Assessing Chad Morris’ performance six games into his second stint leading Clemson’s offense, head coach Dabo Swinney acknowledged the ongoing struggles and general frustrations but stood behind his offensive coordinator.

During his weekly radio show on Monday night, Swinney stressed that Morris is “working his butt off” despite not getting all the results he had hoped for to this point.

“Working his butt off. Working his butt off. Not getting quite the results yet that he wants,” Swinney said when asked for his evaluation of Morris so far this season.

“But man, he’s in the lab. We’re working, and we’re just going to keep getting better.”

Clemson’s offense has been plagued by inconsistent execution and endured plenty of growing pains adjusting back to Morris’ system after he rejoined the Tigers as offensive coordinator ahead of the 2026 season. He was officially hired to the position in January, replacing Garrett Riley, who was fired last December following three seasons as Clemson’s offensive coordinator.

Entering Week 8 of the college football season, the Tigers rank 106th in the FBS in scoring offense (22.3 points per game), 73rd in rushing offense (153.2 rushing yards per game), 111th in passing offense (187.5 passing yards per game) and 110th in total offense (340.7 total yards per game). It’s also been well-documented that Clemson currently ranks dead last in the country in passing touchdowns (two).

Morris was brought in to try to revitalize a Clemson offense that finished eighth in the ACC in total offense in 2025, averaging 392.2 yards per game, and No. 11 in scoring offense at 27.2 points per game. The Tigers also finished sixth last season in passing yards (267.8) and 11th in rushing (124.5).

During his first stint as Clemson’s offensive coordinator from 2011-14, Morris’ offense averaged 468.5 yards per game and 36.3 points per game in his 52 games, ranking ninth and 12th, respectively, among power conference teams in those categories in that span. Clemson was one of only five programs during his tenure to exceed both 15,000 passing yards and 8,500 rushing yards.

Clemson (4-2, 2-1 ACC) returns to action against ACC foe Virginia Tech (5-2, 2-2) at Clemson’s Memorial Stadium on Saturday (7 p.m., ESPN).