After so much stability and continuity on his coaching staff for a lot of years, Dabo Swinney has had to replace coordinators on both sides of the ball entering 2022.
Clemson’s head coach did so by promoting Wes Goodwin to defensive coordinator in place of the departed Brent Venables and naming Mickey Conn the co-defensive coordinator. Offensively, Brandon Streeter heads into his first season as the Tigers’ offensive coordinator, replacing Tony Elliott.
In a recent episode of ESPN’s College Football Live, ESPN college football analyst David Pollack was asked how big of a deal it is that the Tigers lost both Venables and Elliott, who are now of course the head coaches at Oklahoma and Virginia, respectively.
“It’s a huge deal,” Pollack said. “But man, if Dabo Swinney doesn’t scream culture for you by now and you don’t believe what he preaches… What does he do? Brandon Streeter, he’s been at Clemson for seven years. Wes Goodwin on the defensive side of the ball, he’s been there for 10 years. You know, like, they went with guys that they trust that does the Clemson way. I’m going to be interested to see how they morph, how they change. But Brandon Streeter, you saw a little bit in the bowl game last year and did pretty well.”
Pollack added that while he believes Venables and his intense, energetic persona is irreplaceable, he believes the Tigers will be just fine defensively considering the talent and depth they have up front on that side of the ball.
“Replacing Venables, I think, is impossible,” Pollack said. “His energy, you always saw him on the sidelines just grabbing people and he was all in, man, and he was so intense. It’s hard to find people like that. There’s just not many people in the world that are wired (like Venables). So, I can see that being something you say hey, the defense takes a step back. But the personnel on that defensive line is so good, they’re still going to be a great football team this year, regardless of the coaching changes.”
–Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
