Tony Elliott Focused on Clemson, Not Head Coaching Jobs

With the firing of South Carolina head coach Will Muschamp on Sunday, Tony Elliott's name is already being linked to the job, but the Clemson offensive coordinator says that head coaching opportunities are the furthest thing from his mind at the moment.

Every November the coaching carousel in college football starts heating up and every November Tony Elliott's name is one that frequently gets tossed around. 

With South Carolina head coach Will Muschamp being fired on Sunday, the rumor mill has already begun to stir and Elliott has already been linked to the opening as a possible candidate to fill the job. 

When meeting with the media on Monday morning, Elliott was asked about the subject and the Tigers offensive coordinator said that this is a time of year that he just isn't very fond of. That his focus is on this Clemson team and that he has no interest in discussing any potential jobs at this point in time.

"This is the time of year where I get frustrated," Elliott said. "Just because my name is thrown out there and you guys know, hopefully my track record speaks for itself. I'm focused on these players and the staff right here. They've been too good for me to even consider any other jobs at this time so right now, man I'm focusing on Clemson." 

Over the years, with the kind of success the Tigers have experienced, Elliott has learned that his name being linked to job openings comes with the territory. He says he does his best to just ignore the outside noise and that transparency is key. 

"I don't answer my phone to be honest with you," Elliott said. "I just be transparent with people and I tell them, 'Hey look, this is who I am.' I'm focusing on what I'm doing, stay off of the Twitter stuff. Kind of remind my family to don't say anything, or bring me up. Just let it be."

Elliott says that focusing on anything other than the task at hand is something he considers selfish, especially after all they have gone through to just get on the field this year. He feels the players on this Clemson team deserve better than that and he is intent on doing what is in their best interest. 

"It's about Clemson, it's about these young men," Elliott said. "We're in 2020 man. These guys invested so much during this pandemic. It would be really selfish. There will be a time and a place, but right now, we're talking about... What's today's date? It is November 16 and we got to bounce back and we got to go focus on the biggest game of the year which is Florida State.

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