CLEMSON — It seems Dabo Swinney has his guy to run Clemson’s offense in 2026.

The Clemson Insider learned on Thursday that former SMU and Arkansas head coach Chad Morris will likely be Clemson’s new offensive coordinator. Morris, of course, held the offensive coordinator position at Clemson from 2011-’14 before moving on to SMU.

Morris replaces Garrett Riley, who was fired on Monday after three seasons.

There are some of you who will not be a fan of the Morris’ hire, though he makes sense in a lot of ways. Morris was the architect of the Clemson offense that dominated College Football from 2015-’20 when it won two national championships and advanced to College Football Playoff for six straight years.

When he came to Clemson the first time, he saved Swinney’s job, as his quick-pace- and quick-strike-offense, led by Tajh Boyd, won the Tigers their first ACC Championship in 20 years at the time.

The next year, he helped the Clemson offense set countless records, as the Tigers posted an 11-2 record which included a win over No. 7 LSU in the Chick-fil-A Bowl. In 2013, Clemson again set more records on the way to another 11-2 season and a win over No. 6 Ohio State in the Orange Bowl.

The biggest argument for the haters out there is Morris’ ability to turn Boyd into one of the best quarterbacks in the history of the ACC.

I remember a story Swinney told me during Boyd’s freshman year – the year he was a redshirt freshman. Boyd struggled at that time to read simple defensive concepts, and Swinney was concerned how Boyd was going to progress.

In the spring of 2011, Boyd continued to struggle and had a hard time grasping what Morris was teaching him. Morris, however, was patient. He knew Boyd would eventually grab things.

After struggling for one half to open the 2011 season, Boyd took off in the second half and never looked back, as he set school career marks in nearly every passing category, including completions (901), passing yards (11,904) and passing touchdowns (107) as well as in touchdown responsibility (133).

The three-time All-ACC pick and 2012 AFCA first-team All-American was the ACC Player of the Year in 2012, and he finished his career as a finalist for the Unitas and Manning Awards as one of Clemson’s team captains in 2013.

He was inducted into the Clemson Athletic Hall of Fame in 2024.

Morris’ last year in Clemson as the OC was in 2014. The offense slipped a little after Boyd’s departure, but by Week 4 they started a true freshman from Gainesville, Ga., who set the Clemson record for TD passes in his first career start.

Injuries, however, plagued Deshaun Watson’s freshman year. He went on to beat South Carolina later that year, to snap its five-game winning streak in the series, with a torn ACL, as he ran for two scores and tossed two TD passes.

Watson, of course, was recruited to Clemson by Morris. He went on to lead the Tigers to the 2016 National Championship Game the next year and then got them a win in the 2017 National Championship Game.

So, do you still think Chad Morris is a bad hire? If you do, well I can’t help you.