What Clemson's Next Offensive Coordinator Will Need to Improve on in 2026

The Clemson Tigers have moved on from offensive coordinator Garrett Riley after his third season with the program, meaning change is coming within that unit.

Riley’s up-and-down tenure within his time with the Tigers had plenty of good and improvement to work on after the 2025 season, which ended with a Pinstripe Bowl loss to the Penn State Nittany Lions.

Whoever is the next offensive coordinator at Clemson, here is what will need to be fixed primarily.

Commitment to the Run Game

The Tigers stalled out frequently on the ground during the 2025 season, which made the team's play very one-sided on offense. They relied on Cade Klubnik’s arm heavily, which made it easy for opposing defenses to read plays.

The play calls remained pretty similar compared to last season, as Clemson ran the ball 45.2% of the time. Compared to last season, that was about the same, running the ball 45.87% a season ago, according to TeamRankings.

What’s different is the production that occurred from 2024 to 2025. Clemson averaged 3.7 yards per carry, which was 102nd in the FBS in that category. Last season, the offense ran the ball with an average of 4.8 yards per carry.

That number was 34th in the country a season ago, and while it’s only about a yard improvement, it helped make the difference between the College Football Playoff and a 7-6 record.

Clemson’s rushing yards percentage, in a ratio with its total yards, was 30.13%, 120th in the country. In 2024, it was at 36.92%, which would be ranked around 90th.

While not a vital improvement, it’s a 30-position swing. That will need to take up a bigger chunk of the offensive production going forward if the Tigers want to get back to the top of college football.

2. Third Down Efficiency

On average, Clemson completed an average of 4.7 third downs per game in 2025. That’s another low number, being 110th in the country in doing so this season.

Last season’s Riley offense was able to convert an average of 6.3 per contest. That 1.6-point change was good enough for 17th in the country in doing so. To put it in perspective, during Clemson’s 2017 season, the Tigers converted about 7.2 per game, which would be around the number to be at a national championship caliber.

It’s not about whether or not Clemson gets plenty of chances in doing so, either. The Tigers had an average of 13.6 third-down chances to be able to convert over the 13-game season. In 2014, it was at 14.5.

That struggle was lamented at Yankee Stadium in the loss as well. The Tigers converted only five of 15 attempts in an average of about 7.4 yards to go. Pair that in tandem with the run game; if that improves, it would steadily increase how many times Clemson is extending drives, and therefore, have more opportunities to score points.

3. Slow Starts in the First Quarter

Clemson was notorious for going into games leading early in 2024. In 2025, it was almost the opposite.

The Tigers were third in the country in first-quarter points per game in Riley’s second season with the team. On average, Clemson would leave the opening 15 minutes with about 10.4 points. Only Texas State and Miami were better in the first quarter.

This past season, Clemson was 67th in the country, with a number nearly halved at 5.5 points per first quarter. Above-average teams will get out to early starts, and the Tigers couldn’t do that often during the season.

The same thing occurred in the 2023 season, in fact, worse. Clemson could only score an average of about five points per first quarter, which led to the 9-4 season. Again, breaking into a new offensive scheme with a new starting quarterback in Cade Klubnik could be an excuse, but a season where the team retained over 85% of its offense will be difficult to point the finger anywhere else.

Clemson, known for ruling the ACC over the Dabo Swinney era, will need to continue to get off to hot starts, as it will better position the Tigers for success over the season. It will be a thing that Swinney’s new offensive coordinator will need to have.

If not, and another underwhelming season occurs in 2026, then who knows what could be next.