Clemson Football has new target for defensive ends coach

Clemson Football isn’t standing still this week. Dabo Swinney is turning over at least two positions on his staff.

Thomas Austin will no longer coach the offensive line, and Lemanski Hall will move on from coaching the defensive ends.

Word broke late in the week that Swinney was targeting former Ole Miss head coach Matt Luke to take over the offensive line.

It was circulated this morning that the Clemson Board of Trustees would meet Monday morning to discuss football coaching positions.

It says “coaches” plural, and it is the only item on the agenda.

We now have an idea of who is being brought in to coach the defensive ends, and it is a familiar name.

Chris Rumph is the front runner to join the staff according to David Hood of TigerNet.

Rumph coached defensive ends for Clemson from 2006 to 2010. Since then, he has coached with Alabama, Texas, Toledo, and Tennessee in college football. He also coached with Houston and Chicago in the NFL.

His most recent position was coaching defensive ends for the Minnesota Vikings. Rumph has been on personal leave from the Vikings since late October.

Both Luke and Rumph would bring a considerable amount of experience to the coaching staff. Many have been critical of the lack of experience on Clemson’s coaching staff following the turnover from two years ago.

Following the departures of Brent Venables, Tony Elliott and Todd Bates, most of the remaining or promoted staff had minimal experience, or a lack of experience outside of the Clemson staff.

There has been speculation that Clemson’s hire to replace Hall might not be specifically for the defensive ends, but the title structure will not change.

Rumph’s NFL experience could bring positive synergy with defensive line coach Nick Eason, who replaced Bates when he followed Venables to Oklahoma.

Assuming the new contracts are approved, we will likely have an official announcement soon after.