Clemson Rehires Chad Morris as Offensive Coordinator After 7-6 Season

Clemson brought back Chad Morris to run the offense. Morris held this job from 2011 through 2014.

Morris takes over for Garrett Riley. Riley got fired after the Tigers stumbled to a 7-6 finish in 2025, ranking 11th in the ACC for scoring and 10th in Total QBR. The season ended with a 22-10 loss to Penn State in the Pinstripe Bowl.

Morris built a high-powered attack during his initial stint, setting the stage for national championships in 2016 and 2018. He recruited Deshaun Watson to campus.

The Tigers posted a 41-11 record while Morris called plays. Morris coached units that put up 33.6 points in 2011, 41 points in 2012, 40.2 points in 2013, and 30.8 points in 2014. Three of those seasons rank as the best scoring years in school history.

After departing for SMU, Morris went 14-22 from 2015-17 before taking the Arkansas job. He called plays at Auburn in 2020, his most recent college coordinator role.

He worked as an offensive analyst at South Florida in 2022 and returned to Clemson in that role in 2023. Morris spent 2024 coaching wide receivers and coordinating the passing game at Texas State, where the Bobcats averaged 36.5 points per contest.

Morris sat out 2025, opting to watch his son Chandler play quarterback at Virginia. Chandler Morris played under Tony Elliott, whom Dabo Swinney hired in 2011 as running backs coach.

"At the end of the day, we just did not get the production and the results that we needed," said Swinney, according to Sporting News. "I just feel like it is time for a change."

Clemson opens the 2026 season against LSU on Sept. 5 in Baton Rouge.