Clemson Makes Garrett Riley Among Highest-Paid Assistants, per Report

The Tigers announced the decision on Friday.

Clemson made the hiring of Garrett Riley official on Friday, and the Tigers’ new offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach is getting a significant raise. According to The Athletic’s Grace Raynor, Clemson is giving Riley a three-year contract worth $1.75 million per year.

Riley will make significantly more money than he made in his last stop than TCU, and it vaults him up to among the highest-paid assistant coaches. According to USA Today, that annual average salary would have been sixth among all assistant coaches for the 2022 seasons.

That list is sure to change entering the 2023 season, as some coaches continue to leave their previous positions and others get raises. Third on that list was Arkansas defensive coordinator Barry Odom, who took a job as the head coach at UNLV. Additionally, Alabama defensive coordinator Pete Golding, who was the seventh highest-paid assistant in the country, is expected to leave for the same job at Ole Miss.

It does, however, give an idea over how Clemson valued bringing in Riley after firing Brandon Streeter.

“Garrett has an incredible track record,” head coach Dabo Swinney said in a statement. “His body of work—including this past season when his ninth-ranked scoring offense helped TCU transform from a five-win team into a 13-win national championship game finalist in their coaching staff’s first season— peaks for itself.”

Riley, the brother of USC head coach Lincoln Riley, is just 33 but already has experience as a coordinator. He spent two years as the offensive coordinator and QB coach for SMU before taking that very position at TCU, who he helped lead to the national championship game.

“The opportunity to join a program with such a rich tradition and renowned culture was simply too good for me to pass up,” Riley said. “I have always had a tremendous amount of respect for Coach Swinney and the program he has built.”