Clemson Makes Major Staff Changes as Offensive, Defensive Struggles Lead to Shakeup
The winds of change are blowing through Death Valley. On Monday evening, Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney announced the departure of offensive coordinator Garrett Riley and safeties coach Mickey Conn - two significant moves that reflect the Tigers’ underwhelming 2025 campaign and a broader need to reset on both sides of the ball.
“This was a very difficult decision,” Swinney said in a statement. “These decisions are never easy, especially when you really love and care for the people that are involved… but at the end of the day, we just did not get the production and the results that we needed.”
Riley Out After Two Seasons of Mixed Results
Garrett Riley arrived at Clemson in January 2023 with high expectations and a big-time résumé. Fresh off helping TCU reach the national championship game, Riley was seen as the guy who could breathe new life into a Tigers offense that had lost its edge in recent years. His hiring was a clear signal that Swinney was looking to modernize the attack after the DJ Uiagalelei-Brandon Streeter era failed to meet Clemson’s lofty standard.
In Year 1, the results were modest: Clemson finished with the nation’s No. 52 offense. But there were signs of progress, and in Year 2, Riley helped the Tigers jump all the way to No. 11 nationally in total offense.
That momentum, though, didn’t carry over into this season. The offense once again sputtered, finishing with just 392.2 yards per game - a steep drop from the 451.9 they averaged the year before.
The struggles were especially glaring in the run game. Clemson averaged just 124.5 rushing yards per contest, ranking 104th in the country.
That’s a far cry from the bruising, balanced attacks that powered Clemson to six straight College Football Playoff appearances between 2015 and 2020. The play-calling often felt flat, and the execution didn’t help - particularly from quarterback Cade Klubnik, who entered the season with high expectations but never quite found his rhythm.
The Tigers were ranked No. 4 in the preseason and widely projected to be back in the playoff mix. Instead, they scored 24 or fewer points in seven games and finished with six losses - the most in a single season under Swinney since 2010. The final blow came in the Pinstripe Bowl, where Clemson managed just 10 points in a loss to Penn State.
“Garrett is smart, he’s got great work ethic and he’s a great coach, but it just didn’t work like we both wanted,” Swinney said. “He’s got an amazing career ahead and he’ll be a great head coach in the future.”
Conn’s Departure Ends a Decade-Long Run
The offensive shake-up wasn’t the only headline on Monday. Swinney also announced the departure of longtime safeties coach Mickey Conn, a familiar face in Clemson’s building for nearly a decade. Conn joined the Tigers in 2016 after a successful 16-year run as the head coach at Georgia’s Grayson High School and took over the safeties in 2017.
“Coach Conn is someone that I’ve known since 1990 and he truly is family to me,” Swinney said. “He’s been coaching the safeties since 2017 and coached a bunch of great ones for us, including R.J. Mickens, who is a starting safety in the NFL as a rookie this year.”
But like the offense, the defense had its own glaring issues - particularly in the secondary. Clemson finished the season ranked 119th in passing defense, giving up 251.4 yards per game through the air. That kind of vulnerability simply isn’t sustainable in today’s college football landscape, where elite programs are built to throw - and defend - at a high level.
Swinney didn’t offer specifics on who might be stepping in to replace Conn, but he did say he was “excited” about the upcoming plans for the secondary and the defensive staff overall.
A Pivotal Offseason Ahead
Clemson’s program has been defined by consistency and continuity during Swinney’s tenure, but this offseason marks a clear inflection point. The Tigers are coming off their worst season in over a decade, and the program’s margin for error in the ACC - and nationally - is shrinking fast.
These coaching changes aren’t just about accountability; they’re about recalibrating the identity of a team that’s fallen behind the pace it once set. Clemson isn’t far removed from national titles and playoff dominance, but to get back there, Swinney knows the Tigers need fresh ideas, sharper execution, and a return to the standard that made them elite.
Time will tell who steps into these key roles, but one thing is clear: Clemson is officially in reset mode - and the next few months will be critical in determining how quickly they can climb back into the national spotlight.