Clemson is heading into 2026 with a very different look on the sideline, and Dabo Swinney didn’t make the changes one at a time. He tore through the staff in the offseason, adding a new offensive coordinator, a veteran NFL special teams coach, a former head coach in a volunteer role and a new strength coach while also replacing a wave of other assistants.
The shakeup comes after Clemson went 7-6 in 2025, its worst finish under Swinney since 2010, his second full season in charge. Some of the turnover was forced by exits and retirement, but the end result was still a major reset.
The biggest move came on Jan. 23, 2026, when Clemson brought back Chad Morris as offensive coordinator. Morris is the same playcaller who helped build the offensive foundation that fueled Clemson’s rise to two national titles, and now he returns after not calling plays at a power conference school in five years and not coaching at all in 2025.
That hire points directly to the area Clemson needed to fix. The Tigers averaged only 27.2 points per game on offense in 2025 and ranked 72nd nationally in scoring under Garrett Riley. By comparison, Morris’ Clemson offenses from 2011-14 put up 36.3 points and 468.5 yards per game - roughly 10 more points and 77 more yards than last season’s group.
Swinney also moved on from safeties coach Mickey Conn and had to restock about 10 staff positions after John Grass left for the Samford head coaching job. The replacements came from both inside and outside the program.
Among the internal promotions, Tajh Boyd moved up to quarterbacks coach, Thomas Allen was elevated to defensive passing game coordinator, and Nolan Turner shifted from analyst to safeties coach.
Clemson also added plenty of outside experience. Rich Bisaccia came aboard as special teams coordinator on March 4, signing a one-year, $1 million contract after resigning from the Green Bay Packers on Feb.
- Bisaccia, 66, brings more than 24 years as an NFL special teams coordinator across five franchises, along with a Super Bowl ring from his Buccaneers days.
He also has Clemson roots, having worked there as an assistant from 1994-98.
Freddie Kitchens joined the staff in January 2026 as a volunteer offensive assistant after being fired from UNC, where he had served as Bill Belichick’s offensive coordinator in 2025. Kitchens and Swinney go back more than 30 years, to their time together at Alabama in the mid-1990s.
Brad Glenn, Mike Miller and Corico Wright were also added to the staff, coming from Cincinnati, Charlotte and Delaware, respectively.
The final major change came in the weight room. Dennis Love officially took over as director of football strength and conditioning in January 2026, replacing Joey Batson after his retirement following 29 years in the job. Love’s first offseason touch was a memorable one: Friday morning hill runs at Lake Hartwell that grew from two runs to 16 runs per week over the summer.
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The SEC has filed a lawsuit against LSU over the schools recruiting of former professional players, and the league now appears poised to push back harder after the injunction. Attorneys for the SEC plan to appeal the ruling, leaving LSU in the middle of a legal fight with the opener looming and a potential roster decision still hanging over one of the biggest games on its schedule. [Read more 🡒]
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For Clemson, the timing is hard to ignore with the opener looming, because LSU is still sorting through eligibility and roster questions while the SEC has already pushed back hard. The conference has filed a lawsuit against LSU and Lane Kiffin and plans to appeal the ruling, leaving the situation in a legal gray area even as LSU tries to get its lineup in place for the start of the year. [Read more 🡒]
Ohio States No. 1 Opener Just Got A Bigger Week 1 Spotlight
The 2026 college football calendar already has plenty of heavy lifting built into it, and Clemson is right in the middle of it. The Week 1 slate features all AP Top 25 teams, but the matchup drawing the sharpest attention on the Tigers side is LSUs season debut against Clemson, part of a full opening weekend that also includes games like Louisville against Ole Miss and a packed broadcast lineup across the sport.
For Clemson, the intrigue is obvious because the opener brings an early measuring stick against a national power and a fresh LSU look under Lane Kiffin. The schedule details are set, the stage is national, and the first Saturday in September now carries even more weight for a Clemson program that will have to answer a big question right away, with the Tigers entering that one in an unexpected role. [Read more 🡒]