Report: Clemson bringing in former FBS head coach Mike Houston for defensive staff

Mike Houston coached for six seasons at ECU and was at James Madison in its FBS transition previously. (Photo: Lucas Boland / USATODAY)

Brandon Rink - Assoc. Editor / Staff Writer - Monday, February 10 2025

Clemson isn't done adding to its coaching staff, per an ESPN report.

ESPN college football insider Pete Thamel reported Monday that former longtime successful FCS coach and former East Carolina head coach Mike Houston is being added to the Tigers' defensive staff.

Thamel reports that Houston will assist new Tigers defensive coordinator Tom Allen.

He was fired at ECU after a 3-4 start last season and a 27-38 overall run with the Pirates.

Houston bio (via ECU pre-2024 season)

Mike Houston, who owns a 104-59 overall record, a combined six conference championships, one FBS bowl victory and a national title in 13 seasons as a collegiate head coach, is in his sixth year directing East Carolina University's football program.

The Franklin, N.C. native, who has averaged nearly nine wins per campaign during his career, was formally introduced as the Pirates' 22nd head coach on December 4, 2018 and immediately began a rebuilding process that has led to consecutive bowl eligibility seasons and one of the highest victory totals (22) for an ECU coach in their first four seasons and notched notable milestones on all three sides of the ball each year.

During his fifth season at ECU, Houston’s defense stood among the FBS leaders (Top 40) in nine categories including fourth down defense (ninth/33.3 pct), first down defense (11th/212), defensive touchdowns (15th/3), fumbles recovered (16th/10), tackles for loss per game (17th/7.0), red zone defense (19th/76.2 pct), rushing defense (19th/122.2), scoring defense (37th/22.4) and total defense (37th/341.3 ypg). His 2023 club established new Houston-era bests in points allowed per game, pass yards allowed per contest (219.2) and total yards allowed.

ECU put together a second-straight winning campaign in 2022, posting an 8-5 overall mark and finishing 4-4 in American Athletic Conference play. The Pirates won three of their first five games, dropping close contests to NC State (21- 20) and Navy (23-20 in double overtime). Sitting at 3-3 halfway through the season, ECU reeled off three consecutive wins – including a 47-45 four-overtime Homecoming victory over Memphis, its most complete effort of the season versus UCF (34-13) and a buzzer-beating road win at BYU (27-24) to earn bowl eligibility for the second-straight year. ECU outlasted Temple 49-46 in the regular season finale, reaching the seven-win mark for the second season in a row.

The Pirates capped the year by collecting their first bowl win since 2014 with a 53-29 victory over Coastal Carolina in the 2022 TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl. ECU averaged 32.5 points (35th in FBS), 461.1 yards of total offense per game (23rd) and stood first nationally in fumbles lost (two) and turnovers lost (seven), while allowing just 112.5 rushing yards (19th) – all team-best marks under Houston. Four players garnered All-AAC accolades with running back Keaton Mitchell earning consecutive first-team honors.

Fueled by a big play offensive attack, a takeaway-producing defense and a timely special team’s unit, Houston's 2021 squad posted a 7-5 overall record, a 5-3 conference mark (t3rd) and earned postseason eligibility - the program’s first since 2014 – with an invitation to the Military Bowl. Along the way, the Pirates shook off an 0-2 start with a pivotal 42-38 victory at Marshall, which was highlighted by East Carolina's biggest fourth-quarter comeback since 1992 that erased a 17-point deficit and subsequently launched a three-game win streak, before the Pirates closed out the year with victories in four of their last five contests.

In all, ECU stood among the nation’s Top 25 in seven statistical categories and featured six All-American Athletic Conference honorees and a five-time (FBS) All-America selection during Houston's third year at the helm. The Pirates also turned in the fifth-highest single-season rushing total in school history with 1,949 yards and East Carolina regained its customary place among league attendance leaders after averaging 36,059 fans per outing at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium.

While navigating his program through a pandemic-shortened 2020 season with a lineup that featured 37 different starters (including 21 first-timers), Houston's focus never wavered from establishing a physical game plan that resulted in the Pirates' highest rushing average (173.8) in 13 years and Top 25 national rankings in turnovers forced (18) and fumbles recovered (eight). Additionally, four ECU players earned All-AAC honors with one also securing league rookie-of-the-year accolades - a first in program history.

In 2019, East Carolina eclipsed the 400-yard mark offensively on six occasions with a balanced unit that stood 22nd nationally in passing yards per game (288.8 ypg) and turned in its highest ground total (1,696 yards) since 2014. Defensively, the Pirates forced at least one turnover in 11-straight contests - the program's longest streak since a 14-game run in 2009. Lastly, his special teams squad established a new school single-season standard with 24 field goals made, which included a record-breaking 13 consecutive three-pointers from Oct. 3 to Nov. 23.

His acceptance of the ECU position officially ended a three-year tenure as James Madison's head coach. Houston guided the Dukes to a 37-6 record, which included three NCAA FCS postseason appearances (2016 National Champions, 2017 National Runner-Up, 2018 second round) and a pair of Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) championships.

JMU recorded consecutive 14-1 seasons in 2016 and 2017, which was a school record for single-season victories. It also won a CAA and program-record 26-straight games between the two seasons, which ranks second all-time in FCS history. The Dukes sported a 15-3 ledger against Top 25 teams during Houston's three seasons, claimed a 34-14 victory over the Pirates in 2017 and hosted ESPN's College GameDay twice in three years.

Houston, who was named the 2016 AFCA FCS National and 2016 CAA Coach-of-the-Year, mentored 15 All-America selections including 2017 Consensus FCS player Andrew Ankrah, 44 All-CAA honorees (23 first-teamers) and five conference player-of-the-year winners (one offense, two defense, two special teams).

Houston led the Dukes to the 2016 NCAA Division I FCS Football Championship with a 28-14 win over No. 13 Youngstown State. In 2017, JMU made a return trip to the national title game before falling 17-13 to No. 2 North Dakota State. His final game as the Dukes' head coach ended with a 23-20 setback at No. 9 Colgate during second round action of the FCS Playoffs.

He arrived in Harrisonburg, Va. after serving two years as head coach at The Citadel (2014-15). He led the Bulldogs to a 14-11 record in his two seasons and is the only coach in The Citadel's history to win a Southern Conference championship within his first two seasons.

In 2015, he guided the Bulldogs to the program's fourth winning season since 1995 with a 9-4 record and a share of the SoCon title. The Citadel boasted a conference-best +117 scoring margin, including a +100 edge during league play, and Houston went on to be named SoCon Coach-of-the-Year and AFCA Region 2 Coach-of-the-Year. They also defeated Southeastern Conference member South Carolina 23-22 in the regular-season finale and advanced to the second round of the FCS playoffs after upsetting ninth-ranked Coastal Carolina.

In the first-round playoff victory, Houston's run game broke a school record with four 100-yard rushers as it piled up 524 yards on the ground, the most in a NCAA playoff game since 2012 and the second-highest in 2015 for FCS, only behind the Bulldogs' nation-best 535 rushing yards in the season opener.

Prior to The Citadel, Houston spent three seasons as the head coach at Lenoir-Rhyne, an NCAA Division II school in the South Atlantic Conference. He accumulated a 29-8 record at the helm and directed the Bears to three consecutive SAC championships, a stretch that included a school-record 13 wins in his final year.

Houston was named SAC Coach-of-the-Year each season and was also the Don Hansen Super Region II Coach-of-the-Year in 2013. In his final season at LRU, the Bears advanced to the Division II national championship game and earned a No. 2 national ranking in the final polls. As a result of his outstanding accomplishments in Hickory, Houston was selected as one of five members of the Lenoir-Rhyne Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2020 before being formally inducted on April 10, 2021.

Before his elevation to head coach, Houston served as LRU's defensive coordinator and secondary coach from 2007-10 and spent the 2006 year as associate head coach and defensive coordinator at Brevard College.

He is a 1994 graduate of Mars Hill University, where he played tight end for the Lions and earned a bachelor's degree in biology. On Nov. 16, 2020, Houston was inducted into the MHU Athletic Hall of Fame, which followed a similar honor at alma mater Franklin High School in 2014.

Houston is a North Carolina native with deep ties in the Carolinas, as he’s been the head coach at The Citadel and Lenoir-Rhyne. He’ll assist new defensive coordinator Tom Allen, who just arrived from Penn State.
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) February 10, 2025

Swinney adding another former head coach to the fold in ex JMU and ECU's Mike Houston. First reported by @PeteThamel..... Like the Galloway addition, I'm hearing it's a volunteer, unpaid position. Dabo is adding tons of experience on both sides.
— David Hood (@MDavidHood) February 10, 2025