Clemson football analyst accepts head coaching job at FCS program
A Clemson support staffer is the new head coach at an FCS school.
Samford, an FCS school located in Alabama, announced Wednesday that it’s hiring former Tigers analyst John Grass as its next head coach. Grass has more than three decades of coaching experience and was head coach at Jax State from 2014-21.
Grass will be introduced in a news conference on campus Thursday.
The 2025 season was Grass’ fourth season assisting Clemson’s offense in a full-time capacity. He was most recently listed as a senior offensive assistant and assistant quarterbacks coach and made $200,000 in annual salary, according to Clemson’s publicly available salary records.
Grass (pronounced like “floss,” not “grass”) initially joined Clemson in 2021 ahead of the Cheez-It Bowl after resigning mid-season at Jax State, another school in Alabama. Grass was 72-26 at the FCS school from 2014-21 (Jax State has since transitioned to the FBS level). He also coached 22 years in Alabama high school football.
“I’m grateful to Coach Swinney for the last four years at Clemson, but I am excited to join the Bulldog family,” Grass, 57, said in a statement released by Samford.
Swinney said in a statement released by Samford that he spoke with the school’s athletic director, during the hiring process and endorsed Grass to get the job at Samford, a school he’s familiar with since he grew up in the Birmingham area.
“John is just the perfect fit. ... He has incredible ties to the area,” Swinney said in a statement. “Every high school coach in Alabama knows John Grass. He’s a great leader. Very organized. I just think he’ll do a phenomenal job there.”
Could Clemson coaches follow Grass to Samford?
The website TigerIllustrated.com has reported that Grass could take a number of current Clemson staffers with him to his next head coaching job, which is common practice when an assistant gets a head coaching job elsewhere.
Possible names to follow Grass to Samford, according to reporting from TI’s Larry Williams, include current Clemson safeties coach Mickey Conn, defensive analyst Thomas Allen (defensive coordinator Tom Allen’s son) and offensive analysts Will and Drew Swinney (head coach Dabo Swinney’s two oldest sons).
Samford, a private school located in Homewood, Alabama outside Birmingham, finished 1-11 and 1-7 in SoCon play this year. The school fired longtime coach Chris Hatcher midway through the 2025 season. He’d been there 11 years.
Clemson football (7-5) will learn its bowl destination Sunday.
This story was originally published December 3, 2025 at 3:32 PM.
