Monday July 31, 2006

Clemson Coaching Preview

This week on the radio show and the blog I want to talk about coaching staffs. Today I will go over the Clemson staff. On Tuesday, I will rank the ACC staffs.

Tommy Bowden enters his eighth season as the head coach of the Tigers. After the Florida Atlantic game only two coaches would have coached more games at Clemson than Bowden (Howard 295, Ford 129). The season opener will be Bowden’s 86th as the head coach as he is currently tied with Jesse Neely at 85.

Bowden’s 52 wins are also third in school history behind Howard’s 165 and Ford’s 96. He has won big games at Clemson like Ford did in his day. Like Ford, teams of lesser talent have beaten Bowden. But unlike Ford, he has not gotten over the hump and produced a conference champion yet.

Many of the Bowden supporters will point out that previous coaches at Clemson did not have FSU, Miami, Virginia Tech and Boston College in the league. No previous coach ever had the divisional format of the ACC either. Bowden detractors will point out losses to Duke and Wake Forest.

If you broke down a spreadsheet of assets and liabilities for the Bowden administration I would argue that the positive greatly outweigh the negatives more now than ever. One thing Bowden has been able to do that Tommy West did not do in his time at Clemson is whenever an assistant coach was fired or left the program, Bowden has hired someone as strong or stronger. I maintain that Bowden’s current staff is his strongest. I know it is his best recruiting staff. When he first arrived at Clemson Bowden had a couple of weak links on his staff from a recruiting standpoint. Today, the depth of this staff in recruiting terms is among the best in the country.

Also consider that Bowden just now is starting to get the facilities that were promised to him before he arrived. Look at how he has recruited since Clemson broke ground on the West Zone project.

Rob Spence was very impressive in his first year as the offensive coordinator at Clemson. The numbers indicated that the Tigers improved in almost every offensive category. The wins improved from the previous year from six to eight. The points per game improved from 21.5 to 26.3 points per game. First downs improved from 17 to 21 per contest under Spence. Perhaps the biggest improvement came in the running game where the Tigers went from averaging 108 yards per game the year before Spence arrived to 153 yards in Spence’s first campaign. The passing game productivity increased from 188 yards per game to 232 yards. Completion percentage drastically improved from 50.1% to 65.8%. Finally the turnover margin went from –8 in 2004 to +9 in 2005.

Spence brought a zone-blocking scheme to Clemson last season that the players embraced. The offensive linemen liked the fact that they were going to be able to get more involved in the running game. The backs loved the fact that the running game would be the focus of the offense. Quarterbacks liked the idea of not having so much pressure on them and the play-action game actually worked because there was a threat of a passing game.

Maybe Spence’s biggest contribution to the program came as a result of more of a ball control offense. The defense in 2004 seemed to always be on the field. In 2004 the Clemson defense was on the field an average of 75 plays per game. Last year the Tigers defense had to play 67 plays per game.

Vic Koenning’s first year as the defensive coordinator was also a success. His defense improved each week and was playing some of the best defense in the nation at the end of the season. The Tigers gave up 3.2 less points per game in Koenning’s first campaign. They yielded two less first downs per game and 15 less yards per game on the ground. When the Tigers won six of their last seven games last season it was the defense that gave up 92 yards rushing per contest during that stretch. In the last seven games Clemson gave up 11.4 points per game.

David Blackwell’s tenure as the recruiting coordinator has also been ultra-successful. The Tigers continue to rake in top-ranked classes under Blackwell. Again one of the things that has happened in Blackwell’s tenure is the entire staff has done a better job recruiting as opposed to just a couple of coaches signing a majority of the players. As linebacker coach Blackwell is one of the best in the country. He continues to get other coaching offers but so far has remained a Tiger.

The Clemson offensive staff is among the best in the country. Besides Bowden and Spence’s influence, the Tigers have four offensive minds that can be counted on. Running backs coach Burton Burns has to be considered one of the top running back coaches in the nation. The Louisiana native has turned down multiple job offers from the like of Nick Saban when he was at LSU to Steve Spurrier at South Carolina. Burns is a terrific recruiter and one of the most respected members of this staff.

Like Burns, Dabo Swinney is a positive influence on his players and a great role model. Swinney has been recognized as one of the nation’s top recruiters. His relentless efforts on the recruiting trail have paid huge dividends for the Tigers. Swinney is also a fantastic wide receiver coach. His players have continued to show improvement each year.

Brad Scott has seen it all. He has been an assistant on a national championship team and has been a head coach in the SEC. But Scott is also considered one of the top offensive line coaches in the country. He is respected by his players and like the others on staff is considered a terrific recruiter.

Billy Nappier is in his first year as a assistant at Clemson and will do a great job coaching the tight ends. The former Furman quarterback reminds some of Swinney in that he has hitting the recruiting trail extremely hard and has made a tremendous impact on the recruiting trail.

Ron West is a veteran on both side of the ball in his coaching career. His wealth of knowledge has been a big asset to this staff. West, who played under Ford at Clemson, has also been one of the top recruiters on staff especially in the last three or four years. West has gone tot-to-toe with some big-time programs on the recruiting trail and has emerged victorious.

Chris Rumph is the second newcomer to the staff. Rumph will coach the defensive line this season and also noted for his recruiting skills. The South Carolina native is considered one of the best young coaches in the South.

In summary, I would say this staff is a lot like this team. There are fewer weaknesses on this staff than any under Bowden. There are also more strengths with this staff than any in the last 15 or so years in Tigertown.

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