Inside New Offensive Coordinator Chad Morris's Notable Plans For the Clemson Offense

In early January, Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney went “back to the future” and picked up Chad Morris as his new offensive coordinator.

Now, can Morris — dubbed “Marty McFly” by Swinney during Friday's press conference— create Delorean-levels of liftoff for Clemson’s 2026 offense? He definitely plans to.

“We want to push the ball down the field at least three times a quarter," Morris said, "and that means the ball traveling in the air 25 yards or more, three times a quarter."

Clemson’s 2025 offense struggled with explosivity and big-shot plays. The lack of downfield threat clogged up the backfield and made for stagnant drives and frequent three-and-outs. Morris is skipping the dilly-dallying and plans to utilize the tremendous talent afforded to him.

“Get the ball to our playmakers,” he said.

However, for his plan to be feasible, Morris’ philosophy needs complementation from the backfield, and he made it very clear: this team will still be run heavy.

“We're a two-back, run oriented, play action shot football team that’s going to take great pride in pushing the ball down the field,” Morris said.

The run-first orientation will open up the deep shots that Morris intends on mixing in frequently. And should those downfield passes connect, the pass game will return the favor by opening up the line of scrimmage. Dabo Swinney sees the vision.

“We got to run the football, and we can run the football. It makes your team tougher.  And when you can run the football, you create some one-on–one matchups, and you know, he [Chad] loves taking advantage of those things,” Swinney said.

In the transfer portal, Clemson’s only offensive addition was running back Chris Johnson Jr. from SMU. With the departure of Adam Randall, who posted 814 rush yards and 13 touchdowns in 2025, Johnson Jr. will certainly be relied on for finding yards on the ground.

In the 12 years since Morris last coached at Clemson, the 57-year old has garnered valuable experience at various collegiate programs.

“He's been all over the world, he's done a lot of things, been a head coach. He's a different Chad Morris, you know, than the one I hired. He's a better Chad Morris, and I'm a better head coach,” Swinney said.

Following his offensive coordinator stint at Clemson from 2011-2014, Morris shipped off to SMU for his first head coach job. After taking the Mustangs from 2-10 in his first season to 7-5 in his third, Morris headed for the SEC where a head coach gig awaited at Arkansas. After an underwhelming time at the helm of the Razorbacks, Morris finished his coaching tour with one season as the offensive coordinator at Auburn.

On his return to Clemson, Morris was given the pieces to an unsolved puzzle, but he seems to be putting it all together just fine.