It’s a great fit, great opportunity, and, again, great timing to bring him on board.”

After missing the CFP over the last two years, Swinney had to do something to switch things up. Rather than keep it simple, he might have, depending on next season’s results, made the hire of the offseason. Now it’s a wait-and-see game to determine how much better Riley can potentially make Clemson on that side of the ball in 2023.