Clemson Football: Former Tigers assistant Billy Napier named ULL HC
Former Clemson football assistant, Billy Napier was recently named head coach at the University of Louisiana.
Dabo Swinney’s coaching tree has gained two more branches as of late. Former Tigers offensive coordinator, Chad Morris was named head coach at Arkansas a few weeks back. Most recently, former Clemson assistant, Billy Napier – who’s last stop was as the offensive coordinator at Arizona State – was named head coach at the University of Louisiana Lafayette.
It’s no surprise that some of Swinney’s former assistants are beginning to receive head coaching opportunities. Not only are Morris and Napier lauded for their respective football acumen, they are benefiting from Clemson’s reign of dominance over the past three seasons.
It’s common to see assistants of elite programs get poached from other schools across the country. Take Nick Saban and Alabama for instance, each year it seems like at least one of his assistants is named as a potential replacement at another school.
Coaching carousel
Dabo Swinney has turned Clemson into a perennial power, on the verge of competing for their third straight National Championship. Leading up to the Tigers semifinal matchup with Alabama, multiple assistant coaches were being mentioned in head coaching vacancy’s across the nation.
It’s important to note that none of Clemson’s assistant coaches appear to have any aspirations to leave at the moment. That being said, Brent Venables and Tony Elliott are two of the most coveted up-and-coming coaches in the business. Over the next few seasons, both will get their fair share of offers as will Jeff Scott.
As Clemson continues to win football games, Swinney and his staff are going to be pursued by some of the biggest names in the college football landscape. Should Nick Saban retire tomorrow, you can bet Swinney would get a call.
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It’ll be fun to watch two of Swinney’s former assistants leading their own programs next season. Chad Morris has an especially tough task ahead of him at Arkansas. Should he revive that Razorback’s program, he will likely garner attention from an even bigger suitor in the near future.