CLEMSON — As you already know, Clemson and head coach Dabo Swinney have officially hired Chad Morris to return to Tigertown to run the offense in 2026.

We can tell from our conversations with several sources over the past few days, there is a level of trust and respect Swinney and Morris have for one another that makes a lot of sense on why the Tigers’ former offensive coordinator is returning to Clemson for a third stint.

The familiarity is not the only reason Morris makes sense as the new OC, but his price tag does, as well. Morris is returning to Clemson for $1.2 million, as part of a three-year flat rate.

This is good for Clemson for a couple of reasons.

Right now, Clemson is still on the hook for Garrett Riley’s $3.5 million remaining on his contract, as well as whatever they owe former safeties coach Mickey Conn, who was hired to be Samford’s new defensive coordinator. They are also paying former defensive coordinator Wes Goodwin after he was fired at the end of the 2024 season with two years remaining on his deal.

Morris is also a bargain in the sense of what Clemson would have to pay to bring someone else in. In other words, Clemson likely would have paid close to $2 million or more to get a bigger name or a hot younger coach in.

Given his relationship with Swinney and his familiarity with the program, Morris makes a lot of sense. I was told by one source, Morris is one of the few people Swinney trusts and will lean on for advice, plus he can be candid with Swinney, something others after Morris were unable to do.

As for the rest of the coaching staff, TCI has been told there are no other changes expected with the other eight on field coaches. That means, unless they leave on their own, C.J. Spiller will return as running backs coach, Tyler Grisham as the wide receivers coach, Matt Luke on the offensive line and Kyle Richardson at tight ends coach.

On the defensive side, Tom Allen oversees the defense, while Nick Eason and Chris Rumph will continue to coach the defensive line. Ben Boulware will stay on as the linebackers coach and Mike Reed as the cornerbacks coach.

As TCI reported Monday morning, former Clemson linebacker Corico Wright is returning to Clemson to help coach the secondary. Wright is considered a rising star in the coaching business. He has been the defensive pass game coordinator/cornerbacks coach at Delaware since 2023.

When he coached at Clemson as a graduate assistant, Wright worked with Reed and was in charge of the defensive game plans and breakdowns, while also assisting in the daily operations of the defense.

As for the seven analyst positions that are currently open on Swinney’s offensive staff, we were told those positions will be filled. There are some other staff positions and movement going on within the department, and TCI will report more on those as that information becomes available.