When Dan Brooks told Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney he was going to retire, it was no sweat. Swinney already had a plan in place. It was simple. He just promoted his good friend Mickey Conn, who he hired last year to be his senior defensive analyst, into Brooks place on the staff and have Marion Hobby, who teamed up with Brooks the last six seasons to form one of the best defensive lines in college football, be in charge of the defensive line.
Sure, losing Brooks is a big loss because he was such a good coach and recruiter, but Conn has ties to North Georgia where he was a high school coach for so many years at Grayson High School. Hobby of course is a strong recruiter himself and he has a great reputation and relationships with a lot of high school coaches.
When the NCAA approves a 10th assistant coach can be employed on college staffs this spring, Swinney’s plan is to promote defensive analyst Lemanski Hall and have him help Hobby with the defensive line. Conn, of course, will work with the defensive backs and will assist Mike Reed as a co-defensive backs coach.
And though losing a guy like Dan Brooks is never easy to replace, it seemed like Swinney had a smooth transition in place. However, sometimes plans don’t always work out.
Hobby’s decision on Wednesday to be the Jacksonville Jaguars’ new defensive line coach threw a monkey wrench into Swinney’s plans big time. Hobby’s departure means Clemson has lost both of its defensive line coaches, and another one of its top recruiters. It puts Swinney and the Tigers in a sticky situation, or does it?
One source told The Clemson Insider on Wednesday night not to worry because Swinney already had a plan, and his track record for hiring coaches has been a good one.
That’s true, Swinney does have a good reputation for hiring good coaches.
After he and Billy Napier agreed to separate following the 2010 season, Swinney went out and hired Chad Morris, a coach with just one year of experience at the college level. However, Morris, now the head coach at SMU, came in and quickly turned the Clemson offense around and laid the foundation for the success the Tigers are seeing now.
Morris is also responsible for bringing Deshaun Watson to Clemson as he built a great relationship through recruiting the Tigers’ national championship quarterback.
Following the 2011 season, Swinney parted ways with former defensive coordinator Kevin Steele. What did he do? He brought in Brent Venables, who has come in and made Clemson’s defense one of the best in the country. Under Venables, the Tigers have been a top 10 defense four straight years, including leading the nation in total defense and 10 other categories in 2014.
When defensive backs coach Charlie Harbison left the Clemson staff to take a similar job at Auburn after the 2012 season, what did Swinney do? He brought in Reed, who has turned the Clemson secondary into one of the best in the country the last four seasons.
When Morris left to go be the head coach at SMU in 2014, Swinney promoted from within as Tony Elliott and Jeff Scott became co-offensive coordinators. Morris’ groomed both of them to call plays, teaching them the ins and outs of his offense and then allowing them to have input in the play calling during his last couple of years in Tigertown.
The result, Clemson has not missed a beat on offense and is one of the best in the country.
To replace Morris on the staff as his quarterbacks coach, Swinney hired former Clemson quarterback Brandon Streeter, who is one of the hottest up-and-coming coaches in the nation. Streeter, who is also a strong recruiter, first did a masterful job getting Cole Stoudt ready for the Russell Athletic Bowl in a win over Oklahoma in 2014 and then under his tutelage Watson became a two-time All-American and the first quarterback in history to win the Davey O’Brien and the Manning Awards in back-to-back years as the nation’s best quarterback.
Yes, losing Hobby and Brooks in the same year is disappointing. But there is no reason for anyone to panic. Swinney has a great reputation for finding very good position coaches. And knowing he will need to bring in a strong candidate to replace Hobby, you can bet Swinney will do just that.
So sit back, relax and say these words, “In Swinney we trust.”
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