Clemson Football should add Jeff Scott to staff

Clemson Football has been fortunate to have many talented coaches on Dabo Swinney’s staff in the past decade. Names like Brent Venables, Tony Elliott and Chad Morris have played critical roles for the Tigers before moving on to take head coaching jobs in the FBS.

Another member of Swinney’s coaching tree is Jeff Scott, who was an offensive co-coordinator alongside Elliott for both of Clemson’s national championships under Swinney. Scott found his opportunity as a head coach in 2020 with the South Florida Bulls.

The Bulls have struggled under Scott’s leadership in the past three seasons. It appeared that he would at least finish his third season, but South Florida made the decision Sunday to dismiss Scott.

I am not sure what kind of opportunities Scott may have as schools and head coaches look to round out their staff for the 2023 season. I doubt any FCS schools would have interest in Scott as a head coach, but I think it is at least possible that a school might be interested in him as an offensive coordinator. I think plenty of teams would be pleased to have him as a receivers coach.

Ironically, Scott’s dismissal coincides with Clemson’s first defeat of the season. The Tigers have not had a bad season, but it was made painfully clear that the 2022 Clemson squad has plenty of room to improve, both on the field with talent and on the staff with assembling quality game plans.

I don’t know if Swinney wants to make changes to the offensive staff. I don’t know what kind of opportunities might be available at Clemson following the conclusion of this season.

One thing I do know is that Clemson would be wise to bring Jeff Scott back to Death Valley.

Scott oversaw the best iterations of Clemson’s wide receiver corps. He both recruited and developed NFL talents like Mike Williams, Tee Higgins, and Hunter Renfrow.

Jeff Scott is not only a former Clemson football player, he was a significant contributor to both game planning and recruiting

Scott didn’t call plays but was a contributor to the offensive game plan as the co-coordinator and passing game coordinator.

He was a recruiting coordinator during his time with Clemson and was vital to recruiting efforts beyond the receivers.

Lastly, while Clemson has been fortunate to get some of the best high school talents in the nation, South Florida doesn’t have the same kind of pull. Like most head coaches at the Group of Five level, Scott had no choice but to embrace the transfer portal.

While the Tigers have dabbled in the portal, they haven’t dedicated many resources toward it. Since they typically promote from within, they haven’t brought in coaches that have experience with the do’s & don’t of recruiting the portal. Scott can bring some of that competency to the team.

We will have to wait to see if Swinney has any intentions of making changes to the coaching staff, so we won’t know if coaching positions will be available. Whether they offer Scott a position as an assistant or a key staffing position, Clemson needs to bring him home.