It Took 30 Seconds for Swinney to Find Venables' Replacement

Anyone Who has Worked With or Knows Goodwin Says ‘He is a Football Genius’

It took Dabo Swinney 30 seconds to replace Brent Venables after the former defensive coordinator left Clemson to be the new head coach at Oklahoma.

When asked if he interviewed anyone outside of the Clemson program for either of his coordinating positions, Swinney said, “I did not. I mean, it was thirty seconds. It would be hard for me to interview someone in thirty seconds because that is how long it took to make a decision.”

Swinney replaced Venables, who was considered the best coordinator in college football, with Wesley Goodwin, an unknown senior defensive assistant, who has been on Swinney’s staff for 10 years. He also promoted quarterbacks coach Brandon Streeter, who has been with Swinney for seven years, as his new offensive coordinator. Of course, Streeter is replacing Tony Elliott who is now Virginia’s new head coach.

Though Goodwin is an unknown commodity to Clemson fans, he is known by just about everyone in the coaching world. In fact, he is known to have one of the best coaching minds in the profession. He has turned down several jobs, including three in the NFL to stay at Clemson.

Many have even compared him to New England head coach Bill Belichick.

“I can say Wesley knows his stuff,” said former Clemson linebacker, now Ring of Honor Member, Levon Kirkland. “He really understands the schemes. He really understands offense and he really understands defense. He was a vital part of the Arizona Cardinals when he was there. They really depended on Wesley a lot to do a lot of research and a lot of making sure the game plan was correct.

“He knows his stuff. He can talk football with the best of them. There is a reason why Dabo wanted him back.”

How has Swinney kept Goodwin at Clemson the past few years?

He enticed him with the idea of being his next defensive coordinator when Venables found the right fit as a head coach.

“The last couple of years he has known that,” Swinney said. “That is the only way I was able to keep him, I think. Again, he has turned down several jobs. He is a no-drama guy, and it has been awesome to be able to keep him.”

Goodwin just finished his fourth season as Clemson’s senior defensive assistant. He was a graduate assistant at Clemson from 2009-’11, then served as a defensive analyst from 2012-14, before coming back to Clemson in 2018 to be Venables’ right-hand man.

From 2015-17, he was with the Arizona Cardinals under Bruce Arians. Goodwin helped the Cardinals to a 28-19-1 record as Assistant to the Head Coach during that time, including a 13-3 record in 2015, when the Cardinals reached the NFC Championship Game.

“When I saw him back on the sideline, I said, ‘Of course, they got Wesley back.’ He is really that good,” Kirkland said.

Kirkland knows, as well as anyone, how good Goodwin is as a coach. The two worked together on Arians’ staff in Arizona.

“He has been around and has coached at both levels. I really feel confident in Wesley and his knowledge of the game and what he can do,” the former All-American and All-Pro linebacker said.

Kirkland is not the only one in the football business who has spoken highly of Goodwin. No matter who you speak with everyone says the same thing. “He is a football genius.”

Even legendary Mississippi State baseball coach Ron Polk saw Goodwin’s ability at a young age. During the early part of his college career at Mississippi State, Goodwin worked with Polk. The Hall of Fame coach noticed Goodwin’s ability right off the bat, so he called over to the football office and said they needed to find a place for this young man because he is going to be special.

The person Polk called was Woody McCorvey, who was an assistant coach at the time.

When McCorvey left Mississippi State to be Swinney’s Chief of Football Administration in 2009, one of the first people he told Swinney to hire was Wesley Goodwin.

“When Woody tells you something, you better listen,” Swinney said. “That is one of the things he told me. He did not tell me anything about anybody other than, ‘Dab, I got one guy and you have to find a way to bring him here.’ I am like, ‘Who is it?!’ He said bring him here as a (graduate assistant). So, that is how he got here. I did not know who he was.

“But when he got here in ’09 and I got a chance to start watching him, it was like, ‘Okay, this kid is pretty special.’ Then he just blossomed. It has been awesome.”