Clemson officially has its new offensive coordinator.

The Clemson University Board of Trustees Compensation Committee met late Friday afternoon and approved the contract of Garrett Riley, who joins Dabo Swinney’s staff after spending this season as the play caller at TCU. The Clemson Insider reported Thursday that Riley would be replacing Brandon Streeter, whose eight-year tenure on Swinney’s staff ended this week when he was fired after just one season as offensive coordinator.

Riley’s deal at Clemson is for three years with an annual compensation of $1.75 million. He will also receive a $300,000 signing bonus, athletic director Graham Neff said.

One of the top young assistants in the sport, Riley, who will also coach Clemson’s quarterbacks, has spent the past three seasons as an offensive coordinator, first calling plays for Sonny Dykes at SMU before following Dykes to TCU this season. At just 33 years old, Riley won the Broyles Award as the nation’s top assistant coach in helping the Horned Frogs reach the College Football Playoff for the first time in program history.

Riley’s offense finished ninth nationally in scoring (38.8 points per game). TCU also ranked 27th in total offense (455 yards per game), 31st in rushing (193.3) and 39th in passing (26.17). Under Riley’s tutelage, TCU quarterback Max Duggan also won the Davey O’Brien Award as college football’s top signal caller.

In Riley’s two seasons as SMU’s coordinator, the Mustangs ranked in the top 15 in yards and points. His offenses have never averaged fewer than 38.4 points.

Riley is now tasked with improving an offense at Clemson that took steps in 2022 but has largely lost its explosion over the last two seasons. The Tigers ranked 30th in scoring, 47th in rushing and 48th in total offense, but a passing game that finished in the middle of the pack in the ACC (232 yards per game) continued its inconsistencies.

Clemson finished seventh in the league in pass plays of 20 yards or more (41). The Tigers also ranked in the bottom half of the conference in scrimmage plays of at least 20 yards and had just 27 plays of 30 yards or more, which ranked outside the top 5.

Riley will have some high-end pieces to work with, including former five-star quarterback signee Cade Klubnik, who took over as the starter for the bowl game, and 1,000-yard rusher Will Shipley. The Tigers are also set to return all but one starting offensive linemen.

Photo credit: Robert Hanashiro/USA TODAY Sports

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