Garrett Riley – Page 3 – Syndication Server

Wes Goodwin and Nick Eason earn raises, among the top-paid assistant coaches in college football

Clemson coaching staff contracts have been released, with Goodwin and Eason earning raises.

The Clemson football program has made some adjustments to their coaching staff contracts and salaries, with Clemson University’s Board of Trustees Compensation Committee approving these moves recently.

One of the biggest changes we’ve seen comes for defensive coordinator Wes Goodwin, who was granted a $550,000 salary increase, boosting his annual earnings from $850,000 to $1.4 million. A huge jump for the defensive coordinator after an excellent defensive season.

Another coach getting a big raise is defensive ends coach Nick Eason. Earning a $300,000 raise, Eason is now up to 1.1 million for the upcoming season. Check out all of Clemson’s changes below.

Clemson Football Coaches Compensation:

Approval of contractual changes for Football Staff:

Wesley Goodwin, Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers
Term: Add 1 year through 1/31/2027
Total compensation: increase from $850,000 to $1,400,000
Buyout: Full guarantee with mitigation
Bonus: standard bonus structure

Nick Eason, Defensive Run Game Coordinator/Defensive Tackles
Term: Add 1 year through 1/31/2027
Total compensation: increase from $800,000 to $1,100,000
Buyout: Full guarantee with mitigation
Bonus: standard bonus structure

Mike Reed, Assistant Head Coach/Special Teams Coordinator/Cornerbacks
Term: Add 1 year through 1/31/2027
Total compensation: increase from $800,000 to $900,000
Buyout: Full guarantee with mitigation
Bonus: standard bonus structure

Mickey Conn, Co-Defensive Coordinator/Safeties
Term: Add 1 year through 1/31/2027
Total compensation: increase from $800,000 to $900,000
Buyout: Full guarantee with mitigation
Bonus: standard bonus structure

Garrett Riley, Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks
Term: Add 1 year through 1/31/2027
Total compensation: no change
Buyout: Full guarantee with mitigation
Bonus: standard bonus structure

Kyle Richardson, Passing Game Coordinator/Tight Ends
Term: Add 1 year through 1/31/2026
Total compensation: increase from $500,000 to $600,000
Buyout: Full guarantee with mitigation
Bonus: standard bonus structure

Tyler Grisham, Recruiting Coordinator/Wide Receivers Coach
Term: Add 1 year through 1/31/2026
Total compensation: increase from $450,000 to $550,000
Buyout: Full guarantee with mitigation
Bonus: standard bonus structure

CJ Spiller, Running Backs Coach
Term: Add 1 year through 1/31/2026
Total compensation: increase from $450,000 to $550,000
Buyout: Full guarantee with mitigation
Bonus: standard bonus structure

Joey Batson, Director of Football Strength & Conditioning
Term: Add 1 year through 1/31/2027
Total compensation: no change
Buyout: Full guarantee with mitigation
Bonus: standard bonus structure

Robbie Caldwell, Director of High School Relations & Player Development
Term: Add 1 year through 1/31/2026
Total compensation: no change
Buyout: Full guarantee with mitigation
Bonus: standard bonus structure

Jeff Davis, Director of Football Player Relations/External Affairs
Term: Add 1 year through 1/31/2026
Total compensation: no change
Buyout: Full guarantee with mitigation
Bonus: standard bonus structure

Mike Dooley, Associate Athletic Director/Football Administration
Term: Add 1 year through 1/31/2026
Total compensation: no change
Buyout: Full guarantee with mitigation
Bonus: standard bonus structure

DJ Gordon, Director of Football Operations/Creative Media
Term: Add 1 year through 1/31/2026
Total compensation: increase from $250,000 to $270,000
Buyout: Full guarantee with mitigation
Bonus: standard bonus structure

Woody McCorvey, Chief of Staff
Term: Add 1 year through 1/31/2026
Total compensation: no change
Buyout: Full guarantee with mitigation
Bonus: standard bonus structure

Danny Pearman, Director of Football Scouting
Term: Add 1 year through 1/31/2026
Total compensation: no change
Buyout: Full guarantee with mitigation
Bonus: standard bonus structure

Jordan Sorrells, Senior Director of Football Recruiting
Term: Add 1 year through 1/31/2026
Total compensation: no change
Buyout: Full guarantee with mitigation
Bonus: standard bonus structure

Garrett Riley on Clemson’s 2024 class: ‘I feel like we’ve hit a home run with a lot of these guys’

Garrett Riley likes what he sees with Clemson’s 2024 recruiting class.

Much of the 2024 Clemson recruiting class looks excellent on paper, and the coaching staff seems very excited with what they have.

The program brought in some huge names in this class on offense, led by 5-star wide receiver Bryant Wesco. As the Tigers prepare for their bowl game, offensive coordinator Garrett Riley took the time to discuss his feelings about this class.

“Can’t wait. I feel like we’ve hit a home run with a lot of these guys and really addressed needs that were going to need for this upcoming season,” Riley said.

“Big thing is a lot of these guys are coming in in January. To really be able to hit the ground running and insert them into our team and see what that’s going to look like in spring football is going to be a huge addition for us.”

The only recruit on the offensive side of the ball practicing with the Tigers right now is running back David Eziomume, but the program expects many of them to join Clemson for spring ball. The program needs to hit on this class as there is a desperate need for help on the offensive side of the ball.

Five takeaways from Clemson’s stellar Senior Day win over No.20 North Carolina

Five Takeaways from another Clemson’s strong win over North Carolina.

Dabo Swinney and the Tigers hot run continued Saturday, as Clemson took down No.20 North Carolina 31-20 in Death Valley.

After a start to the 2023 college football season that no one in the program or the fan base wanted, the Tigers are hitting their stride down the stretch. It is another ranked win, with both coming against big names in UNC and Notre Dame.

It wasn’t a perfect win, but a perfect win is nearly impossible when you’re playing a team with an offense as high-powered as the Tar Heels. Both the Clemson offense and defense did exactly what they needed to for the Tigers to earn a Senior Day win.

Here are five takeaways from Clemson’s stellar Senior Day win over No.20 North Carolina.

Clemson offensive coordinator Garrett Riley is the highest paid assistant coach in college football

Clemson offensive coordinator Garrett Riley is the highest-paid assistant in the country.

Dabo Swinney and the Clemson football program made a huge splash this offseason, bringing in 2022 Broyles Award winner Garrett Riley as Clemson’s new offensive coordinator, and it did not come cheap.

USA TODAY Sports recently revealed college football’s assistant coach salary database, with Riley sitting No.1, making $2.05 million this year. He is just one of two coaches making $2 million more, with Washington offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb making $2 million this season as the No.2 highest-paid assistant.

Riley is far and away the top-paid Clemson assistant, with defensive coordinator Wes Goodwin making $850,000, Nick Eason $800,000, Mike Reed $800,000, Mickey Conn $800,000, Lemanski Hall $625,000, Kyle Richardson $500,000, Thomas Austin $450,000, C.J. Spiller $450,000 and Tyler Grisham $450,000. I’m sure this comes as a surprise to no one: Clemson coaches get paid well.

It may be time to move on from writing and get into coaching!

Five takeaways from Clemson’s massive and emotional upset win over Notre Dame

Five takeaways from Dabo Swinney and the Tigers’ massive win over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

Dabo Swinney and the Clemson football team put it all together Saturday and earned a massive, emotional 31-23 win over No.15 Notre Dame.

Clemson (5-4, 2-4 ACC) was in desperate need of a win, and they proved that they could still win a big one as they took down the Fighting Irish. While it wasn’t a perfect performance from the Tigers, it was one where the Tigers played hard and well, and when it mattered most, they finished.

This win means a lot for Dabo Swinney, the Clemson football players, and the Clemson fans who have endured with this team and stuck by them when things looked their worst. There are no guarantees a win like this will solve all of Clemson’s problems, but it is a great way to get the ball rolling.

Here are five takeaways from Clemson’s massive win over Notre Dame in Week 10.

Social media reacts: Clemson trending in the wrong direction following loss to NC State

Social media reacts to another Clemson loss.

The Clemson football program is going through it in 2023 as they continued their struggles in a 24-17 road loss to NC State.

It was the same old story for this Clemson team, as the defense played well outside of some big plays allowed, and the offense struggled with turnovers, poor play-calling, and overall inconsistency. Things have worsened for the Tigers, as we haven’t seen a strong performance from Dabo Swinney’s team in weeks. Some would argue, all season.

Social media was not friendly to the Tigers after this one, as Swinney’s squad continued trending in the wrong direction. Here is a look at how Twitter/X reacted to another Clemson loss.

Five takeaways from Clemson’s abysmal road loss to NC State

Clemson continues to pick up ACC losses following another underwhelming performance.

Dabo Swinney and the Tigers had yet another poor performance as they fell on the road 24-17 against NC State.

Heading into writing this, underwhelming, was the word I had planned to use when describing this performance. The reality is that that is being generous at this point. The harsh truth is that it was an abysmal loss for the Tigers, who continually show us the same thing week after week.

Most Clemson fans would agree that it is a bad feeling heading into each game expecting the worst, but that’s the story with this team. It doesn’t look like things are going to change anytime soon.

Here are five takeaways from Clemson’s abysmal road loss to NC State in Week 9.

Swinney responds to question on how much leeway Riley has been given with the Clemson playbook and play-calling

Dabo Swinney responds to a question about how much leeway Garrett Riley has with the Clemson offense.

During his weekly radio call-in show, Dabo Swinney was asked an interesting question about the Clemson offense and offensive coordinator Garrett Riley.

The question is: how much leeway has Swinney given Riley with the playbook and play-calling? This has probably been on the minds of many fans, as pieces of this Clemson offense in 2023 look dangerously similar to what we saw from this team last season.

“Oh, 100 percent,” Swinney said. “He’s come in, and it’s been a lot of fun since he got here. Of course, anytime you have new people, you’ve got to get everybody on the same page. But he’s brought, as we say, the ‘dirt raid,’ and it was a very easy transition.”

From Swinney himself, Riley has been given all the freedom needed for a top offensive coordinator. According to the head coach, terminology is has been a big part of Riley’s transition to Clemson.

“Because you want him to be comfortable with being able to call things,” Swinney said. “There were a few things that we kept that he liked from a terminology standpoint, but it’s got to be able to flow off his mouth quickly, and so, easy to transition with the coaches there. But he’s done a great job of installing it and teaching it.”

Riley and the Clemson offense will look to have a stronger second half of their season after an up-and-down first half.

Grading Clemson’s offense at the halfway point of the season

Clemson’s offense hasn’t met expectations at the halfway point of the season.

First year Clemson offensive coordinator Garrett Riley brought a tremendous amount of hype when Dabo Swinney and the Tigers hired him to be the team’s offensive coordinator and at the halfway point of his first season, the results have been underwhelming.

While the Clemson defense continues to impress at a weekly basis, the offense has lagged behind as inconsistency and miscues have been a significant part of this season for the unit. We’ve seen the talent on this offense and they’ve flashed signs of greatness, but they are struggling to put things together.

Here is a grade for each part of Clemson’s offense at the halfway point of this season.

Riley says Clemson’s offense will ‘come out hungry out of this bye week’

Garrett Riley discussed the Clemson offense and how they will come out “hungry” out of the bye.

Clemson offensive coordinator Garrett Riley has had a lot of work to do this bye week as the Clemson offense is lagging behind an elite Clemson defense through six games this season.

The biggest issue we’ve seen from this unit is inconsistency. There is clear talent all over the offense, but they have failed to put things together and find that consistency top teams around the country have seemed to find.

Riley knows there are issues right now, and consistency is one he and the Tigers have honed in on during this time. Much of that starts on the offensive line.

“It starts up front. As we continue to try and find the best chemistry and continuity up front, that is always going to be the case,” he said. “It is always going to start there. That is part of the equation for sure. Just continue to develop those guys up front for sure.”

The offensive line has been solid, but that consistency up front can dictate a team’s success throughout the season. The thing is… it is much more than just that.

The play-calling has been shaky, at best. The run game has failed to pick things up to the level we expected heading into this season. Cade Klubnik has been good at quarterback, but the keyword of inconsistent has been a large part of his season, and at wide receiver, we are seeing the same thing.

“I wish you could pinpoint one thing because that would make it easier to fix, but football can be a complicated game that way, with all the different factors going into it,” Riley said.

The key to everything is improvement. We had seen it over the weeks, but the Tigers’ offense took a significant step back against Wake Forest. We’ve seen good things from them this season, but heading into the bye with a performance like that can sting.

Regardless, Riley knows this team is willing to work to improve and is hungry to do so.

“Listen, we have done a lot of good things in the last several weeks. We have improved,” Riley said. “We just have to continue to stay the course and put it all together and I think that is what this group will do. They will come out hungry out of this bye week.”