Elliott Expecting Smooth Transition Into Sole Offensive Coordinator Role

Since Chad Morris left to become head coach at SMU following the 2014 season, the Clemson offense has been a two man operation, run by Jeff Scott and Tony Elliott. With Scott having left for his own head coaching opportunity, Tony Elliott has assumed control of the offense

When Chad Morris arrived in Clemson in 2011 to run the Clemson offense, there were two young assistants on staff that would eventually be groomed to take over the role when Morris decided to move on: Jeff Scott and Tony Elliott.

When Morris left for SMU following the 2014 season, head coach Dabo Swinney made the decision to promote both, having them serve as co-coordinators. Any initial questions were put to rest early, as the Tigers went 14-1 in their first season in their new roles, losing to Alabama 45-40 in the national championship.

Now that Scott has gotten his own head coaching opportunity at South Florida, Elliott is left as the team's lone offensive coordinator. 

With the two no longer working side by side and at different schools, Elliott is anxious to see what his former co-worker can do leading his own program.

"I kind of got my ears to the ground down there," Elliott said. "Just the things that I'm hearing, the way that he's going about his business down there and the way he's got that fan base energized, and his presence in the community. Just so excited for him and I can't wait to get on the road, just to get down there and actually see it."

Scott's departure, however, did not come as a surprise to Elliott. It's actually something he has been preparing himself for, and he has a plan in place. 

"I knew the time was coming," Elliott said. "You prepare yourself for a while for this to happen. But at the same time too, when we transitioned from Chad to Jeff and myself, we never made it about us, so it's never really been about us. We just figured out, OK, this is how we need to be structured. This is the work that has to get done.

"With (QB coach Brandon) Streeter becoming the passing game coordinator, he's kind of absorbed some of those responsibilities that Jeff had in the spring, and you know, we're excited to have (new WR coach Tyler Grisham) on board, and to be structured the way we are."

The transition being smooth throughout the spring doesn't mean they have all the plans ironed out just yet though. There are still some details that have yet to be decided, such as where Streeter will coach from—the field or upstairs with Elliott.

"We'll figure that out as we get closer to the season," Elliott said. "Typically as we get into fall camp we start to have some of the scrimmages, where we try to do it as close to game day. That's something we think about this summer, as we go into all the meetings with Coach Swinney. He'll have his input, but right now we're just focusing on spring practice and as we get deeper into the summer, we'll figure out exactly how we're organized. But I don't plan on coming down."

The biggest thing for Elliott in the spring has been how well the offensive staff works together.

"You know I'd say in terms of the job, not much has changed," Elliott said. "Just really, we're going to operate the same. Just some of the responsibility will transition. The biggest thing for us, we don't want to disrupt the chemistry. I think what's made us successful, you know when Jeff and I were here, was that we had good chemistry among the entire staff."

 

 

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