On Monday December 29th, Clemson announced it will be parting ways with offensive coordinator Garrett Riley. The former Broyles Award winner spent three years on Dabo Swinney’s staff, but things never quite worked as well as both coaches hoped.
Riley’s tenure began in 2023, and did not get off to a great start. The Tigers finished that year ranked 52nd in the FBS in both total offense and scoring offense. It started to look like things might’ve been falling into place in 2024, with Clemson finishing 11th in total offense and 18th in scoring. Cade Klubnik played his best football that season as well, throwing for over 3,600 yards, 36 touchdowns and just six interceptions.
The offense took a huge step back this season however, ranking 64th in total offense and 71st in scoring. It was a disappointing tenure for Riley in Clemson. Especially after having so much hype around his hiring.
But, it's now time for Swinney to find the next man up. When he does, there are some things that would be great to see from the new Tiger offense.
Improved run game
The first priority of the next iteration of the Clemson offense needs to be improving the run game. This was something Swinney himself has talked about multiple times this season. It is also likely a big reason why Riley was let go.
A large part of why Riley’s offense could not find stability is because the run game was so inconsistent.
This season, the Tigers had the 105th ranked rushing attack in the FBS. They averaged 124.5 rushing yards per game. The Pinstripe Bowl against Penn State was the coldest game Clemson played in all year, and it ran the ball just 25 times for 43 yards.
Adam Randall had 102 rushing yards and a touchdown in the Tigers prior matchup against rival South Carolina. Against the Nittany Lions, Randall ran the ball just 11 times for 35 yards and scored the only Clemson touchdown of the game. It is almost mind-boggling how severely the run game was neglected when it was needed the most.
The Clemson coaching staff believe they have the next great Tiger running back in Gideon Davidson. His talent needs to be used effectively going forward to jump start this Clemson run game in 2026.
Taking advantage of depth
Another thing it’d be great to see the Tigers do on offense is take advantage of its depth. This is especially true at wide receiver.
We heard all off season about the “three waves of terror” in the wide receiver room. This was referring to the group's ability to play up to its third-string guys with very little drop off. The coaching staff must not have felt the same way with how often Antonio Williams, Bryant Wesco, and TJ Moore were targeted.
Many games would feature one of the three top receivers getting a ton of targets with the other two players sprinkled in. Even with missing the last six games of the season, Wesco was still the fourth leading receiver on the team. In front of him are Williams, Moore, and Randall. Wesco had seven more receptions than the fifth leading receiver, Tristan Smith.
Especially in big games, there was too much focus in getting the same few guys the ball. Meanwhile, players like Smith, Tyler Brown, and Christian Bentancur did not get enough attention at times.
The passing game always looked best when Klubnik spread the wealth. In his best game this season, Klubnik threw touchdown passes to three different wide receivers. One of them was Bentancur who caught two touchdown passes.
The best teams in any level of football have a ton of depth and use it effectively. Clemson has to get back to that point, especially on offense.
Find Consistency
More than anything, Clemson fans just want to see consistency from the offense again. It’s frustrating to watch your team look efficient once every three quarters or so.
The offense has had the talent to move the ball downfield and make explosive plays when there is opportunity. But, it's hard to get into a good rhythm when the offense is in so many third and long situations. It makes the offense become one-dimensional and allows defenses to get after the quarterback.
Establishing a run game will help with consistency by giving the offense easy yards, especially on early downs. Picking up three-to-five yards with a run on first down gives the offense more options of what to run on second and third down. That is a defensive coordinator’s worst nightmare. As teams begin to stack the box, allow the pass catchers to go to work on the outside. Then take shots downfield when the defense gives it up.
This is just one way Clemson can get consistency back on offense. Whatever it takes, the Tigers need to find what can give this unit sustained success.