CHARLOTTE – The rare January snow storm in Clemson is always memorable.

But Upstate South Carolina snow storms are even more unforgettable when they are affiliated with two changes that changed Clemson football forever.

In early January of 2011, a news release from Clemson broke through historic levels of snow and sleet– a full-blown wintry storm– and into headlines.

That news release, an announcement that Dabo Swinney was hiring Chad Morris to be his offensive coordinator, started a trajectory for the Tigers that would send them to two national championship victories and four other College Football Playoff appearances in the next nine years.

Three days after Morris– a former Lake Travis high school head coach and Tulsa coordinator– was hired, Swinney added another member to his staff before the snow had a chance to melt.

In his second announcement in four days, Swinney brought back Tony Elliott, a former Tiger football walk-on-turned team captain, to lead the program’s running backs. 

Both coaches were relatively unproven. 

Morris had been a high school coach in Texas, his home state, for 16 years, accumulating a 178-43 record. He had served only one season at Tulsa as an offensive coordinator at Clemson at the time of his hiring. 

Elliott was fresh off two stints of coaching wide receivers at Furman and South Carolina State from 2006-2010, his first jobs in any level of football.

Despite some raised eyebrows, especially about the Morris hire, the pair went on to lead Clemson to an ACC Championship in 2011, with 1,500 more passing yards from the year prior and an All-American in running back Andre Ellington.

Morris introduced a new offense that transformed how Clemson played, teaching Elliott the ropes in the background.

After a few years and immense success at Clemson, Morris went on to head coaching jobs around the country. Elliott, on the other hand, took his place calling offensive plays for Swinney and then eventually took a head coaching job at Virginia in 2021.

In 2025, for the first time in over three decades, Morris did not have an official coaching role.

Instead, he was watching his son Chandler play quarterback at Virginia under Elliott, leading the Cavaliers to a 11-3 record and best finish in program history. 

Morris was around the program, offering insights about upcoming opponents through a consulting firm. He watched practices. He watched Elliott. He sat in the stands. He had the least football responsibility since he had a math major at Texas A&M in the early 90s.

However, Morris wanted back on the field. He needed a headset.

Both came this offseason, when– without a storm this time– Swinney announced that again, Morris would be the offensive coordinator at Clemson for the 2026 season. The pair was going “Back to the Future,” and Morris was coming home, according to Swinney.

Elliott, up in Virginia, was not sure what to think. 

 “I was like ‘Man, are you sure this is what you want to do?’ Elliott said at the ACC Kickoff. “Don’t you enjoy traveling around and watching Chandler play?”

It was a fair concern. Chandler was dealing with an NCAA battle that could potentially give him another year to play. Morris had been able to be a consultant and travel at will the prior season.

However, nothing gives Morris joy quite like coaching. His Red-Bull-crazed, high-volume style came to Clemson the first time when he was in his early 40s. Now, at 57, Morris’ energy and intensity seems to be just as obvious. 

To Elliott, this is no surprise. He knows his offensive coordinator.

“But I can tell that, one, Chad is an unbelievable person and he is a football coach,” Elliott said. “He is a competitor, he loves to coach, he loves everything about it. I can easily see how when that opportunity presented itself he could take advantage of it. And I’m happy for him.”

Additionally, Elliott is happy for the man that took the chance on both himself and Morris, who he considers a mentor and friend.

“I’m happy for Coach Swinney,” he said. “I could tell that coach Swinney was in a good place once he was able to make that hire. Hopefully it works out, how cool would that be for both of us to be back in Charlotte?”

And with the ACC Championship game in December, there is a good chance they could be brought together by snow again.