Clemson’s co-offensive coordinators Jeff Scott and Tony Elliott have pretty much done everything together since they both started playing for the Tigers 15 years ago. They shared a position together, they were stretch partners in warm ups, they became position coaches at about the same time and now they are calling plays together.
On Monday, as the 12th-ranked Tigers prepare to host Wofford in the season-opener in Death Valley on Saturday, they shared a press conference together.
When they met 15 years ago, neither expected to be calling plays for their alma mater one day and neither one thought they would be sharing the duties together.
Elliott did not even consider being a football coach back then. He figured he might making money somewhere like Michelin, where he worked for a few years before he got in the coaching business almost 10 years ago.
“My initial plan was to work as an engineer when I graduated from school. Coaching was not in my future,” he said. “There were some things that happened along the way that opened some doors and got me into the profession, but if you told me that fifteen years ago and told me Jeff was going to be the guy that I was going to be working with, I would say, ‘Man! Let’s go do it’ because of that relationship.”
Elliott says it all goes back to the relationship the two have in everything they do. They share a lot of the same values on the field as well as off the field, and they think alike in a lot of ways, too.
“At the end of the day, we are both Clemson Tigers,” Elliott said. “We understand it is about these young people and this program. We want to take pride in doing our best working together to help these young men to be successful. At the end of the day, it is not about me, and as Jeff will tell you the same, it is not about, Jeff. It is about this offense, this university and putting the best product on the field to be successful.”
That’s what it was about last December when in their first game as play callers, Elliott and Scott came together to lead Clemson to a 40-6 victory over Oklahoma. They helped an offense that had been stagnant without Deshaun Watson, who was out in the bowl game with a torn ACL, run up and down the field on the Sooners.
Cole Stoudt threw for 319 yards and three touchdowns on 26 of 36 passing on his way to MVP honors. On Saturday, they will make their home debut as offensive coordinators.
“The big thing, Tony and I have been together for four years on the headsets. It really isn’t a whole lot different than what he and I would have done on Game Day in the past other than Chad (Morris) was there to make that final call,” Scott said. “There are certain times throughout a game, throughout a certain series, certain places on the field where maybe recommendations come up. Tony has to be the one sitting up there looking down, and he has to be able to make that call.
“I think we have a very good relationship. I think we know each other very well.”
Just like two peas in a pod.