Would Tony Elliott have interest in Auburn job? Here’s everything he said
Clemson offensive coordinator Tony Elliott was “upset” about a report Friday that said he planned to interview for the Auburn head coaching job Sunday.
Elliott, speaking Saturday night after Clemson’s 34-10 win over Notre Dame in the ACC championship game, said he has no meeting scheduled with Auburn and that he has not heard from Auburn.
“I have not been contacted. I haven’t talked to anybody at Auburn. And so for there to be a report that I was interviewing tomorrow, man, that’s unfair to these kids in this locker room,” Elliott said. “That’s unfair to this staff for them to be questioning, ‘OK, well is he focused for this game? Is he doing things that he said that he doesn’t do?’”
Elliott added that Auburn is “a great university, very similar to Clemson.”
If he is contacted by Auburn, Elliott said he will have to sit down with his family and determine if interviewing is the right move. He was upset about the report coming out Friday because it was the day before the ACC title game.
“They may be planning to call tonight or tomorrow. But up to this point, with that report, man, I was a little bit upset and perturbed, because now coach Swinney, those guys in that locker room, the staff, the players, they have some kind of question in their mind,” Elliott said. “But I don’t have any plan to interview tomorrow, per the report, because I haven’t been contacted by Auburn yet.”
Elliott does not have an agent at this point but said he is in the process of hiring one.
Elliott has been at Clemson since 2011, serving under Dabo Swinney as the Tigers’ offensive coordinator since 2015. He won the Broyles Award in 2017, which is given to the top assistant coach in the country.
The 41-year-old Elliott signed a new deal with Clemson in February that pays him $1.6 million per year.
“It was market (value), it was deserved. It was something that was very much on Dabo’s radar when he and I sat down. Really, really happy that we were able to get this salary package pulled together for him to stay here, and that the board was with us and was able to approve that,” Clemson athletic director Dan Radakovich said at the time. “Tony is an incredibly loyal individual. He loves Clemson. He’s a Clemson man. I think that this just starts to talk about that commitment from Clemson back to Tony and his family.”
Auburn is looking for a new head coach after it fired Gus Malzahn on Sunday. Malzahn was making about $6.9 million per year when he was fired by Auburn.
Here is everything Elliott said about the Auburn job:
Question: What was your reaction to the report that you are interviewing at Auburn and is that something you are looking to do or interested in?
I was actually upset. And again, I understand that it comes with the territory. I know that there’s a lot of talk about me. And hopefully I’ve proven my loyalty to Clemson over the years, and I don’t like to entertain those things during the season. And I made a statement to our players, and I think Ross (Taylor) may have put a statement out.
First and foremost, Auburn, I think, is a great university. Very, very similar to Clemson. An unbelievable place to go coach. But at the time, I have not been contacted. I haven’t talked to anybody at Auburn. And so for there to be a report that I was interviewing tomorrow, man, that’s unfair to these kids in this locker room. That’s unfair to this staff for them to be questioning, ‘’OK, well is he focused for this game? Is he doing things that he said that he doesn’t do?’
And so I made a statement to those guys and just want it to be out there… and they may be planning to call tonight or tomorrow. But up to this point, with that report, man, I was a little bit upset and perturbed, because now coach Swinney, those guys in that locker room, the staff, the players, they have some kind of question in their mind. And so I made a statement to our players, and I believe Ross may have put something out there. But I don’t have any plan to interview tomorrow, per the report, because I haven’t been contacted by Auburn yet.
Question: If Auburn called, would you be interested?
That’s something that I would have to… there’s been several people that have called, and my process is, they ask me if I have interest, and I say, ‘Look, I’ve got to talk about it with my wife. I’ve gotta pray about it and look for confirmation. Because I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again. Money doesn’t matter to me. Status doesn’t matter to me. I believe that I’m living a purpose-filled life, and my purpose is to be here at Clemson right now. And when the Lord opens a door, then I’ll transition.
But from what I know about Auburn obviously they play in an unbelievable conference. They’ve had success. They’ve won a national championship. They have a similar set up to Clemson. So there would be some things that would be intriguing. But to say that I would go forward with an interview right now, I’d have to pray about it, talk about it with my wife. There’s more factors involved than what some other people may make their decision on.
Question: Do you have an agent at this point?
You know, I’ve been going through the process. I haven’t officially signed any paperwork. I’m kind of honing in on some individuals that are up in my top pick of guys. But that’s something that I’m not real comfortable with that. That’s not me. That’s now how I progressed to this. So I’m trying to weed through it. I have an idea of who I wanna go with. But I haven’t officially signed any paperwork. And a lot of the other transactions that have taken place in terms of interest, it’s always come through a search firm reaching out directly to me to see if I have interest.
This story was originally published December 19, 2020 at 8:47 PM.
