Monday Night Clemson DC Update

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney officially announced his decision Monday morning not to retain Wes Goodwin as defensive coordinator.

The move came as no surprise if you have been following our information since the Tigers’ loss to Texas in the opening round of the College Football Playoff.

Though the Goodwin decision was officially announced on Monday, Swinney has been working on finding his replacement way before today. Last week, we put out some names we heard associated with the Clemson coaching search and we have some updates on the situation tonight.

When talking with some of our sources on Monday, we learned Tennessee defensive coordinator Tim Banks, as well as Illinois defensive coordinator Aaron Henry are still very much involved in the search.

Banks has also been linked to the DC vacancy at Miami, but our sources have informed us that he has told Miami he is not interested. The same can be said for Georgia Tech defensive coordinator Tyler Santucci, who we have also heard is a candidate for the Clemson job.

To give some more background on Banks, he coached this past year as a lame duck coach. He made $1.5 million this past season as the Vols’ defensive coordinator, however, his contract is expected to run out on Jan. 31.

Jim Leonhard is another name that has been mentioned for the opening. He is currently the defensive backs coach for the Denver Broncos. Leonhard was a veteran coach at the college level before moving to the NFL, including one year on the Illinois staff in 2023 and the previous seven seasons at Wisconsin as the defensive coordinator.

However, the Broncos are currently preparing to take on the Buffalo Bills in the NFL Wild Card Round of the NFL Playoffs. It is the same dilemma if Swinney is interested in speaking with any of the coaches that are currently participating in the College Football Playoff.

There are several things to keep in mind when following a coaching search. Understand we have a lot of experience when it comes to coaching searches at Clemson, with over 20 years.

First off, what might be reported publicly or is officially released by the school is frequently different from what really happens behind the scenes. The Goodwin situation is a perfect example.

We reported on Jan. 1, Swinney would not bring Goodwin back as his defensive coordinator in 2025. If you read our information, you know we gave a detailed description, through sourcing, on how the whole situation went down and when it happened.

Finding a new coach is no different of a process than what some of you have experienced in the job market. Contact to gauge interest can be made in many ways, directly or through third parties.

We know Swinney has a list of coaches he will like to speak to and then, like Garrett Riley two years ago, someone he might not have on the list comes into play.

If you recall, it was Southern Cal head coach Lincoln Riley that suggested his brother to Swinney. The Clemson coach was calling the older Riley to get his thoughts on a couple of guys he wanted to talk to about being the offensive coordinator at Clemson, in case he decided to make a change.

At the time, Garrett Riley was coaching for TCU in the national championship game. When the game was over, Swinney reached out to Riley to gage his interest and we know how the rest of the story went.

Once Riley said he was interested in becoming Clemson’s OC, it did not take long for the whole process to be completed.

Contact and interviews are frequently defined differently by those involved in the job search. Over the years we have seen both parties deny interviews have occurred when they actually did occur.

It’s during this process, if word gets out, the candidate can deny he is speaking to Clemson, and in all likely hood could be telling the truth because Swinney could be talking to his agent or representative.

This gives the coaching candidates plausible deniability, as well as the schools. That way if the candidate does not take the job or isn’t offered the job, the school nor the candidate is ridiculed.

We can tell you from several situations over the years where the candidate will interview for the job, but will publicly come out and deny they were ever involved.

During this process, Swinney will likely feel things out with the candidates as he tries to get to know them. When Swinney narrows his list down, he will likely invite the candidate and their family to Clemson for an official interview.

Let the fun begin.

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