Having concluded their regular season and with only a bowl game left on the schedule, Clemson made a staffing change on Thursday. The Tigers parted ways with offensive line coach Thomas Austin, who worked under head coach Dabo Swinney for the previous two seasons.
Tiger Illustrated’s Larry Williams was the first to report the news.
BREAKING: Thomas Austin is out as Clemson's OL coach, https://t.co/pU2IPrM4aR has learned. More here:https://t.co/VYW4ZmjMw4
— Larry Williams (@LarryWilliamsTI) November 30, 2023
An announcement from the university came shortly thereafter.
STATEMENT FROM DABO SWINNEY ON THOMAS AUSTIN:
“Today, I made the difficult decision to seek new leadership for the offensive line. It is my responsibility as head coach to make difficult decisions that I believe are in the best interest of our football program and the young men that comprise it. After a few days of deep thought and evaluation, I believe this was a change we needed to make.“I love Thomas and his entire family, and Thomas has been a great representative of Clemson University and Clemson Football in every role — as a player, as a support staff member and as a coach. On the field, he was one of the best Tigers we’ve had, and his role as a captain and as a great leader is immortalized in concrete at Tiger Walk outside Memorial Stadium. I know God has a great plan for his future.
“I’m incredibly excited about our group of offensive linemen which could have seven players who have started significant time for us, and I look forward to seeing them continue their growth.”
Austin previously served as an offensive line coach at Georgia State. Prior to that, he was on the Clemson staff as a graduate assistant. He’s spent the last two years as the offensive line coach but returned as an assistant to then-offensive line coach Robbie Caldwell a year prior.
Clemson has typically had a pretty strong offensive line, but Swinney felt that the positional group wasn’t up to the team’s standard. Now, the Tigers will have to look elsewhere to replace him, rather than an in-house option, as Austin took over for Caldwell following the 2021 season.
In addition to Austin, Clemson also parted ways with defensive ends coach Lemanski Hall on Thursday. As Clemson awaits its bowl destination, the team’s coaching staff has undergone quite the makeover.
