Tony Elliott departing Clemson for Virginia head coaching job |
Broyles Award-winning Clemson offensive coordinator
Tony Elliott is ready to take the next step in his coaching career.
Elliott will be the next head football coach of the Virginia Cavaliers according to a deal struck Friday, TigerNet has confirmed. Yahoo Sports first reported Friday that a deal between the two was coming. Elliott has had his name mentioned with numerous jobs over his tenure lately, most notably Tennessee and UCF in recent years. He had meetings with both Duke and Virginia about open head coaching jobs over the last week, and on Wednesday, reportedly met with Virginia officials again. Elliott returned Thursday from the trip to Charlottesville amid reports that the negotiations with the school had stalled and Elliott told reporters assembled at the airport that there was "no decision yet" and it was that way on his own accord. Friday morning, Virginia's Board of Visitors approved over $10 million in funds going toward a football operations building. The Clemson alum, and assistant since the 2011 season, just went through an embattled 2021 campaign, where combined with turnover at key positions, injuries and other attrition, the Tigers fell from 10th to 95th in total offense and third to 79th in scoring offense season-to-season. His salary was bumped to $2 million per season in the offseason. Elliott won the Broyles Award for the nation’s top assistant in 2017, where the Tigers finished the regular season ranked No. 1 going into the Playoff after replacing Deshaun Watson with Kelly Bryant at QB. Elliott is the second Clemson coordinator departure in the last week, after Brent Venables left for the Oklahoma head coaching job on Sunday evening. Tony Elliott bio (per Clemson athletics) •Clemson’s run of 10 straight 10-win seasons started when he became a full-time assistant coach. Clemson is 121-18 since he returned to Clemson in 2011. • Recipient of the 2017 Frank Broyles Award as the nation’s top assistant coach. • Running backs Coach of the Year by FootballScoop in 2017. • Transitioned from running backs to tight ends and added the Assistant Head Coach title in early 2021. • Guided Travis Etienne to one of the most illustrious careers in ACC and college football history, helping him set the NCAA record for most games scoring a touchdown (46) and secure ACC records for career rushing yards (4,952), total touchdowns (78), rushing touchdowns (70) and points (468). • Helped Etienne become a consensus All-American as an all-purpose pick in 2020 and earn finalist selections for the Doak Walker Award and Hornung Award. Etienne finished his career as one of only 12 players in FBS history with 4,000 career rushing yards and 1,000 career receiving yards. • Coached Etienne to back-to-back ACC Player of the Year honors in 2018 and 2019, the first running back to collect the award in consecutive years in more than four decades (Mike Voight in 1975-76). • Clemson averaged a national-best 6.37 yards per carry in 2019, the second-most in school history. • Elliott’s 2018 and 2019 offenses were responsible for two of the 22 650-point seasons in major college football history. Clemson was the first school with back-to-back 650-point seasons since Yale in 1888-89, predating the start of official NCAA recordkeeping in 1937. • Helped Clemson produce a school-record 3,723 rushing yards in 2018, breaking the record of 3,469 that had stood since 1978. Also broke the school records in yards per carry (6.55) and rushing touchdowns (49). • Helped Etienne set school records in rushing yards (1,658) and rushing touchdowns (24) in 2018 while being named ACC Player of the Year and a Doak Walker Award finalist. • Named one of the top-25 recruiters in the nation in 2015 and one of the top-10 recruiters in the ACC by Rivals. • Co-offensive coordinator of Clemson’s 2016 and 2018 national championship teams. He was named co-offensive coordinator prior to the 2014 Russell Athletic Bowl. The Tigers have an 80-7 record in 87 games since his 2014 promotion. • Coached a 1,000-yard rusher seven times, including Wayne Gallman in 2015 and 2016 and Etienne in 2018 and 2019. • Coached All-ACC running back Roderick McDowell in 2013. He had 1,025 rushing yards and 29 receptions. • Coached first-team All-ACC running back Andre Ellington in 2012. Ellington was just the third running back in school history with two 1,000-yard rushing seasons. • Has both played and coached on AP Top 25 Clemson teams that have been in the final AP top 25. He played on the 2003 team that finished No. 23 and coached running backs in 2011, when the Tigers finished No. 22. Clemson has finished in the top-25 in each of the first 10 years he has been a full-time coach, including top-5 finishes in each of the last six seasons. • Spent three seasons (2008-10) as wide receivers coach at Furman and two seasons (2006-07) at SC State. • In 2008, he coached All-SoCon performer Adam Mims, who had a team-high 58 receptions, and David Hendrix, who set a freshman record with 46 receptions. Mims ended his career with 198 catches for 2,433 yards. • Returned to coaching in 2006 as an assistant coach at SC State, which finished 23rd in total offense. • Entered the business world after his playing days were over at Clemson and worked with Michelin North America for two years. • Earned an undergraduate degree in industrial engineering in 2002, was a First-Team Academic All-ACC selection and a CoSIDA Academic District III member. • Was a co-captain of Clemson’s 2003 team that had a 9-4 record and a No. 22 final ranking by AP and USA Today. He had 23 receptions for 286 yards and a touchdown that season. He was also a recipient of a ACC’s Weaver-James-Corrigan Postgraduate Scholarship. • Dabo Swinney was his position coach during his senior season (2003). That year in a survey of Clemson players conducted by Anderson Independent, he was named the team’s “most respected player.” • Had 34 receptions for 455 yards and two touchdowns in his career. He came to Clemson as a walk-on in the fall of 1999 and finished his career with four letters and 44 games, including four as a starter as a senior (2003). He had a touchdown catch at Georgia Tech that year. ???????????????????? Tony Elliott is an incredible person, coach and leader, and I wish him the best in his new position. Proud to claim him as a Clemson alumnus and friend. pic.twitter.com/3tXKRuktLe Congrats to Tony?? UVA is getting a great coach and a better man https://t.co/HY1mC65V4F super blessed to have @Coach_TElliott as my position coach for 5 years - seriously he’s one of the best men I know. super happy for him and his family. nobody more deserving of this opportunity! @UVAFootball y’all getting a good one - great coach, better person. https://t.co/uB4kUW58rL pic.twitter.com/6P93k9NHlb Congrats???? @Coach_TElliott https://t.co/V5RiyI3mY5 Sources: Tony Elliott is expected to be the next coach at Virginia. A deal should be finalized in the near future.
A proven champion ?
An offensive mastermind ?
A developer of NFL talent ?
We got our guy! Welcome to Charlottesville, Coach Tony Elliott!
??????#GoHoos pic.twitter.com/bq9oenL8Qk
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