CLEMSON — Clemson and one of its top assistant coaches have parted ways.

Clemson offensive coordinator Garrett Riley is no longer a part of the coaching staff head coach Dabo Swinney announced late Monday. Riley has been the Tigers’ offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach the last three years, where he has had ups and downs during his tenure in Tigertown.

“I have made the decision to make a change at offensive coordinator,” Swinney said in a statement. “This was a very difficult decision. These decisions are never easy, especially when you really love and care for the people that are involved, and I deeply love and care for Garrett Riley and his family. At the end of the day, we just did not get the production and the results that we needed, and I just feel like it is time for a change, and so we will be moving in a different direction with a new offensive coordinator.

“I just want to thank Garrett for all that he did for us here at Clemson and leading us and helping us secure another ACC championship in 2024 and get us back to the College Football Playoff that year. I appreciate all of his efforts on behalf of our players and our program. Garrett is smart, he’s got great work ethic, and he’s a great coach, but it just didn’t work like we both wanted. He’s got an amazing career ahead, and he’ll be a great head coach in the future.”

Riley finished his time at Clemson with an horrendous performance in the Tigers’ loss to Penn State in the Pinstripe Bowl, just one of several this past season. The Tigers managed just 236 yards of total offense, including just 101 in the second half. Clemson ran for just 43 yards in the game and 1.7 yards per carry on 25 attempts.

Riley’s play calling at times, especially in key moments, has been questioned throughout the 2025 season, as it did in Clemson’s loss to the Nittany Lions this past Saturday in New York.

The Tigers finished seventh in the ACC in total offense, averaging 392.2 yards per game and No. 10 in scoring offense at 27.2 points per game. Clemson finished sixth in passing yards (267.8) and 11 in rushing (124.5).

Clemson’s lack of a consistent offense, especially in big games, played a role in the program suffering its first six-loss season since 2010. The Tigers finished the year with a 7-6 record.

The change at offensive coordinator means Clemson will have it third play caller in five seasons since Tony Elliott departed to become Virginia’s head coach following the 2021 regular season. Longtime assistant coach and former Clemson quarterback Brandon Streeter was fired by Swinney following the 2022 season.

Head coach Dabo Swinney brought Riley from TCU to help get the Clemson offense back to where it was when it was among the nation’s best during the Tigers’ national championship runs from 2015-’20. However, he never got the Tigers to the level of success they had while he was with TCU.

Riley appeared to have things on the up after a good second year in 2024. He helped guide the Tigers back to the College Football Playoff thanks to an offense that averaged 34.7 points and 451.9 yards per game.

The Tigers averaged 173.4 yards per game on the ground and 278.5 yards through the air.  Clemson had one of the nation’s most balanced offenses in 2024 when Clemson tied for the national lead with six games reaching both 200 rushing yards and 200 passing yards.

Clemson produced a 3,000-yard passer, 1,000-yard rusher and four 500-yard pass catchers in a season for the fourth time in school history, joining three seasons in which Clemson played for the national championship (2015, 2016 and 2018).

Riley guided quarterback Cade Klubnik to his best season in 2024, as he threw 36 touchdowns against only six interceptions and finished third in the nation in touchdown responsibility (43, including seven rushing touchdowns), just one off the national lead.

However, 2024 was sandwiched in between to average years of offense, as the Tigers averaged just 402.7 yards and 29.8 yards per game in 2023, which were both down from the previous season that resulted in a change at offensive coordinator.