Clemson officially adds Nick Eason to football coaching staff

CLEMSON — It’s official: former Clemson star Nick Eason is coming home.

Eason was officially added as a member of Dabo Swinney’s staff Friday morning as the Board of Trustees approved his hiring.

Eason will serve as the Defensive Run Game Coordinator and defensive tackles coach for the Tigers.

“Nick is the epitome of what I look for in a coach,” Swinney said in a statement. “He has an incredible passion for the game, he has got a great background and he truly loves the player. In this hire, I really wanted a guy who had great experience at the NFL level. I wanted somebody who has coached the best of the best at the highest level, and that’s exactly what he’s done. He was a great player at Clemson and he’s a great Clemson man.”

Eason, who was previously serving as the defensive line coach at Auburn, agreed to a three-year deal that will pay him $750,000 annually.

He is replacing Todd Bates, who joined Brent Venables’ staff at Oklahoma earlier this week. Bates received a promotion and raise that was paying him $715,000 per year before he left for Oklahoma.

“This opportunity to hire Nick obviously came in the wake of a new opportunity for Todd Bates. I want to thank Todd for the great job he did for us these past five years, and I am excited for his new opportunity with Brent [Venables] at Oklahoma,” Swinney said.

“But I’m even more excited for the opportunity for Nick to join our staff as our defensive run game coordinator and defensive tackles coach, and I’m also really excited for our current players, because I know that he is going to be a great asset to them. He’ll be great for them, he’ll be great for our defensive staff and great for Clemson as a whole.”

Prior to working at Auburn, Eason spent seven years coaching in the NFL, including serving as the defensive line coach for the Titans in 2016-17 and the Bengals in 2019-20 before spending this past season at Auburn.

As a player, Eason lettered at Clemson four years from 1999-2002. He made 35 starts during his career, recording 30 tackles for loss, 15 sacks and being named a team captain.

Eason also played in the NFL for 10 seasons, spending time with the Browns, Steelers, Cardinals and Broncos.

“To have this opportunity to come back to Clemson is a blessing from God. It is a dream for most coaches to have the opportunity to coach at your alma mater and that is the case for me,” Eason said. “I want to thank Coach Swinney for the opportunity to be a part of a program with such a rich tradition, one that has become one of the best in the nation… I am looking forward to working with one of the best defensive lines in the country.”