The Tigers' Offense is in Good Hands
When Tony Elliott took the head coaching job at the University of Virginia there was a certain faction of the Clemson Tiger fanbase that were happy. Not because they didn't like Elliott or think he was a nice guy, they were happy because they felt the Tiger offense had become stagnant and predictable under Elliott's watch.
The hope was that head coach Dabo Swinney would reach out and bring in, what the fans would consider, a home run hire—a big name with a pedigree of scoring points.
However, Swinney had to look no further than just down the hall to find the man who would orchestrate his offense moving forward.
"Brandon Streeter was a no-brainer," Swinney said. "He's over-prepared for this opportunity. He's turned down multiple NFL jobs, and he had the opportunity to coordinate in the NFL last year. He's had multiple SEC coordinator job opportunities. But he stayed right here and stayed patient, and this is his time."
However, Streeter was not the only person to get a promotion. Former Northwestern High School head coach Kyle Richardson also got a promotion to passing game coordinator.
Richardson is an air-raid disciple who led one of the most dynamic passing attacks in the country while at Northwestern.
"Kyle Richardson, six years ago I wanted a high school perspective in our staff room," Swinney said. "So I hired Kyle from Northwestern and he won multiple state championships...This was a great opportunity to give Kyle. And he's been really patient.
"He's turned down coordinator jobs and quarterbacks jobs in the SEC and ACC to stay at Clemson because this was his dream. Man, he's earned it and he deserves it. He is so freaking fired up. Kyle has a great aptitude for the passing game and he's going to make us better. He has been an amazing asset holistically to our program."
For everyone who is wanting sweeping changes, Swinney admitted that he and Streeter have already had conversations about what the offense will look like moving forward. But make no mistake, just like it is going to still be Clemson's defense—even without defensive coordinator Brent Venables, this is still going to be the Clemson offense.
"We've talked about a lot of things," Swinney said. "We kind of got what we got right now. But we'll have a lot more added to the puzzle when we get guys back healthy and more guys from a recruiting standpoint. But still the Clemson philosophy, and as long as we are operating within that philosophy we'll be great."
Clemson Football and the Cheez-It Bowl announced that No. 19 Clemson will face the Iowa State Cyclones in the 2021 Cheez-It Bowl in Orlando, Fla. on Wednesday, Dec. 29. The contest is slated for a 5:45 p.m. kickoff on ESPN. The game is currently a pick'em against the Tigers, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.
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