Clemson offensive coordinator Tony Elliott was a pretty big target for multiple ACC schools looking to fill their coaching vacancies.
It looked like he might end up as the head coach of the Duke Blue Devils as he interviewed for that job in December and appeared to be the favorite. However, the Virginia Cavaliers also found themselves looking for a coach after Bronco Mendenhall made a surprising announcement last week. The school has scrambled to figure out who it could hire to replace him and they zeroed in on Elliott.
Elliott was said to be leaning towards taking the Virginia job but wanted some time to make a decision, prompting some to wonder if he might back out and wait for a better opportunity. However, on Friday, it became official that Elliott would leave Clemson after ten seasons to become the new head coach at Virginia.
𝙒𝘼𝙃𝙊𝙊𝙒𝘼🔶⚔️🔷
We got our guy! Welcome to Charlottesville, Coach Tony Elliott!
A proven champion ✅
An offensive mastermind ✅
A developer of NFL talent ✅
🔶⚔️🔷#GoHoos pic.twitter.com/yi82ISlDZj
— Virginia Football (@UVAFootball) December 10, 2021
Elliott started out as an RB coach at Clemson in 2011 but head coach Dabo Swinney promoted him to co-offensive coordinator in 2014 and he became the primary play-caller for two national championship teams. Clemson finished first or second in the ACC in total offense in five of the seven years he called plays. His offenses have also finished in the national top 15 twice, top 10 once, and top five twice.
Elliott reportedly turned down a similar offer to be the head coach at Tennessee last year. For the Virginia job, he seemingly beat out Penn State co-DC Anthony Poindexter, who said on Wednesday that he was no longer pursuing the job.
With the announcement that Elliott has been hired as the new head coach at Virginia, there was quite the reaction on social media amongst the college football world. A lot of people focused on how Clemson has now lost both coordinators and the AD in recent weeks, suggesting this is a troubling time for Dabo Swinney.
Without question, Tony spent a lot of time going through all the scenarios and weighing this job vs Duke and staying at Clemson. Very deliberate in his thought process. https://t.co/MCCWQRIhUz
— Andrea Adelson (@aadelsonESPN) December 10, 2021
Dabo has lost his OC, DC and AD all in a couple of weeks.
Clemson has had unreal stability for a decade. Biggest test of Dabo’s tenure coming now. https://t.co/zOTGIxc1Rb
— Chris Vannini (@ChrisVannini) December 10, 2021
Both Clemson coordinators gone. About to get real in the Upstate https://t.co/Q4RLqk1vwu
— Frank Sulkowski WJCL (@TheBigGuyWJCL) December 10, 2021
Clemson program falling apart quickly, defensive coordinator, offensive coordinator and AD have all left the man that said he would quit once college athletes could be paid… https://t.co/WDSJ0yv3ho
— SEC Mike (@MichaelWBratton) December 10, 2021
The ACC landscape shifted a lot in recent weeks and we’ll see how these moves play out for Virginia, Clemson, Duke, and the rest of the conference.
[Virginia]
