Elite 8: Eight Dream Hires For Clemson (when Tony Elliott leaves)

Clemson offensive coordinator Tony Elliott has had to answer numerous phone calls from colleges looking for a head coach and NFL teams looking for a bright, young mind to call their plays. With it looking like Clemson is working on borrowed time, we decided to have a little fun and give our top picks for his replacement.

OK, we know that Clemson offensive coordinator Tony Elliott informed, at least, two NFL teams of his desire to remain at Clemson. But as his name began to circle, and smoke began to become more than just a puff, we decided to give our list of four dream hires.

Disclaimer: These are DREAM hires, meaning: we don't expect these names to ever come up when Elliott finally decides to leave for his own head coaching job or the NFL. These are just the names that we would love to hire if Dabo Swinney gave us an unlimited budget and we could go out and hire whomever we wanted.

Zach Lentz:

1: Chad Morris (Unemployed): Since we are dreaming, why not start with the man who began the offensive explosion for the Tigers. Under Morris' offense, the Tigers set 127 offensive records (89 individual/38 team) and posted the top three scoring seasons in school history, as well as four of the top five passing seasons at Clemson.

Morris' record-setting offense in 2012 and 2013 marked the first time in ACC history that an active member of the conference had averaged more than 40 points per game in back-to-back seasons. Clemson was also one of just two FBS schools with a 3,000-yard passer, 1,000-yard rusher and 1,000-yard receiver every year from 2011-13.

2: Joe Moorehead (OC; Oregon): Moorehead drew high praise during his tenure at Miss. St. for his play calling ability and carried the same incredible playcalling to Eugene—helping the Ducks win the PAC 12 title.

3: Graham Harrell (OC; USC): Let's not look at the pandemic stricken 2020 season, but the 2019 season for assessing Harrell's ability.

In 2019, USC’s offense averaged 455.4 total yards (335.8 passing) and 32.5 points—significant improvements from 2018, when the figures were 382.6, 249.1 and 26.1—while ranking in the national Top 25 in completion percentage, passing offense, passing efficiency, total offense, third down conversions and first downs. The 2019 Trojans also set school season pass marks for total passing yards (4,365), completion percentage (71.0%), completions (365) and attempts (514). 

Not. Too. Shabby.

4:  Eli Drinkwitz (HC; Missouri): Since we are still dreaming, again, let's look past the 2020 season—which saw Drinkwitz lead Missouri to a 5-5 record in SEC play. App State proved to be one of the nation's most balanced teams in 2019, thanks in large part to an efficient offense that ranked ninth nationally in scoring (39.4 points per game

Jason Priester:

1. Phil Longo (OC, UNC): We have seen the success Longo has had at UNC with Sam Howell running his offense. Imagine him in Clemson with even more talent at the skill positions. 

2. Rhett Lashlee (OC, Miami): He has had success pretty much everywhere he has been. 

3. Jeff Brohm (HC, Purdue): No way you get a head coach to take a coordinator's role, but we are dreaming here. Brohm is considered one of the brightest offensive minds in the game at the moment. 

4. Andy Ludwig (OC, Utah): One of the more underrated offensive coordinators in the country. The Utes had the No. 16 most explosive offense in the country in 2020.