If Clemson is “family,” why do the biggest paychecks get cut first?
Clemson just moved on from OC Garrett Riley and assistant Mickey Conn after a 7-6 season. Dabo’s explanation was the classic clean-up line: “We just did not get the production and the results that we needed.” ESPN says Riley and Conn will not return for the 2026 season.
Here’s my problem. This isn’t leadership. This is branding.
Clemson face-plants, Dabo tosses two assistants into the volcano, and suddenly we’re supposed to believe the program is “accountable” again. No. This is scapegoating with a Bible verse filter. It’s accountability theater, and Dabo is the head clown running it.
Why Clemson moved on from Garrett Riley
The headline wants you to think this is simple. Offense struggled, season disappointed, fire the OC, move on. Nice and tidy.
But Clemson doesn’t do tidy. Clemson does control.
Riley was the easiest person to blame because the coordinator is the most visible target. Fans can name the OC. Donors can point at the OC. Media can write the OC. It gives everyone a scapegoat that doesn’t force the real conversation.
And the real conversation is this: the sport moved. Clemson didn’t. Dabo’s whole model is built on “our way,” and when “our way” stops winning, he refuses to admit it needs an update. So he blames “production.” He blames “results.” He blames the guys under him.
That’s not adaptation. That’s avoidance with a press release.
What this says about Dabo’s control of the offense
Dabo told you everything you need to know in one quote: “We just did not get the production and the results that we needed.”
Notice what’s missing. Any ownership. Any hint that the program’s approach might be outdated. Any sign that the head coach understands what modern college football is now.
This is the same pattern every time an old-school power coach gets uncomfortable. When the results are good, the head coach is a genius CEO. When the results are bad, suddenly it’s all the coordinator’s fault.
That’s why this feels like a control decision. Clemson wants the offense back on a leash. They want “Clemson football” back in a box they can label and sell. Riley getting shown the door is the message to the next guy: you can run the offense, as long as it still looks like Dabo’s Clemson.
How coordinator firings change recruiting fast
Clemson loves selling stability. Not just winning. Stability. The safe choice. The family. The place where you don’t have to worry about the staff getting flipped upside down the minute the wind changes.
Then they go 7-6 and fire the OC and the safeties coach in the same breath.
Recruits are not stupid. Their parents aren’t either. If I’m a kid being pitched “family,” I’m watching who gets blamed when the family has a bad year. Clemson just showed the answer. Assistants.
And that matters because modern recruiting is not just relationships anymore. It’s system, fit, development, and honestly, a vibe check on whether the program is drifting or building. When a program starts lopping off coordinators to protect the head coach’s narrative, that is drift.
If you want the Clemson-specific version of that pressure cooker, you can already see it coming in Clemson 2026 roster pressure points.
What Clemson’s next OC profile will look like
This is the tell. Not the speeches. Not the “thank you for your service.” The hire.
If Clemson hires a real modern OC with his own identity and actually gives him the keys, that’s Clemson admitting it has to evolve.
If Clemson hires a safe “fits the culture” option who will run the offense like it’s still a museum exhibit, that’s Clemson retreating. That’s Dabo doubling down on nostalgia because he’d rather be comfortable than current.
And if that’s the route, then this Riley firing is going to look even worse in a year, because it confirms what it already smells like today. The problem wasn’t just the guy calling plays. The problem is the guy refusing to live in 2025.
If you want the money side that always gets waved away in public, keep How assistant coach contracts and buyouts work in your back pocket.
Why “family culture” does not protect assistants
Mickey Conn is the quiet part that makes the “family” pitch feel fake.
When things go wrong, the assistants aren’t family. They’re furniture. They get tossed out so the head coach can stand there and act like the house is fine.
Here’s the mid-article truth that keeps repeating in college football: when a program’s first instinct is to blame the scheme, it’s usually protecting something bigger than the scheme.
Clemson didn’t just fire coaches. Clemson protected a story. Dabo protected himself.
He wants you to think the fix is simple. Change two names. Keep the identity. Keep the messaging. Keep the illusion that Clemson is still Clemson and the rest of the sport is the problem.
No. The rest of the sport adapted. Clemson got stubborn. Dabo got comfortable. Now he’s playing scapegoat roulette and calling it “standards.”
Did Clemson fix the offense, or just protect the brand from admitting bigger problems?
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