CHARLOTTE — Dabo Swinney created some buzz around his program earlier this year when he announced he was bringing Chad Morris back to run the Tigers’ offense. While this is Morris’ second stint as offensive coordinator, this is the third time he’s served a role on Swinney’s staff.
Clemson came into last season ranked inside the Top 5, with some even predicting a national title run. However, it wasn’t meant to be, as the team dropped three of its first four games before finishing the campaign 7-6, its second-worst season under Swinney.
Those results resulted in Swinney making multiple changes to his staff, including replacing Garrett Riley with Morris, a move Louisville head coach Jeff Brohm believes will have a positive impact on the Clemson program.
“I think coach Swinney has proven that he is a winner,” Brohm said during the ACC Kickoff. “He’s got great talent at Clemson. Great history and tradition. Last season didn’t go the way he wanted, so he made a couple of changes.”
Morris was originally hired to run the offense ahead of the 2011 season. For four seasons, he called the plays as Clemson went 41-11 over that span, laying the foundation for all of the success that was to come. Morris would leave following the 2014 campaign to take over as the head coach at SMU. He later had a short stint as head coach at Arkansas and has since had roles on the coaching staff at Auburn, South Florida and Texas State. In 2023, he was back at Clemson as an unpaid volunteer assistant. The 2025 season was the only one in which he was not coaching.
However, the coming season will mark his first time calling plays at the college level since serving as the Auburn offensive coordinator in 2020. While some believe that layoff might prove to be a little long, Brohm is confident Swinney now has the right guy running the Tigers’ offense.
“I think he’s got a proven play caller back, who’s been there and done that,” Brohm added. “He’s had him there before. He’s familiar with him, which normally helps. He will do a great job and really help their team.”