National outlet analyzes Garrett Riley's head coaching path

Garrett Riley faces restoring the Clemson offense and building back up his head coaching candidacy.

by TigerNet Staff - Tue May 28 09:42:57 GMT-04:00 2024

Clemson went after one of the hottest names in college football after the 2023 season with Garrett Riley.

Fresh off a national championship appearance as offensive coordinator with TCU, Riley was awarded the wealthiest contract for an assistant in the game, at $2.05 million for last season. Even before calling one play in a game for the Tigers, Riley was regarded as the top coordinator candidate for a head coaching role by CBS Sports.

After facing a tougher job and results than maybe expected, Riley looks to restore that hype while restoring the Clemson offense this season.

"After helping orchestrate TCU's high-flying 2022 attack, Riley was supposed to ignite Clemson's attack in 2023," CBS' David Cobb wrote in his top coordinators article for this offseason. "But the Tigers ranked 50th in total offense during his first year as offensive coordinator. It will take a big season for the 34-year-old to reclaim the rocket ship trajectory he enjoyed a couple seasons ago. But if the Tigers make a significant offensive jump, Riley has the resume to garner head coaching looks. He played for Mike Leach, his brother is USC coach Lincoln Riley and his last three bosses are Dabo Swinney, Sonny Dykes and Eli Drinkwitz. That's a strong pedigree."

Clemson returns a former five-star and No. 1-rated QB in Cade Klubnik for his second full season as a starter, along with a number of veterans on the offensive line, a productive running back in Phil Mafah, a former No. 1-rated tight end in Jake Briningstool and some wide receivers seeking a bounceback (Antonio Williams) and highly-rated freshmen coming in Bryant Wesco and TJ Moore.

Riley is the only ACC coordinator on the CBS Sports list, which contains two from opener opponent Georgia (D-coordinator Glenn Schumann and co-D-coordinator Travaris Robinson) and coaches only from SEC and Big Ten schools otherwise as well.