Dabo Swinney raves about internal hires, finding the right opportunity

Dabo Swinney had a luxury this offseason that not all coaches have in their programs. When Clemson lost both Brent Venables and Tony Elliott to Oklahoma and Virginia, they didn’t have to look far for their replacements. Wes Goodwin was locked in as defensive coordinator after his 10th season with the Tigers overall. Meanwhile, Brandon Streeter took Elliott’s place as offensive coordinator for Clemson after his 14th season at the school as a player, grad-assistant and full-time assistant.

Swinney shared his thoughts on his ability to hire within the program during media on Thursday. He says it naturally brings a new vibe to the program but it can be a real positive for the team if it’s possible.

“They’re just different personalities first of all. (It’s) like when I hired Tony to take Chad Morris’ place and it was obviously very different. I have a relationship with all those guys. I think it’s great to be able to hire from within if it’s feasible,” said Swinney. “If it’s the right fit, the right timing and the right need and that’s the case that we have here.”

Venables had been with the program for 10 years while Elliott had spent 11 at Clemson. With both getting their chances as head coaches, Dabo Swinney was able to walk right into his office and handpick their successors. He says the most fortunate hire was Streeter because of his experience with the Tiger’s top players the last several seasons and the interest around him as a hire across the sport.

“We’re lucky Streeter is still here. Streeter has turned down a bunch of jobs. He has turned down SEC coordinator jobs and turned down NFL jobs. He loves it (at Clemson) and played here. We knew Tony would eventually get an opportunity and we knew he really wanted to be the coordinator here. That’s why we promoted him,” Swinney said. “He coached Deshaun (Watson) two years, Trevor (Lawrence) all three years (and) recruited him, and recruited DJ (Uiagalelei) and Cade (Klubnik). He has done a phenomenal job so he deserved it. It’s just that simple.”

Dabo Swinney made it clear that it isn’t always the best scenario to hire from within. It takes the right person to fill in the right job at the right time. Fortunately, he had the candidates he wanted already in house. While Venables and Elliott are big losses from Clemson’s run as one of the best programs in college football, Goodwin and Streeter are the new men for the job to ensure the Tigers stay at that level.

“It’s not always the case,” said Swinney. “That’s great when it works out that way. It’s been fun. Those guys have been awesome and we’ve got a great staff.