Chad Morris officially hired as next Clemson OC. See salary, contract details
Chad Morris is officially Clemson’s next offensive coordinator.
The veteran coach is returning to the Tigers for his second stint as Dabo Swinney’s offensive coordinator after his contract was formally approved Monday morning.
The Clemson University Board of Trustees compensation committee unanimously approved a three-year, $3.6 million deal for Morris. Morris will make a flat rate of $1.2 million in base salary starting in 2026-27 and going through 2028-29.
Morris, 57, replaces Garrett Riley, who was fired Dec. 29 after spending three seasons as Clemson’s OC. Riley came to Clemson from TCU and was considered one of the top coordinators on the market when Swinney hired him.
Morris’ starting 2026 salary is a notable drop-off from what Riley was making in 2025-26 ($1.75 million) and down from what Morris was making in his last year as Clemson OC in 2014 ($1.3 million) before he left for the SMU head coaching job.
Swinney, in a team-issued statement, said it was an “easy decision” to hire Morris and he’d already heard from former players like DeAndre Hopkins and Sammy Watkins about their excitement in the Tigers bringing Morris back.
“I think we’ve got elite offensive personnel, and the name of the game is points,” Swinney said. “The one thing I know about Chad, he knows how to score points, and so I’m excited to welcome him and his family back.”
Morris hire comes at critical time for Dabo
This offensive coordinator change is a critical one for Swinney, who is coming off a 7-6 season which marked Clemson’s worst record in 15 seasons. He’s gambling on a longtime friend who put up huge numbers in his first stint at Clemson but has not called plays at any level or coached at a power conference level since 2020.
Morris’ last time as an offensive coordinator/playcaller was for Auburn in 2020. Since then, he’s worked as a high school coach in Texas, an offensive consultant for former Clemson assistant Jeff Scott at South Florida, a volunteer assistant for Swinney and Clemson and as the wide receivers coach at Texas State.
But his offenses at Clemson were epic, setting dozens of school records from 2011 through 2014 and recording back-to-back seasons of 40-plus points per game and 500-plus offensive yards per game on average in 2012 and 2013.
Morris also worked as the head coach at SMU and Arkansas after leaving the Tigers but didn’t have as much success. He went a combined 18-40 (.310) and was fired midway through his second season at Arkansas after posting a 4-18 record.
Swinney promised to get back to his “instincts” after Clemson’s 2025 team (which was the preseason AP No. 4 team) fell drastically short of its championship expectations. He, like Morris, often compared the situation to the 2010 season.
After finishing 6-7 in 2010, Swinney also made an offensive coordinator change ... and also hired Morris from Tulsa, as Billy Napier’s replacement. Now after a 7-6 season he’s hiring Morris again, with hopes it leads to a high-scoring unit.
One key question Swinney and Morris must tackle: Will they pursue a transfer portal quarterback or stick with who they have, led by rising redshirt junior Christopher Vizzina (one start) and dynamic redshirt freshman Chris Denson?
“Chad’s been studying a lot of people and traveling and meeting with people” the last few years, Swinney said. “This is just a great time for him and a great opportunity for us to go back to the future and put it back together.”
Morris: Returning under ‘very similar circumstances’
Clemson athletic director Graham Neff, Swinney’s boss, expressed his support for the hire of Morris, telling the university’s board of trustees compensation committee he was “very pleased” to present Morris’ contract to them for approval.
“Certainly, this is a return to Clemson for Coach Morris ... We’re excited about that strategy and path ahead and support of Coach Swinney,” Neff said Monday morning.
Clemson was 41-11 during Morris’ four seasons as offensive coordinator from 2011-14, a run that is widely credited for setting the stage for the Tigers’ College Football Playoff breakthrough and 2016 and 2018 national championships.
The Tigers averaged 468.5 yards and 36.3 points per game during Morris’ 52 games as OC, which ranked ninth and 12th, respectively, among P4 teams in that span. For reference, this year’s Clemson team averaged 392.2 yards (No. 64 nationally) and 27.2 points (No. 72 nationally), with two 10-point outputs.
The somewhat risky nature of Morris’ hire is reflected in his new contract, which is both budget-friendly on salary and makes it more affordable for him to be fired if his Clemson offenses don’t produce immediately in his second stint.
According to a copy of Morris’ contract obtained by The State via public records request: If Morris’ offense does not rank among the top 20 nationally per SportsSource Analytics in 2026 or 2027, the Tigers would only owe Morris the remaining compensation on his contract through 2028 if they chose to fire him.
If Morris’ offense does reach that top 20 threshold in 2026 or 2027, though, Clemson would automatically be on the hook to pay Morris his full buyout (subject to standard mitigation) through 2029 if it chooses to part ways with him.
That contract clause presents Clemson an option to potentially save $1.2 million in buyout if it chooses to fire Morris down the line. The athletics department is already on the hook to pay out nearly $4 million to fired assistant coaches Wes Goodwin, Riley and Mickey Conn this year (offset by their salaries in new jobs).
“My previous time in this role at Clemson was truly one of the most joyful times of my career,” Morris said in a team-issued statement. “It excites me to have an opportunity to come back and to do it under very similar circumstances from where we were in 2011 and where we are in 2026.”
This story was originally published January 5, 2026 at 9:32 AM.
