Monday, Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney officially announced what had been reported for several days; defensive coordinator Wes Goodwin will not return in 2024. Now that the search for Goodwin's replacement has become public, plenty of names will be thrown about in connection to this job.
One name that fans should keep an eye on is current Tennessee defensive coordinator Tim Banks. In fact, it is being rumored by many people on social media that he is the leading candidate for the job.
A native of Michigan, Banks played corner at Central Michigan from 1991-94. He's been at Tennessee since 2021 serving as defensive coordinator and safeties coach. Additionally, he's served as the defensive coordinator at Illinois and Cincinnati as well as at his alma mater.
This year, Tennessee had one of the best defenses in the nation under Banks' guidance. With only three college football playoff games remaining this year (none involving Tennessee), the Volunteers rank No. 8 in total defense by giving up only 298.8 yards per game.
What's more, the Volunteers were excellent against the run this fall, something that Clemson struggled with. Ranking No. 10 in the nation, Tennessee gave up only 106.4 yards per game on the ground this season.
Meanwhile, the Clemson rush defense ranked No. 60 overall at 150.8 yards per game allowed. If Banks could transform the Tigers' run defense into the type of unit that Tennessee fielded this year, it would do wonders for Clemson's national title hopes in 2025.
Last season, Banks' defense at Tennessee was No. 27 in yards allowed per game. The year prior, though, the Tennessee defense struggled ranking No. 84 nationally by giving up 406.5 yards per game.
Still, Banks has worked wonders with the Volunteers and it appears that he is likely to be on the short list of candidates to fill the open Clemson DC job. Swinney said Monday that he hopes to have the job filled by the end of the month by the latest and until that happens, Banks will likely be one of the names most closely mentioned for the position.