Former Clemson OC Leans on Dabo Swinney’s Lessons Ahead of ACC Championship

Rivalry week has come and gone, and the Clemson Tigers came out on top in the Palmetto Bowl, beating South Carolina 28-14 on Saturday afternoon. The Tigers extended their road win streak in the series to six and closed the regular season on a high note at 7-5, winning their final four games.

Following the contest, former Clemson offensive coordinator and now-Virginia head coach Tony Elliott spoke about how deep the rivalry still runs, even with him now coaching against his former head coach, Dabo Swinney.

"I was pulling for Coach [Swinney] to get that win too," he said on Sunday. "Because obviously that rivalry still runs deep in my blood and in my family."

As Clemson now waits to learn its bowl destination, Elliott and the Cavaliers will be heading to Charlotte for the first time in Elliott's four-year head coaching career to face off against Duke for the ACC Championship.

This season marks the first time since 1989 that the Cavaliers have achieved double-digit wins, sitting at 10-2 overall and 7-1 in the ACC heading into the postseason.

With such a significant moment ahead of him in his young career, Elliott acknowledged that stepping onto that stage brings back a flood of memories from his time at Clemson.

"I can't put into words how much I learned [from Coach Swinney] and how much I'm still using today," he expressed. "When we get done, I'm going to call him and ask him if he has any tips as a head coach about this game."

Elliott played wide receiver for the Tigers from 2000 to 2003 and began his coaching career with the program in 2011 as the Tigers' running backs coach. In 2014, he was promoted to co-offensive coordinator alongside Jeff Scott, a role he held until 2019, while also continuing to coach running backs.

He became Clemson's sole offensive coordinator in 2020 as Scott left for the South Florida head coaching job. In 2021, his final season before taking the Virginia job, he assumed even more responsibility as assistant head coach, offensive coordinator, and tight ends coach.

In his decade-long coaching tenure with the program, Elliott helped the Tigers win seven conference titles and two national championships. He didn't leave empty-handed either, mentioning that he took plenty of notes throughout the Tigers' dynasty run.

"I took a lot of notes as a coordinator and assistant coach," he stated. "I'm leaning on everything that I saw and heard throughout the course of each season and trip to Charlotte."

If Elliott is to lead Virginia to a win over Duke in Charlotte, it's almost certain that the Cavaliers will be on their way to the College Football Playoff as an auto-bid for the first time in program history.

However, if Virginia is unable to take down Duke, there could be a lot of controversy ahead for the conference, as the Blue Devils are unlikely to make the CFP even with an ACC title, having already suffered five losses on the season.

Higher-ranked conference champions from Group of 6 schools could earn automatic bids over the ACC's champion, like James Madison (11-1), North Texas (11-1) or Tulane (10-2). Ultimately, though, it all comes down to how the committee sees it.

The 2025 ACC Championship is set to take place at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Dec. 6, at 8 p.m. EST.