Chad Morris, who served as Clemson’s offensive coordinator at the start of the program’s rise under Dabo Swinney, is returning to the Tigers as their new offensive coordinator in 2026, according to a source briefed on the decision. This move, first reported by Tigers Illustrated, comes less than a week after Swinney parted ways with Garrett Riley.

The Clemson Board of Trustees compensation committee will meet Monday morning for “Approval of Football Coach’s Compensation.”

After a 7-6 season, Clemson’s worst since 2010 — Swinney’s second year in charge of the program — the Tigers are looking to revive an offense that fell flat in 2025 amid high preseason expectations, following a strong 2024 in which Clemson made the College Football Playoff.

By hiring Morris, Swinney is hoping to recapture some of the magic that helped spark an extended run of success for the program. The Tigers went 41-11, won the 2011 ACC title, had three top-15 finishes and made two Orange Bowl appearances in the four years Morris ran the offense, from 2011 to 2014. Three of those years were quarterbacked by Tajh Boyd, who is now an offensive analyst and assistant quarterbacks coach with the program. Morris also recruited Deshaun Watson, who led Clemson to a national championship after Morris’ departure.

Morris, a Texas native, left Clemson after the 2014 season to become head coach at SMU. He later took over at Arkansas in 2018 but was fired late in his second season after going 4-18. He spent the 2020 season as Auburn’s offensive coordinator and had stints as an offensive analyst at South Florida (2022) and Clemson (2023) before taking the receivers coach job at Texas State in 2024. In 2025, he took the year off from coaching to watch his son, Virginia quarterback Chandler Morris, compete in what could be his final collegiate season.

Chad Morris told The Athletic in October that he planned to return to coaching in 2026.

In Morris’ first run as Clemson’s OC, the Tigers set a school record for scoring offense (41 points per game) and yards per game (512.7) in 2012. Clemson was one of only two FBS schools to have a 3,000-yard passer, a 1,000-yard rusher and a 1,000-yard receiver in three consecutive seasons, from 2011 through 2013.

Clemson’s offense entered 2025 expected to be one of the best units in the country with quarterback Cade Klubnik and a group of star-studded receivers all returning. Klubnik, a three-year starter in his final year with the program, was even expected to be a Heisman Trophy contender. However, the wheels fell off for Clemson early, with the offense scoring just 10 points against LSU in Week 1 before finding itself in a 16-0 hole to Troy in Week 2 and eventually losing to Georgia Tech and Syracuse in Weeks 3 and 4. The Tigers scored just 10 points against Penn State in the Pinstripe Bowl to cap off a disappointing year and finished with just a top-65 offense in 2025 after ranking in the top 15 in 2024.