New UVA head coach Tony Elliott reveals lessons learned under Dabo Swinney at Clemson

Tony Elliott’s time as offensive coordinator for the Clemson Tigers was time well spent. Elliott recently accepted the head coaching position at the University of Virginia. And while addressing the media, he revealed some of the key lessons he learned under Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney.

“First and foremost is surround yourself with good people. Piggy-backing on the last question, making sure I surround myself with good people that are going to give me wise counsel, understanding that I may have the responsibility of sitting in the head seat but I don’t have all the answers. But I’m going to mistakes, and I know that. That’s why I said there’s going to be mountaintops and valley lows. We need both.”

Elliott became the second key piece of Dabo Swinney’s Clemson coaching staff to leave in a weeklong span, as the offensive coordinator left to become the head coach at Virginia. His departure for Virginia came shortly after Brent Venables; Venables, the defensive coordinator, left Clemson to become Oklahoma’s head coach.

“But just surrounding yourself with good people, taking the time to really, really lay the foundation from a cultural standpoint and don’t waver on your beliefs even if you don’t necessarily see the results that you may want. Pay attention to the details as you build the culture. Keep the main thing the main thing, stay focused, so as you build your culture and you have some success, don’t get away from your core values. Stay focused with that.”

Since Elliott’s arrival in 2011, the Tigers amassed 10 straight 10-win seasons, six ACC titles and two national championships — the Tigers went 121-18 in his decade with the program. He helped build one of college football’s most dynamic offenses under eventual first-overall pick Trevor Lawrence, as Clemson in 2018 and 2019 were responsible for two of the 22 650-point seasons in college football history, before he took the job at Virginia.

“When you make a mistake, have accountability and ownership of it and push through and understand that mistakes are part of the process, but it’s the collection of how you respond to those mistakes, and then when you have successes, celebrate your successes and then keep that windshield mentality moving forward.”

It certainly worked out for Elliott, who left engineering for coaching and eventually found his way back at Clemson, working alongside Swinney. Now, as the head coach at Virginia, Elliott is grateful for his mentor’s guidance.