At every job, Brandon Streeter has remained loyal. Here’s how that has been rewarded
In the past 15 years, Brandon Streeter has worked for only two head coaches at three schools: Danny Rocco at Liberty University and the University of Richmond and Dabo Swinney at Clemson.
Under both coaches, the former Tiger quarterback started as a quarterbacks coach and moved his way up to the offensive coordinator role. It only took three years for Rocco to promote Streeter at Richmond, while Tony Elliott’s departure after seven years allowed Swinney to move Streeter up.
There were times Streeter could’ve taken other jobs and moved multiple times in however many years for other opportunities. During his debut interview as the offensive coordinator on Dec. 18, he acknowledged a potential job opportunity coaching in the NFL, while Swinney added possible positions at SEC schools. For Streeter, there’s more to a job than career advancement, though. Loyalty plays just as important of a role.
“When you believe in somebody, it’s hard to leave them,” Streeter said.
Rocking with Rocco
Streeter had just finished two years as a graduate assistant with Clemson when Danny Rocco hired him as Liberty’s quarterbacks coach as part of his inaugural staff in 2006. That year, the Flames went 6-5 then 8-2 in 2007 and 10-2 in 2008.
“One of the things that resonated with me and my time with Street is he was able to work with a very wide range of quarterbacks,” said Rocco, who spent the past five seasons at the University of Delaware. “He didn’t have to have a prototypical player. … A lot of times at the FCS level, that’s really, really important because you’re not really going out there and picking the best of the litter. You’re just kind of trying to find the best one available. Sometimes that guy isn’t a clean match for your system, so you have to adjust your system a little bit to the quarterback that you have. Street did a great job of that. We had good quarterback play really every year.”
After Liberty went 10-2 in 2008, Rocco had an opening at the offensive coordinator position when Scott Wachenheim left to become the tight ends coach of the now Washington Football Team.
Rocco searched nationwide for Wachenheim’s replacement when he got the idea to encourage Streeter to apply. The Flames’ head coach was a little taken aback by how his QBs coach came in for the interview the next day.
“He was all dressed up in a suit and kind of treated everything like he was meeting everyone for the first time,” Rocco recalled. “Understanding the uniqueness of that, we had all been together for three years. He just took that opportunity and wanted to make the very most of it. Most of the stuff that he was doing in that interview — installation and scheme and philosophy — were things we were very much aware of because we had been together.
“He really did it in a refreshing, first-impression kind of a way. That was impressive to me.”
Streeter won the job and helped Liberty to an 8-3 record and first-place finish in the Big South Conference, averaging 36.4 points per game in 2009. Rocco coached at Liberty for two more seasons before taking the head coaching job at the University of Richmond. Loyalty went both ways as Rocco took Streeter with him to continue being the quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator.
“He is a very detailed, very organized, very structured person and very talented,” Rocco said of Streeter. “Those things resonated with Brandon really from the very beginning in terms of what he could do and what he was all about.”
Along with the loyalty component, Rocco developed a trust of, and value in, Streeter’s opinion. When having to decide between offering two quarterbacks from the Class of 2013, Rocco admitted he didn’t know what to do, so he invited both players back to a camp. The two went head-to-head yet Rocco said the decision was still too close to call.
As a result, he consulted Streeter, who made the final decision. Kyle Lauletta ended up being the choice and it worked out pretty well. By his final season, Lauletta became the Spiders’ all-time passing leader (10,465) while also setting records for most touchdowns thrown in a game (six against Howard in 2017), season (28 in 2017) and career (73).
Streeter wasn’t there to see the full evolution of Lauletta, currently with the Cleveland Browns, because by that time, Swinney had brought him back to Clemson.
Staying with Swinney
Even though Richmond is an FCS school, Streeter wasn’t going to leave for just any job. Clemson, however, was THE job. There was no way he’d pass up the opportunity to coach at his alma mater, even if it meant giving up his role as a coordinator.
“When Coach Swinney called me, we had a prior relationship, so it made it an easy process for me because of that relationship and then obviously because of the home bond,” Streeter said.
Richmond had just lost to Coastal Carolina in the second round of the playoffs 36-15 on Dec. 6, 2014, when Swinney contacted Rocco to ask permission to speak with Streeter. It’s a customary unspoken rule within the coaching community, but Swinney extending that courtesy to Rocco at a lower-level program meant a great deal to the Rocco.
Less than a month after their final game together, Streeter departed Rocco’s coaching staff to join Swinney and the Tigers. He had a double postseason that year, making his debut in the Russell Athletic Bowl against Oklahoma. That game, Tigers quarterback Cole Stoudt threw for 319 yards and three touchdowns in the 40-6 rout.
The Russell Athletic Bowl was renamed the Camping World Bowl in 2017 then changed to the Cheez-It Bowl three years later, which evoked sentimental feelings for Streeter on Wednesday. The game in which the Pennsylvania native made his debut as the Tigers’ quarterbacks coach seven years ago is the same game where he made his return to the box as an offensive coordinator.
“Both obviously got a win and just really excited about that and just feel really, really blessed,” Streeter said following the 20-13 Cheez-It Bowl victory, which included 315 total yards of offense. “Just being able to have that opportunity to coach these young men, to have that charge and responsibility at an awesome place with awesome people, it makes it really rewarding.”
For Swinney, promoting Streeter to the OC position was a no-brainer considering how he’d cultivated the talents of players like Deshaun Watson and Trevor Lawrence, both of whom were first-round NFL Draft picks. Lawrence became Clemson’s first-ever No. 1 pick.
“He’s just done an amazing job, so he’s overprepared for this opportunity and deserves it,” Swinney said. “This is his time and his opportunity.”
It’s an opportunity Streeter earned doing things his way. It would’ve been easy to hop around to different jobs before maybe getting the OC gig at Clemson. Instead, he chose to stay put for seven years, learning from Elliott, now Virginia’s head football coach, and him prioritizing loyalty both professionally and personally.
“There’s just so many different opportunities, but Brandon’s family is first. His faith, his football, his relationships,” Rocco said. “He’s not chasing something that isn’t of substance. He seeks substance and stability and he values relationships. … It’s just awesome that Coach Swinney’s going out there and saying, ‘OK, Street, it’s your turn. You’ve got this thing.’ It’s kind of that reciprocation of the time, the effort, the loyalty, the professionalism and that all-in commitment that he does bring.”
