CLEMSON — Though Clemson has not officially announced anything when it comes to its defensive coaching staff, as The Clemson Insider reported on Saturday, all signs continue to point to Dabo Swinney making a change at defensive coordinator.

If that indeed happens, who will Swinney get to replace Wes Goodwin? Swinney might just have a short walk down the hall at the Allen Reeves Football Complex to find his new defensive coordinator.

As TCI reported on Saturday, Swinney is looking for an experienced coach to run his defense and he already has one on his staff.

One coach that might get consideration for the job is former South Carolina defensive coordinator Lorenzo Ward, who joined Swinney’s Clemson staff last spring  and currently serves as the special assistant to the head coach and defense and as an assistant linebackers coach.

Ward served as South Carolina’s defensive coordinator from 2009-’15, as the Gamecocks had some of the best defensive units in the country during that time.

Prior to this season, Ward spent the five seasons as the defensive coordinator at Chattanooga. Prior to that he was at Louisville, where he served as the defensive backs coach and as associate head coach. He was at Louisville for two seasons before going to Chattanooga in 2019.

While at South Carolina, Ward coached under Steve Spurrier. He was a part of a South Carolina staff that helped the program have the best four-season run in the school’s history from 2010-’13, including three straight 11-2 campaigns from 2011-’13.

A former player at Alabama, Ward was a graduate assistant coach on the Alabama staff during Swinney’s junior year with the Crimson Tide. Ward is entering his 34 year as a football coach. He also spent two years as an assistant coach for the NFL’s Oakland Raiders.