Who will Dabo Swinney hire to replace fired Garrett Riley? 7 Clemson OC candidates

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CLEMSON — Clemson football needs a new offensive coordinator.

Coach Dabo Swinney fired offensive coordinator Garrett Riley on Dec. 29 after Clemson (7-6) missed the ACC title game and College Football Playoff for the fourth time in five seasons.

Clemson averaged 27.2 points (70th in FBS) in 2025, exceeding 30 points or more just three times, despite returning nine end-of-year starters on offense, including senior quarterback Cade Klubnik.

Last year, the Tigers averaged 34.7 points (18th) and eclipsed 30 seven times. Other concerns were Clemson’s run game, which ranked 104th nationally, and third-down offense, which was 114th.

Clemson’s offense will have some new faces at quarterback and offensive line but should be solid everywhere else with wide receivers Bryant Wesco Jr. and T.J. Moore, running back Gideon Davidson and tight ends Olsen Patt-Henry and Christian Bentancur.

Here are seven potential candidates to be Swinney’s new offensive coordinator.

Mack Leftwich, Texas Tech offensive coordinator

Texas Tech is making its first College Football Playoff appearance after winning the Big 12 championship. The Red Raiders play Oregon in the Orange Bowl on Jan. 1.

A key reason is the offense under Leftwich that is averaging 42.5 points (No. 2 nationally). The Red Raiders are No. 9 in passing offense and No. 28 in rushing offense.

Swinney hired Riley from TCU after the Horned Frogs made the national championship and can make a similar splash to try to land Leftwich, 31. He has only coached at Texas programs in his career, but his offenses have thrived on the Power Four and Group of Five levels.

Shannon Dawson, Miami offensive coordinator

Shannon Dawson, 48, would be a veteran hire. He has served as Miami’s offensive coordinator for three seasons, helping quarterback Cam Ward become the NFL’s No. 1 draft pick in 2025 and putting the Hurricanes in the CFP. Miami will play Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl Dec. 31.

Miami averages 32.2 points (28th) and has consistently generated strong offenses over its three years under Dawson. He has had assistant stints with Houston, Southern Miss, Kentucky and West Virginia.

Jonathan Brewer, Duke offensive coordinator

Duke won the ACC championship game for the first time thanks to its high-scoring offense. The Blue Devils average 34.0 points (19th) and have turned quarterback Darian Mensah into an NFL draft prospect.

Brewer, 38, had success last season with quarterback Maalik Murphy. Brewer helped both quarterbacks have the best seasons of their careers. His ability to maximize quarterbacks’ potential and his experience across the ACC, having stints with Miami and SMU, could be what Clemson is looking for.

Joey Halzle, Tennessee offensive coordinator

Halzle, 39, has served as Tennessee’s offensive coordinator for three seasons. He has dealt with quarterback turnover the past two seasons with Nico Iamaleava in 2024 and Joey Aguilar this year, but the Vols’ offense has ranked top 15 both times.

Halzle would come into a similar situation as Clemson will have a new starting quarterback in 2026. He has also coached areas where the Tigers recruit often, including Florida and Tennessee.

Todd Monken, Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator

Monken, 59, is in his third season with the NFL’s Baltimore Ravens. He has immense experience on the college level, starting coaching in 1989 and working in the NFL multiple times.

He won national championships with Georgia in 2021 and 2022 as offensive coordinator and earned Conference USA coach of the year in 2015 with Southern Miss.

If Clemson pursues Monken, this would be another seasoned hire under Swinney after landing defensive coordinator Tom Allen from Penn State in January.

Ra’Shaad Samples, Oregon running backs coach

Samples, 30, is one of the emerging coaches in the sport. He is in his second year as Oregon’s assistant head coach and running backs coach. The Ducks average 217.1 yards rushing (13th) to help them average 39.2 points (No. 9).

He has NFL experience, working with the Los Angeles Rams for a season, and has had assistant stints with Houston, SMU and Arizona State. It would be his first offensive coordinator job, but he could be a dark-horse option.

Kentucky hired Oregon offensive coordinator Will Stein though, so Samples is a candidate to be promoted for the Ducks.

Chip Kelly, former Oregon, UCLA, NFL coach

Kelly, 62, was fired as the Las Vegas Raiders offensive coordinator in November, but helped Ohio State win the national championship last season as its offensive coordinator.

Kelly has NFL experience, serving as a head coach for the Eagles and 49ers, and also was head coach at Oregon and UCLA. He has never coached in the South, but Kelly could help Clemson boost its run game to support whoever starts at quarterback.

Derrian Carter covers Clemson athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at DCarter@usatodayco.com and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DerrianCarter00

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Dabo Swinney Clemson football OC options after Garrett Riley is fired

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