CLEMSON — Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney has his new offensive coordinator.
The Clemson Insider confirmed Saturday that Swinney has hired Chad Morris as his new offensive coordinator. The Clemson Board of Trustees’ Compensation Committee called a special meeting for Monday morning to approve the football coach’s compensation.
Morris returns to Tigertown for a second time to try and revitalize a Clemson offense that finished seventh in the ACC in total offense in 2025, averaging 392.2 yards per game and No. 10 in scoring offense at 27.2 points per game. Clemson also finished sixth in passing yards (267.8) and 11 in rushing (124.5).
Swinney fired former offensive coordinator Garrett Riley on Monday.
Morris has not called plays since serving as the Auburn offensive coordinator during the 2020 season. In the last five seasons, he served as an analyst on Jeff Scott’s South Florida staff in 2022, was an offensive analyst on Swinney’s 2023 staff, and as the wide receivers coach and passing game coordinator at Texas State in 2024.
He took off this past season so he could watch his son Chandler Morris quarterback the Virginia Cavaliers, who he led to an 11-win season, the program’s first.
During his four seasons as Clemson’s offensive coordinator, Chad Morris helped the Tigers set 127 offensive records (89 individual marks and 38 team records), while winning the 2011 ACC Championship and guiding them to a 41-11 record. He helped Clemson beat top 10 foes LSU (Chick-fil-A) and Ohio State (Orange) in bowl games, while the Tigers were 27-6 against ACC opponents.
The Tigers experienced some of their best offensive success with Morris running the offense. Clemson made an appearance in two BCS Bowls (2 Orange Bowls) and finished ranked inside the AP Top 10 twice.
Morris’ offense and his recruitment of Deshaun Watson set the stage for the Tigers national championship runs from 2015-’20.
In his 52 games as offensive coordinator from 2011-’14, Clemson averaged 36 points and 468 yards per game. He guided the top three scoring offenses and four of the top five passing offenses in Clemson history during his time in Tigertown.