Tag: Tony Elliott

8 college football coaches with new teams to keep an eye on going into 2022 season

A refresher on some of the major college football coaching changes ahead of the 2022 season.

The college football coaching carousel can be a fun disaster, joyous occasion or full-on implosion, depending on which team you root for, and so much has changed since the 2021 season when it went a little wild with some big-time surprise moves.

Of course, there are still a handful of coaches who are entering the 2022 season basically already in the hot seat, but we’re taking a look at those with fresh starts at new programs, including some first-time head coaches.

This is, by no means, an exhaustive list of all the coaching changes throughout the Power Five and Group of Five schools. But it is a breakdown of eight coaches college football fans everywhere will probably want to keep an eye on as the season progresses. Some are looking to rebuild programs back up, while others are hoping to improve on an already successful status quo.

So, whether you need a refresher on who’s where or perhaps a little more than that, here’s a glance at what to know about these coaches at the helm of new schools.

Is Clemson back this season? ESPN analyst weighs in

During a recent episode of College Football Live, an ESPN analyst weighed in on what he sees as the biggest question in the ACC entering the 2022 campaign: Is Clemson back this season? ESPN college football analyst Greg McElroy gave his take. “If …

During a recent episode of College Football Live, an ESPN analyst weighed in on what he sees as the biggest question in the ACC entering the 2022 campaign:

Is Clemson back this season?

ESPN college football analyst Greg McElroy gave his take.

“If Clemson stays healthy, if Clemson gets quality quarterback play, are they back?” he said. “Because we know what this team looks like when you have a top-tier quarterback, a topflight quarterback, a Trevor Lawrence or Deshaun Watson – we know what they can do. But if they don’t have that, are they good enough to be able to still make a push to the College Football Playoff?”

McElroy also spoke about the departures of former Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables and former Clemson offensive coordinator Tony Elliott, who are now of course the head coaches at Oklahoma and Virginia, respectively, with Wes Goodwin and Brandon Streeter filling the roles on Dabo Swinney’s staff vacated by Venables and Elliott.

“Gone are the coordinators that helped propel them to new heights as well,” McElroy said. “Tony Elliott is now the head coach at Virginia, and you also obviously have Brent Venables who’s now the head coach at Oklahoma. So, Brandon Streeter on offense and Wes Goodwin on defense, can they fill those voids?”

McElroy, like many, believes the Tigers will play at a “championship-caliber” level on defense again this season after finishing first in the ACC and second nationally behind only defending national champion Georgia in points per game allowed last season (14.8).

But McElroy wonders if Clemson will step up its production offensively following a season in 2021 during which D.J. Uiagalelei and company ranked 82nd nationally in points per game (26.3) and 103rd nationally in passing offense (191.2 yards per game).

“And then take into account one step further – will they maximize what they are on both sides of the ball?” McElroy said. “We know they were banged up, we know they’re going to play championship-caliber defense. That goes without saying. But will the offense hold up its end of the bargain? I think they can run the football, but can they now throw the football with the same level of efficiency that they’ve had in recent years?”

McElroy concluded that he’s “cautiously optimistic” about Clemson going into the upcoming season and went so far as to say that he believes the Tigers will return to the College Football Playoff after missing the playoff last year for only the second time in the CFP era (since 2014) and the first time since the CFP began in 2014.

McElroy is curious to see whether any other team can challenge Clemson in the ACC, if the Tigers play up to their full potential.

“I’m cautiously optimistic,” McElroy said. “I think Clemson will have a bounce-back type of season. I actually think they’ll make the playoff. But is there really anyone within striking distance if they play their A game? That’s one of the biggest questions I want to find out.”

Now at Virginia, Elliott says he’s ‘very blessed’ to have learned from ‘total package’ Swinney

CHARLOTTE – Tony Elliott’s relationship with Dabo Swinney has changed over the years, but the Virginia coach has always sought out advice from someone he viewed as a sometimes father figure and now mentor. That’s why when Swinney told him the …

CHARLOTTE — Tony Elliott’s relationship with Dabo Swinney has changed over the years, but the Virginia coach has always sought out advice from someone he viewed as a sometimes father figure and now mentor.

That’s why when Swinney told him the Virginia job was the right opportunity for him, he listened.

“I told him he needs to take the job,” Swinney said Wednesday. “I told him this is the right one. I felt like he was a great fit for Virginia, and I felt like Virginia was a great fit for Tony and his family. He has turned down several head jobs over the last few years, but I felt like Virginia was the right fit for him.”

Of course, it wasn’t as easy as that. Since 2015, Elliott has known that he wanted to make the transition, but he also knew that he needed to find the right place. It took going through an experience with another school the previous year and getting close to a possible transition for Elliott to determine that he was ready for the next step.

He just needed to decide between Virginia and Duke.

What really solidified Charlottesville as a landing spot for Elliott and his family was not the initial conversations he had with Virginia athletic director Carla Williams, but rather the follow-up ones.

“I’m about relationships. I was looking for alignment. That was the number one thing I was looking for,” Elliott said Thursday. “We were able to have a couple of conversations off the record that solidified that UVA was the right place for me. It already fits the profile, what I was looking for because you guys know that academics for me is the most important thing. I was a ballplayer just like these guys, and I had dreams of playing in the NFL, but it was my aunt’s persistent and consistent messaging to me about my education. Now my life and the lives of my children has changed because of education.”

It started there.

“The alignment was established through those off-the-record conversations, and then there’s a lot of similarities between where I was coming from and UVA,” he said. “ It’s a college-oriented town. It’s in the ACC, and I believe that this is the best conference in college football. I’ve experienced it at the highest level, so I knew I had a chance to compete for championships.

“Then the last thing is I wanted to be somewhere where I could build what I believe is the model program that shows you can win at the highest level but you don’t have to compromise anything from a character standpoint, an academic standpoint and player development standpoint.”

Elliott, of course, learned what it takes to build a model program from Swinney. He also learned what it takes to build, protect, establish and sustain a culture.

“I’m very, very blessed to learn from what I believe is the best in the business, from a total package standpoint in Coach Swinney,” Elliott said.

Elliott believes he, Uiagalelei will benefit from adversity faced in 2021

CHARLOTTE -It’s no secret that last season was a frustrating one for Clemson’s offense. Tony Elliott was often criticized and questioned, as well as his now-former quarterback. But there were lessons to take away, and if you ask Virginia’s head …

CHARLOTTE —It’s no secret that last season was a frustrating one for Clemson’s offense.

Tony Elliott was often criticized and questioned, as well as his now-former quarterback.

But there were lessons to take away, and if you ask Virginia’s head coach, he and DJ Uiagalelei will be better because of the adversity they faced. 

At the ACC’s annual football media kickoff Thursday at The Westin Charlotte, The Clemson Insider asked Elliott what he learned from the ups-and-downs that Uiagalelei experienced in his final season as Clemson’s offensive coordinator.

“One thing that I’ve learned is that adversity is the companion of a champion and the enemy to the weak,” Elliott said Thursday. “Adversity is necessary for you to grow. It was good to see DJ battle through all of that and now he’s a better person because of it, which is going to make him a better player in the long run.

“Just having that wealth of experience and also being able to point to the success and everybody talks about DJ, but Trevor (Lawrence) had a season or so a couple of games where he was struggling…but on the other side, he came out and he became a better player.”

Elliott believes that while adversity is necessary to your growth, it doesn’t mean you have to like it. He knows that there’s gonna be adversity this season for all his players, including Brennan Armstrong, as well as himself.

“Programs are truly defined on how they respond to adversity,” he said. “Do you fold or do you come out fighting and become better on the other side?”

Photo credit: Jim Dedmon/USA Today Sports

Can Clemson bounce back this season? Analyst chimes in

This analyst recently gave his thoughts on Clemson going into the 2022 football season. Rich Cirminiello, the Vice President of College Awards for the Maxwell Football Club who is also a frequent contributor to Phil Steele and SportsGrid, joined …

This analyst recently gave his thoughts on Clemson going into the 2022 football season.

Rich Cirminiello, the Vice President of College Awards for the Maxwell Football Club who is also a frequent contributor to Phil Steele and SportsGrid, joined SportsGridRadio and provided his take on whether Dabo Swinney’s team can bounce back from the 2021 season that saw the Tigers’ streak of consecutive ACC titles and College Football Playoff apperances end at six.

“That defense, to me, will be like a poor man’s Georgia of 2021. I think they could be that good,” Cirminiello said. “And that’s why it’s so curious to me that Dabo loses his co-offensive coordinator, Tony Elliott, to Virginia, now the head coach down in Charlottesville, but no changes at quarterback. D.J. (Uiagalelei) looked OK in the spring. It doesn’t appear that he’s made any great strides from last season. Was quite frankly horrible as a sophomore. Now, they got Cade Klubnik from Texas, the five-star recruit, but I’m not sure if Dabo’s going to try to make a return to the ACC penthouse with a true freshman quarterback.”

Cirminiello added that it’s “a real mystery” to him why Swinney and the Tigers didn’t add an experienced quarterback via the transfer portal, though Clemson did in fact bring in a veteran transfer signal-caller in Hunter Johnson, who has returned to Tiger Town after beginning his career there in 2017 before playing the last three seasons at Northwestern.

“So, the fact that Dabo did not go out — with all the quarterbacks floating around the transfer portal, all the veterans that were out there — the fact that he did not pluck someone with experience to come to Clemson, even if it’s an insurance policy, get a quarterback in case D.J. or Cade Klubnik are not ready, is a real mystery to me,” Cirminiello said.

Added Cirminiello: “Now, I think they win a lot of games because of that defense. But offensively, you’ve got Will Shipley out of the backfield. But man, they need a hell of a lot out of the quarterback play this year.”

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What Elliott is – and isn’t – taking with him from Clemson to Virginia

When Tony Elliott was asked what it was like to finally be on the same level as his former boss professionally, all Virginia’s first-year football coach could do was grin. “I’m not on that level yet,” Elliott told The Clemson Insider during this …

When Tony Elliott was asked what it was like to finally be on the same level as his former boss professionally, all Virginia’s first-year football coach could do was grin.

“I’m not on that level yet,” Elliott told The Clemson Insider during this week’s ACC spring meetings, referencing Clemson coach Dabo Swinney. “He’s always going to be about three levels up from me, but it’s awesome.”

For the first time in his career, Elliott, who left his post at Clemson’s offensive coordinator in December to take the Virginia job, was doing all the things head coaches do at Amelia Island this time of year, starting with simply being there. Elliott even arrived at The Ritz-Carlton early before the coaches’ first meetings Tuesday to scout out the layout and figure out where he was supposed to be.

He then spent most of the week bouncing from one ballroom to another with his peers as they discussed some of the most pressing topics concerning their sport, including name, image and likeness, the transfer portal and future scheduling models that don’t include divisions. Elliott was spotted exiting a few rooms while chatting it up and enjoying the occasional laugh with Swinney, whom Elliott said he has a better appreciation for in terms of just how much there is for head coaches to manage in their jobs.

“Now you understand a little bit more of how he shielded the program from a lot of different aspects,” Elliott said. “There’s so much more to running a program than what you would ever imagine as an assistant.”

So it should come as no surprise that there’s more than just Elliott and his family that he’s taking with him from Clemson to Charlottesville. Elliott acknowledged his current program is at a deficit from a facility and investment standpoint compared to his former one, though the University of Virginia recently approved an athletic department request to move more than $10 million from the school’s endowment fund to construct a new football facility.

While that’s being worked on, there are some things Elliott learned from his time working for Swinney that he plans to incorporate into his approach to his first head coaching job that he’s hoping pays off for the Cavaliers, who’ve had just three winning seasons since 2007. After 15 years at Clemson – four as a player in the early 2000s before spending 11 years on Swinney’s staff – Elliott said some of them are almost second nature.

“I think it’s just inherent,” Elliott said. “There will be a lot just with the practice structure and creating that competitive environment. The core values will be similar. Maybe not articulated the same way. I have my own specific messaging, but fundamentals of the program, the culture we’re trying to create that center around the holistic student-athlete development. Doing things the right way. Being uncommon. Maybe not use the word uncommon but just that mindset and that mentality.”

But Elliott said there are some aspects of his new job that are unique to the University of Virginia, which was founded by former United States President Thomas Jefferson in the early 1800s. Ellliott said he made it clear to his team, former players, administrators and donors shortly after taking the job that he plans to keep them that way.

“At Virginia, they don’t call it the campus. They call it on grounds,” Elliott said. “They don’t say freshmen, sophomore and junior. They say first-year, second-year and third-year because of the learning experience that Thomas Jefferson envisioned when he established the institution. So there’s going to be some core-value fundamentals and structure that will be similar, but the messaging and just the authenticity will be geared toward what the University of Virginia is all about.”

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Elliott details transition to first head coaching job

Between the nationally ranked college team at the school he’s at now, five minor-league teams in the state, an assortment of youth leagues and Major League Baseball’s Washington Nationals located in the nation’s capitol nearby, Tony Elliott …

Between the nationally ranked college team at the school he’s at now, five minor-league teams in the state, an assortment of youth leagues and Major League Baseball’s Washington Nationals located in the nation’s capitol nearby, Tony Elliott classified baseball as “big” in Virginia.

That’s a good thing for Virginia’s first-year football coach, who doubles as an avid baseball fan, as well as his family. Elliott said his oldest son, A.J. is already playing up on a 12-year-old team in the Charlottesville area while his youngest, Ace, is competing in the sport with the 7-10 age group.

“They’re both doing good,” Elliott told The Clemson Insider this week during the ACC’s spring meetings. “And the schools are awesome.”

As for Elliott and his wife, Tamika, he said they’ve found Charlottesville to have the same charming feel as their previous town despite it having a population roughly three times the size of Clemson. Elliott has few if any complaints about the process of getting he and his family getting settled in a home that, in some ways, reminds him of his old one.

“It’s very similar to Clemson in that it’s a college town, so that made for an easier transition,” Elliott said. “Everybody associated with the university has a similar passion, love and appreciation for the university just like they did at Clemson. So that actually eased some of the transition. And then the wife was kind of able to learn from Miss Kathleen (Dabo Swinney’s wife). She’s been busy just trying to establish the network, environment and culture within the coaches’ wives. They’re transitioning well.”

It’s been five months since Elliott left Clemson after spending x seasons on Swinney’s staff, including the last 11 as the Tigers’ primary offensive play caller. Duke also courted the 42-year-old once the regular season was over, but after years of other programs kicking the tires on Elliott, he finally decided to make the Virginia job his first as a head coach.

It’s been a blur for Elliott since he was officially hired in mid-December. From getting the move finalized to hiring his first coaching staff to recruiting to coaching his new team for the first time this spring, Elliott said his whirlwind schedule made it hard to find time to let his new reality sink in.

That moment finally came before the Cavaliers’ spring game last month during the Wahoo Walk, a pregame tradition similar to Clemson’s TigerWalk where players are greeted by fans as they make their way to the stadium.

“Every day is different, but I’m starting to get settled in a little bit more,” Elliott said. “Now I’m actually realizing I am the head coach because, to be honest with you, everything was so fast that I really didn’t realize it until the spring game because you’re constantly busy doing something. And then we’re getting ready to do the Wahoo walk. That was something they hadn’t done in years. But just trying to create some more fan engagement and experience for the players, and it hit me like, ‘Man, you’re the head coach.’”

Elliott is taking over a program that’s been mired in ACC mediocrity for a while. The Cavaliers have had just three winning seasons since 2007, though two of those have come in the last four years. Virginia, a member of the Coastal Division, went 6-6 in Bronco Mendenhall’s final season at the helm last fall.

But Elliot said what he’s experienced so far in a short of amount of time in Virginia has him encouraged about the work he’s got ahead of him.

“Everybody has been great,” he said. “(Virginia athletic director) Carla (Williams) has been awesome to work with. The staff has really come together, jumped on board and is pulling in the same direction. The players are excited. It’s been a  lot of different emotions, but it’s been really good.”

Photo courtesy of Geoff Burke/USA Today Sports

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Analyst breaks down criticism of Clemson’s Dabo Swinney

Asked about Dabo Swinney, an analyst recently broke down the criticism Swinney and his program have faced.

Dabo Swinney is entering his 15th season as Clemson football’s head coach, and despite two National Championships and seven conference championships, he often faces scrutiny from fans.

Recently, Josh Pate of 247Sports and host of Late Kick Extra, broke down a tweet that cast judgment on Swinney and the future of Clemson’s program.

Posted by @GeorgiaSports32, the tweet reads:

“What is your view on Dabo Swinney and the success he’s had at Clemson. Obviously, he had a part in their 2 national championships, but I’m a believer that [Brent] Venables, Deshaun Watson, and [Trevor] Lawrence are the only reason he’s viewed as such a great coach. Imo, Clemson is on its way down.”

After reading the tweet, Pate immediately defended Swinney for the culture he has developed at Clemson.

“This entire premise [that] Dabo Swinney is only a product of the assistant coaches he’s surrounded himself with and the players he’s recruited, well, that’s all any head coach is a product of,” Pate said.

“Sure, Dabo Swinney’s a product of having really great players. And, sure, he’s a product of benefiting from really great coaches. Who implemented the culture that attracted all of that? Because that’s a head coach’s ultimate job.”

Although Pate defended the culture and winningness of Swinney, he believes that Clemson was stale last season, and the team now faces a crossroads with the departure of Venables and former offensive coordinator Tony Elliott.

In Pate’s mind, Swinney’s decision to promote Clemson’s new coordinators from within now raises the million-dollar question if Swinney can further sustain his success.

“I don’t know if they’re on the way down, but it’s one of the most interesting programs to watch this year because of those elements in play,” Pate said.

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One thing Streeter learned from Elliott in coordinating Clemson’s offense

As Brandon Streeter goes through his first spring as Clemson’s offensive coordinator, he can’t help but think about a particular lesson learned from his predecessor. The Tigers are largely keeping the same system that was in place under former play …

As Brandon Streeter goes through his first spring as Clemson’s offensive coordinator, he can’t help but think about a particular lesson learned from his predecessor.

The Tigers are largely keeping the same system that was in place under former play caller Tony Elliott, who worked on Clemson’s staff with Streeter for seven seasons before taking his first head coach job at Virginia in December. But Streeter, previously a coordinator at Richmond and Liberty before initially joining Dabo Swinney’s staff as quarterbacks coach in 2015, is adding his own flavor to it, including a bigger emphasis on tempo.

Dictating how fast or slow plays are being called and run, though, requires constant and clear communication from all parties involved in a short amount of time, which was Streeter’s primary takeaway from seeing Elliott in action up close for the better part of a decade.

“That’s what I learned from Tony,” Streeter said. “Just unbelievable as far as how he was very clear on that.”

Clemson’s offense under Elliott’s direction used tempo at times, too. It helped the Tigers finish in the top 40 nationally in total offense in six of the last seven years, including five top-15 finishes. Clemson also ranked in the top 35 in scoring the first six seasons of Elliott’s tenure as a coordinator before dropping to 82nd this past season.

Streeter said he wants the same kind of results but “just everything moving a little faster.” That can’t happen without players and coaches working in unison, Streeter said, which has been a focus for the offense through the first nine spring practices.

So far, so good.

“We weren’t fast all the time, which is fine,” Streeter said of Elliott’s offenses. “We’ve been unbelievable around here as far as not giving up tackles of loss, and that’s because we put ourselves in good situations and we’ve been able to communicate up front and we’ve all been on the same page.”

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Former Tiger joining Elliott’s staff at Virginia

A former Clemson standout took to social media Wednesday night to announce he is joining Virginia’s staff under its new head coach and former Clemson offensive coordinator Tony Elliott. Per his Twitter bio, former Clemson and two-time All-ACC center …

A former Clemson standout took to social media Wednesday night to announce he is joining Virginia’s staff under its new head coach and former Clemson offensive coordinator Tony Elliott.

Per his Twitter bio, former Clemson and two-time All-ACC center Jay Guillermo is now an offensive line graduate assistant at Virginia.

“I can’t thank Coach Elliott enough for the opportunity to join such a great staff at a special place!” Guillermo wrote in a Twitter post. “Let’s get to work!!! #GoHoos”

A 2016 national champion offensive lineman and team captain at Clemson, Guillermo took the job as the offensive line coach at Carson-Newman University ahead of the 2021 season after previously serving as the tight ends coach at Western Carolina. He joined the WCU coaching staff in 2020 after a year as the offensive graduate assistant at NCAA FBS-member, Georgia State.

As a player at Clemson from 2013-16, Guillermo was a four-time ACC Offensive Lineman of the Week and twice received All-ACC accolades at center along the Tigers’ offensive line. He twice played in the College Football Playoff national title games. In 2016, Guillermo graced the watch list for the 2016 Dave Rimington Award which is presented each year to the top center in college football.

Following his graduation from Clemson, Guillermo worked out for both the Buffalo Bills and Tennessee Titans in the NFL rookie minicamps before signing with the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League in late-May of 2017. He retired from playing in the summer of 2017.

Having graduated from Maryville High in Maryville, Tenn., where he was a two-time Tennessee state champion, Guillermo played for the Rebels for two seasons after transferring from Burns High in Lawndale, N.C. At Maryville, He earned the 2011 Tennessee Lineman “Mr. Football” award before taking his talents to Death Valley and Clemson. He returned to Burns High to begin his coaching career in 2017, serving as the varsity offensive line coach parlaying that into the graduate assistantship at Georgia State.

–Photo for this article courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

–Western Carolina University Athletics contributed to this story

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