Clemson’s Elliott, Scott share duties, passion for coaching

Aside from playing wide receiver together at Clemson in the early 2000s, Jeff Scott and Tony Elliott have had very different paths to their co-offensive coordinator roles with the Tigers.

Scott grew up around the profession, learning the trade from his father, former South Carolina head coach and Clemson assistant Brad Scott.

Jeff Scott cut his teeth at Blythewood High near Columbia before getting a chance to become a grad assistant with the Tigers and eventually the receivers coach and recruiting coordinator when Dabo Swinney took over from Tommy Bowden in 2009. He went on to become one of the top recruiters in the country.

Elliott came from a completely different background, growing up in California until he lost his mother in an accident and moved to South Carolina to live with relatives. He never intended to go into coaching, instead choosing to become an engineer.

However, he decided to give up that six-figure salary to fill an emptiness in his life with coaching, although Swinney wouldn’t hire him right away. He told Elliott to start at the lower, less-paid ranks, and Swinney would let Elliott know when he was ready. Elliott latched on as an assistant at South Carolina State before coaching receivers at Furman for three seasons and eventually ended up at Clemson, where he’s handled running backs since 2011.

One thing is clear: They share the same passion for coaching.

“We understand that it’s about these young people and the program and we just want to take pride in doing our best working together to help these young men be successful,” Elliott said. “It’s not about me. Jeff will tell you the same; it’s not about Jeff. It’s about this offense, this university and putting the best product on the field to be successful.”

Ultimately, it’s their commonalities that make these guys believe this system will work. Both are family men with wives expecting more children this fall. They easily understand the tradition they represent, and what they believe in on and off the field goes hand in hand with the head coach’s philosophies.

“If you were to tell me that 15 years ago and said Jeff was going to be the guy that I was going to be working with I would’ve said, ‘Man, let’s go do it,’ because of that relationship,” Elliott said. “I’m a man of faith. I know Jeff’s a man of faith. We understand the standard set by the head coach and we drive toward that standard in everything that we do.”

Knowing each other as long as they have has created instant chemistry. Both tutored under Chad Morris, their predecessor who went on to be the head coach at SMU, so Elliott and Scott were immediately promoted by Swinney last December to run the offense together. They got their feet wet preparing and calling the 40-6 Russell Athletic Bowl victory against Oklahoma.

“Those two guys, it’s just a seamless deal,” Swinney said. “They just work so well with each other. I love the staff that we have.”

They do have different personalities, and it comes out in how they manage their players and the influence of the offense, Elliott said. Despite having that bowl game experience, Elliott admitted to being a bit nervous before last Saturday’s season-opening Wofford game “because you care about these young people.”

Scott, on the other hand, was more eager than anxious to get out there and see what would happen after months of tireless preparation.

“Obviously, you have the butterflies of excitement, but I felt our guys were not overwhelmed,” Scott said.

While having a shared offense is not a common situation in college football, Scott believes it’s something that’s catching on and will be used by more programs in the future.

“I think we’ve got a very good relationship,” Scott said. “There’s a lot of communication. We’re looking at it as a benefit.”

It appeared that way in Week 1, when the Tigers rolled up 533 total yards on 80 plays and dominated Wofford in a 49-10 victory at home. Clemson played fast, which both coordinators vowed to do, and attacked the Terriers from the opening drive.

So how are these two guys going to pull off a rare situation each week? Well, both coordinators have a strong influence on every game plan. Scott gives Elliott passing situations he believes will work against the opposing defense. Elliott then sees how those ideas fit into the running scheme he comes up with, and in the meeting room, QB coach Brandon Streeter, offensive line coach Robbie Caldwell and tight ends coach Danny Pearman also have a say in putting it all together.

Elliott says having to figure out how to scheme everything alone is a daunting task, so these other voices, who have assignments, allow him time to still concentrate on his running backs.

On Saturdays, though, it’s Elliott in the coaches’ box making the ultimate play-calls and relaying them to Scott, who’s on the sideline.

“You do have to have a distinction on game day,” Elliott said. “We’re all on the same page and pulling in the same direction.”

It might sound like a lot of effort, but having two coaches in two different places offers great perspective, Scott says – and they’re keeping egos out of it.