Clemson football adding former FBS head coach to defensive staff, report says
Coach Dabo Swinney and the Clemson football team are adding a former FBS head coach with deep ties to the Carolinas to their staff, per reports.
ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported on Monday that the Tigers are “set to hire” former East Carolina and James Madison head coach Mike Houston to work with their defensive staff, presumably in an analyst position, for the 2025 season.
Houston confirmed the news to Scott Eisberg of WCIV. Per TigerNet.com, Houston will be joining Clemson’s staff in a volunteer, unpaid analyst position this year.
Houston, 52, was ECU’s coach from 2019-24 before being fired last October. He was 27-38 in five-plus seasons with the Pirates and led them to two winning seasons.
He previously won an FCS national championship coaching at JMU from 2016-18 and also was head coach The Citadel in Charleston (2014-15). He has 14 years of college head coaching experience and 19 years of total college experience.
Clemson has a new defensive coordinator this season, replacing Wes Goodwin with former Penn State DC and Indiana head coach Tom Allen. The Tigers did not replace any other defensive position coaches, but Allen’s son has also joined as an analyst.
The program added another veteran coach as an offensive analyst last week: Lonnie Galloway, who was UNC’s wide receivers coach under Mack Brown.
After an NCAA rule change last offseason, analysts can now provide on-field coaching to players during games and/or practices. Previously, they weren’t allowed to provide any on-field instruction.
Clemson and Swinney often have former coaches or coordinators on staff as analysts. Former South Carolina DC Lorenzo Ward and Jacksonville State head coach John Grass are currently on staff, and Ted Roof and Chad Morris have done it in recent years, too, before moving on to other jobs.
Houston has lots of natural ties to the Carolinas for recruiting purposes. Before coaching at East Carolina (Greenville, NC) and and The Citadel, he was the head coach at Division II Lenoir-Rhyne outside Charlotte. He was also born in Franklin, NC and played college football at nearby Mars Hill University.
This story was originally published February 10, 2025 at 3:08 PM.
