What Garrett Riley said about his job security, future with Clemson football
Garrett Riley has had a busy few weeks.
Clemson’s third-year offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach was mentioned as a candidate for the open jobs at North Texas and Coastal Carolina this month, and FootballScoop reported that Riley interviewed for CCU’s job and was “deep” in the search.
But Riley was not hired at either Group of Five school. He’s also faced public criticism for Clemson’s shortcomings on offense in 2025, including senior quarterback Cade Klubnik appearing to plateau in his development.
Some of that criticism has come from coach Dabo Swinney, who has directly critiqued Riley’s play-calling and offensive strategy at various points this year (in a way Swinney hadn’t done in the past in his media news conferences).
Swinney has also hinted at potential staff changes this offseason.
All of that leaves Riley, 36, in an interesting position heading into next Saturday’s Pinstripe Bowl vs. Penn State in Yankee Stadium (noon, ABC).
On Wednesday, Riley spoke to the media to preview the Pinstripe Bowl. The State asked him directly: Does he plan to be back with Clemson football in 2026?
“I mean, my whole focus is operating here at Clemson,” Riley said in a Zoom interview. “I know this is an unbelievable place to work, unbelievable place to live. Certainly didn’t have the season that we all wanted, but sometimes that’s sports.”
Riley indirectly acknowledged his own uncertain future, saying that he understood “there’s decisions to be made and all that stuff, big picture-wise.
“But I’m telling you, my whole focus is being here, being the best I can for our staff, being the best I can for our players and giving us the best chance to finish this thing out the way we have been the last few weeks and go cap it off with the great bowl win,” Clemson’s offensive coordinator said. “That’s 100% the focus.”
Clemson offense’s ups and downs in 2025
Swinney would not make any potential staff changes until after Clemson’s bowl game, he previously said. And when he does, he’ll certainly take into account Clemson’s impressive rally to end the 2025 season.
The Tigers went from 3-5 and teetering on the edge of missing a bowl to 7-5 and in position for an eighth win in the Pinstripe Bowl on Dec. 27. Improved play from Klubnik and the offense was a big part of that — Riley’s play calling and game control in the regular-season finale vs. South Carolina was particularly strong.
If they beat Penn State in the Pinstripe Bowl, the Tigers could become only the third team in college football with eight or more wins in each of the past 15 seasons (Georgia, Alabama). Clemson is currently favored by 3.5 points.
But Swinney will evaluate full bodies of work, too. Entering the bowl game, Clemson is tied for No. 60 nationally in scoring offense (28.7 points per game) and No. 48 in total offense (405.3 yards per game). That’s a drop from 34.7 points per game last year (No. 18) and 451.9 yards per game (No. 11).
Riley’s offense also struggled to run the ball and convert on third down in 2025. The Tigers currently rank No. 99 in rushing offense (131.2 yards per game) and No. 116 in third-down conversion rate (34.38%) among 136 FBS teams.
Garrett Riley: Clemson contract, buyout
Riley is one of the highest-paid coordinators in the country and set to make $1.75 million in 2025-26, per a copy of his contract obtained by The State. That was tied for the 13th-highest assistant coach salary nationally, per USA Today Sports.
Per Riley’s contract, Clemson owes him 100% of his remaining salary if it fires him without cause. That would be $3.5 million over the next two years.
Clemson’s payments would be offset by “mitigation” if Riley finds a new job. The school would then pay him the difference between his old and new salary.
Since the regular season ended, Riley has been floated as a candidate or, in the case of Coastal Carolina, formally interviewed for three notable jobs: North Texas coach (which went to Neal Brown), CCU coach (Ryan Beard) and TCU offensive coordinator (Gordon Sammis). Riley was the OC at TCU before coming to Clemson.
“It’s a wild time as you get toward the end of the season for a lot of reasons,” Riley said Wednesday. “… But you’ve just got to take it day by day. … Really, the focus now is, ‘Hey, let’s go win this game. Let’s go have a great bowl experience.’”
This story was originally published December 17, 2025 at 6:05 PM.
