CLEMSON – In October of 2015, Tom Allen’s South Florida Bulls got the better of Chad Morris’ SMU Mustangs. 

The Bulls’ defense, under the guidance of Allen as the lead coordinator, held the Mustangs to two touchdowns, a season-low at the time, and finished with a 24-point victory. 

In the meantime, a few hours prior and south, sixth-ranked Clemson defeated Miami 58-0 to improve to a perfect 7-0 record.

Now, 11 years later, this specific date and pair of games may seem irrelevant in regards to today’s college football landscape.

After all, Clemson has since won two National Championships, played for two others and Miami has played for one. Players have gained the ability to make money off of their Name, Image and Likeness and additional income through revenue sharing. SMU joined the ACC and USF has been through four head coaches.

A lot–to say the least–has changed since 2015.

Still, though, that one day, and the matchup between Allen and Morris, foreshadowed Clemson’s 2026 season, where the coaches will assume positions as the Tigers’ defensive and offensive coordinators, respectively.

“When (Morris) was at SMU, I was at South Florida,” Allen said. “He was the head coach calling the offense there. I was the defensive coordinator. We went against each other there. And that’s how I really got a chance to know him through that.” 

After helping the Bulls to an 8-5 record that season, Allen took on his first Power 4 position as a defensive coordinator in 2016 and was quickly promoted to head coach. Morris followed out of the FBS head coaching ranks two years later, after helping the Mustangs to a complete program turnaround. 

Throughout the moves, the pair of former American Athletic Conference rivals kept in touch.

“(Morris) became the head coach of Arkansas, I was the head coach of Indiana,” Allen said.” And so we’d see each other at camps and we talk and and we actually were pretty good friends before this whole situation here at Clemson.”

After a few turbulent years at their respective programs, and several other successful stints as assistants, Allen joined Clemson’s staff in 2025 and Morris came back to the Upstate of South Carolina one year later.

Now, for the first time in a decade-long friendship, Allen gets to see his former rival work personally in every practice and meeting. His respect for Morris has only grown thus far.

“A ton of respect for him,” Allen said of Morris. “And I love what he’s brought, man. His energy, his passion for coaching is similar to mine. And we have a similar philosophy with that. I’ve enjoyed it, just so much respect for him. I’m just thrilled that he’s here and I love what he brings. I love the style of offense. I love the tempo, the intensity, the energy that he just exudes that just jumps out from him every single day.”

With Allen and Morris, the Tigers now have three former collegiate head coaches on their 2026 staff, joining offensive line coach Matt Luke, who was the head coach at Ole Miss from 2017-’19. With special teams coach Rich Bisaccia, as well as offensive assistant Freddie Kitchens, who both served as NFL head coaches, that brings Clemson’s total to five former organization leaders on Dabo Swinney’s staff.

“I think at the end of the day it all comes back to people, you know,” Swinney said of the coaching staff. “You got to have good people and you got people that are aligned, to whatever the core mission is, whatever the purpose is. And when you have that, you got a chance to be successful. And we have that. I really like our staff.”

That alignment, with coaches and players, will be crucial as Clemson heads to Baton Rouge, La., to open its season against LSU on Sept. 5. The five former head coaches have varying histories with the purple-and-gold Tigers, as does Swinney.

As a player at Alabama, Swinney held a 3-0 record against LSU in the 1990s. Since becoming Clemson’s head coach in 2012, he has a 1-2 record against the Tigers, with the most recent loss coming last season at Memorial Stadium. That loss was Allen’s first time ever going against the SEC’s Tigers.

Morris held a 1-0 record against LSU as Clemson’s offensive coordinator from 2011-14, and an 0-1 record as the head coach at Arkansas. Bisaccia held a 1-3 record against LSU in various 1990s collegiate stints, including a loss during his first stint at Clemson in the 1996 Peach Bowl.

Luke was 2-2 vs. Ole Miss as a player, but in his years as an assistant coach in the SEC, including stints at Georgia, Ole Miss and Tennessee, his teams were just 2-14. Overall, his teams are just 4-17 all-time against LSU.

Kitchens, as Alabama’s quarterback, finished with a 2-2 record against LSU, and actually served as a graduate assistant for the Tigers in 2022.

With an older staff, there is lots of history, and it will all be on display in just a few weeks in Tiger Stadium.