The University of Tennessee is searching for its next football head coach under the direction of director of athletics Danny White.
Clemson offensive coordinator Tony Elliott is a candidate to become Tennessee’s next head coach.
Elliott has coached at Clemson since 2011. He started as a running backs coach for the Tigers, a unit he oversaw through the 2014 campaign.
Elliott was promoted to co-offensive coordinator and running backs coach from 2015-19.
Jeff Scott coached alongside Elliott as co-offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach between 2015-19.
Scott left Clemson for his first head coaching position at South Florida following the 2019 campaign. Scott’s departure allowed for Elliott to become the Tigers’ sole offensive coordinator in 2020.
Scott joined the show “Tennessee Two-A-Days” ahead of the 2020 season and discussed assembling a staff as a first-time head coach at South Florida.
“My time at Clemson, one of the things that I learned from Coach (Dabo) Swinney, is the importance of your staff,” Scott said. “I think as a head coach, there are so many things that are pulling you away with your commitment with donors and different things outside of your team that you really have to have a staff that you can really trust that can deliver the message, that you want to be delivered to your program.
“I have heard Coach Swinney say many times, there are thousands and thousands of coaches that know X’s and O’s, but when you really kind of pair it down to coaches of high character and that are going to do things the right way for their players, and really invest in their players, other than just helping them become a better football player, but also prepare them personally so that the 30-year old version of themselves is proud of the young man that was developed within your program. That group of coaches is a lot smaller list and, for me, there were several boxes that need to be checked as I was going through it and interviewing coaches. I am just very, very pleased with our staff and having the opportunity to be with them here.”
If Elliott were to land Tennessee’s head coaching position, he could approach assembling his staff in the same manner as Scott.
The entire show with Scott can be listened to here or below.
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