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5 Clemson coaches with something to prove in 2024

There is definitely room for improvement over Clemson Football's performance on the field in 2023. Here are five coaches who need success in 2024 to prove doubters wrong.

By John Chancey

Sep 16, 2023; Clemson, South Carolina; Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney talks with Clemson wide receiver coach Tyler Grisham, left, and offensive coordinator Garrett Riley, middle, during the fourth quarter with Florida Atlantic at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ken Ruinard-USA TODAY NETWORK
Sep 16, 2023; Clemson, South Carolina; Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney talks with Clemson wide receiver coach Tyler Grisham, left, and offensive coordinator Garrett Riley, middle, during the fourth quarter with Florida Atlantic at Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ken Ruinard-USA TODAY NETWORK / Gannett-USA TODAY NETWORK
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Matt Luke

As mentioned, Luke was brought in to replace Austin following his dismissal, but both Swinney and Luke have publicly stated that they didn’t bring him in just to bring the offensive line back to the level it had been at before 2020.

The offensive line wasn’t a liability for the Tigers from 2015 to 2019 when they were qualifying for playoff berths and winning two national titles. It also wasn’t considered a strength of the team.

In my opinion, most fans thought the offensive line was a given. It wasn’t until 2020 when the running game with Tigers legend Travis Etienne suddenly wasn’t elite anymore that the gaze was turned on the line.

This might sting, but Clemson's recent regression on the field has something in common with the dip Florida State experienced between 2017 and 2021: the offensive line’s performance diminished because of poor recruiting evaluations and ineffective coaching. Clemson hasn't fallen off as harshly as the Seminoles did, but its hard for the offense to be good if the O-Line isn't effective.

Luke knew that was the challenge and he accepted it. No one should expect things to be fixed in one season. Coaching might make a big difference but personnel will need to be addressed as well.

The main thing Luke needs to prove as quickly as possible is that he can elevate the current players to a level that impresses the NFL scouts and puts some of them on the pro radar. Luke took his best shot at bringing in highly-rated prospects this cycle based on his success with developing players and placing them in the NFL. The weight of a Clemson program that hasn’t put an offensive lineman into the first round of the draft in a very long time was too big of a hill to climb.

In other words, proof of concept of Luke's success elsewhere didn't translate to proof of concept that he could do it at Clemson.

Luke must prove to future recruits that he can get them where they want to be while at Clemson and that starts on the field in 2024.

NEXT: Tyler Grisham

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