Longtime Clemson offensive coordinator Tony Elliott had Dabo Swinney’s full support when he took the Virginia head coaching job.
Per The Athletic‘s Grace Raynor, Swinney told his former assistant “this is the one.”
“When this happened, I told him this is the one,” Swinney said regarding Elliott and Virginia. “This is the perfect fit.”
Dabo Swinney on Tony Elliott to Virginia: “When this happened, I told him this is the one. This is the perfect fit.”
— Grace Raynor (@gmraynor) December 14, 2021
Elliott’s departure was the latest in some major losses for the Clemson coaching staff. Defensive coordinator Brett Venables is now the head coach at Oklahoma, and now Swinney’s OC is headed to Charlottesville.
Elliott spent 11 seasons on Swinney’s staff. Back in January, he was promoted to offensive coordinator and assistant head coach. Previously, Elliott served as a co-OC from 2014-2020, and running backs coach from 2011-2020.
In 2017, he was named the Broyles Award winner as the country’s top assistant coach.
𝙒𝘼𝙃𝙊𝙊𝙒𝘼🔶⚔️🔷
We got our guy! Welcome to Charlottesville, Coach Tony Elliott!
A proven champion ✅
An offensive mastermind ✅
A developer of NFL talent ✅
🔶⚔️🔷#GoHoos pic.twitter.com/yi82ISlDZj
— Virginia Football (@UVAFootball) December 10, 2021
The newly-minted Cavaliers coach was a part of a decade-long stretch in which Clemson won 10 or more games. Including six ACC titles, four College Football Playoff appearances and two national titles.
At his introductory press conference, Elliott agreed with his mentor, Dabo.
“There is no better place for me than UVA. And there is no better time than now,” Elliott said. “My vision for the UVA football program is to become the model program in college football.”
Concluding, “It’s time to go to work. Go Hoos.”
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