Tony Elliott Reaches Agreement With Virginia to Become New Coach

Clemson loses another staff member to an outside coaching position.

Clemson offensive coordinator Tony Elliott has reached an agreement to become the new head coach at Virginia, the program has announced. 

On Friday afternoon Pete Thamel of Yahoo Sports reported the two sides were finalizing a deal, and minutes later ESPN's Chris Low confirmed he has agreed to take over the UVA program. Now, the move is official.

𝙒𝘼𝙃𝙊𝙊𝙒𝘼🔶⚔️🔷

We got our guy! Welcome to Charlottesville, Coach Tony Elliott!

A proven champion ✅

An offensive mastermind ✅

A developer of NFL talent ✅

🔶⚔️🔷#GoHoos pic.twitter.com/yi82ISlDZj

— Virginia Football (@UVAFootball) December 10, 2021

Elliott and Virginia have been connected throughout the week. The Clemson assistant also reportedly received interest from Duke.

Sports Illustrated's Pat Forde reported on the interest between the two sides on Wednesday. On Thursday, SI's Richard Johnson said that the two sides had "hit a snag in negotiations," but it appears those issues have been resolved, and Elliott is slated to be the next coach of the Cavaliers.  

The job opened after Bronco Mendenhall stepped down Dec. 2, a move that surprised the college football world.

In six seasons with Virginia, Mendenhall compiled a 36–38 record. He left the program in a surprising move because he said he needed to “step back from college football.”

Elliott, 42, was a walk-on wideout for the Tigers during his playing days before starting his coaching career as a wide receivers coach at South Carolina State in 2006. He transitioned to Furman in 2008 at the same position. 

He joined the Clemson staff as the running backs coach in 2011 and has since served the team in various roles including offensive coordinator, tight ends coach and associate head coach. He won national titles with the program in 2016 and 2018. 

He also added the Broyles Award, the award given to the nation's top assistant coach, to his résumé in 2017, while serving as co-offensive coordinator and running backs coach. 

This is just the latest loss for Dabo Swinney's staff. Defensive coordinator Brent Venables left the Tigers to become the new Oklahoma head coach just last week. 

For more Virginia news, head over to Cavaliers Now.