Clemson HC Dabo Swinney Makes Decision on OC Chad Morris After 3rd Loss

Following Clemson's ugly 20-16 loss to Virginia Tech at home on Saturday night, Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney said he and first-year offensive coordinator Chad Morris would have several serious discussions about the offense after the unit struggled in the team's third loss of the season.

The Tigers gained just 288 yards of total offense against the Hokies and did not score in the fourth quarter as Clemson fell to 4-3 overall and 2-2 in ACC play amid a second loss at home this season.

On Sunday, Swinney told reporters that he made the decision to retain Morris for at least the rest of the season, per Chapel Fowler of The State. Swinney said Morris is working hard on the offense, but Clemson needs to see more from the veteran offensive coordinator. The Tigers need to find ways to put more points on the board. 

The Tigers’ offense has failed to score 20 points in three contests this season; all of those results came as losses. Clemson scored just 10 points in a blowout loss to LSU in Week 1. The Tigers put up 13 points at home against Miami on Oct. 3.

Swinney believes there are better days ahead for Morris and he hasn't lost faith in the offensive coordinator.

Swinney's decision is the opposite of what Oregon head coach Dan Lanning did after the Ducks suffered a third loss of the season. He fired offensive coordinator Drew Mehringer after Oregon's 21-10 loss to Illinois on Saturday.

For Clemson, it might not make any sense to go on a firing spree at this point in the season. The Tigers are working with a freshman quarterback and have a suspect offensive line. 

Before the season, there were valid criticisms about the hiring of Morris, who had not called plays at the college level since 2020 when he was at Auburn.

However, the decision to hire Morris was one of many that were questionable by Swinney. 

The Tigers are suffering from a lack of talent on the offensive side of the ball. That's not a shot at Reynolds, who has made good plays at times this season. But he's a freshman. He wasn't ready to lead Clemson to the College Football Playoff in his first season.

Clemson would have been better off going to the transfer portal to add an elite quarterback and find help for the offensive line.

A new play caller wasn't going to fix the roster.