Clemson football: The truth about Tony Elliott as an offensive coordinator

The truth about Tony Elliott as the Clemson football offensive coordinator

4. Tony Elliott has to change, or Clemson has to make a change

There are Clemson football fans on both sides of this discussion who have valid points.

That being said, the Tiger fans who are pointing to past successes as a reason to protect Elliott need to realize that winning in 2018 isn’t going to mean anything for 2021 or beyond.

Elliott is the one who designed winning game plans for previous CFB Playoff games and that shouldn’t be forgotten. He has also led the Tigers to some of their greatest offensive successes in program history.

But that also doesn’t mean he’s above reproach or shouldn’t be subject to criticism. There are 75 other coaches who could’ve won National Championships with Clemson’s 2016 and 2018 rosters and, honestly, those stats mean very little in my eyes as we move forward.

There are times where even the most staunch Elliott supporter will question his play-calling and, in many cases it’s warranted. There are times in the past where Clemson was clearly the more talented team and, yet, he spent two quarters methodically putting away a lesser opponent with conservative play-calling rather than going ‘on the attack.’

Whether we want to admit it or not, Clemson is being surpassed in terms of scheme by many other programs across the country and it’s time for the Tigers to make adaptations.

We can blame players all we want, but it’s still the coaches’ job to put them in position to have success. And, frankly, this offense still has too much talent to be struggling against the likes of Georgia Tech.

We can talk about execution all we want, but the truth is that the 2010 team didn’t execute very well either and that resulted in Billy Napier losing his job.

Am I advocating for that? No.

But what I am saying is this: Either Tony Elliott has to change, or Clemson has to make a change. And, really, it’s as simple as that. 

You can’t have that much talent on offense and rank 108th in scoring. It’s just not acceptable. This conservative approach to play-calling and blaming execution isn’t working anymore and it’s not going to work in the future, either.

What matters to me, however, is if we see Elliott adapt or not.

Elliott is a great recruiter and leader. He’s a great ambassador for the Clemson football program and I’d love nothing more than to see him turn around and transform this offense into a machine, similar to what we’ve seen at Alabama and Ole Miss, just for a couple of examples.

But, if he’s not willing to change and the system “will continue to be the system,” then Dabo Swinney is going to have to make the decision to move on and it’s really that simple. I’m sure there are plenty of young offensive coordinators who’d be chomping at the bit to have the amount of talent that Elliott has at his fingertips.

The truth of Tony Elliott likely lies in the middle. Should he be fired on the spot? No. But, should he be given lifetime immunity? No. He needs to show clear improvements as this season progresses and he needs to show the ability to adapt.

If he can’t– and to be clear, I’m pulling for him to have all the success in the world– then Clemson is going to be in a tough spot until changes are made.