Clemson coordinators comment on USC opening, say they hurt for coaches and players
Clemson’s Tony Elliott and Brent Venables are mentioned as head coaching candidates near the end of every college football season.
This year it is happening a little earlier than normal.
South Carolina fired head coach Will Muschamp on Sunday, and Elliott and Venables have appeared on lists as possible replacements.
CBS Sports mentioned Elliott as a guy South Carolina could have interest in. While Yahoo! Sports referred to Elliott and Venables as coaches who could be considered.
The assistants, beginning with Elliott, were asked Monday if they would have interest in the USC job.
“This is the time of year when I get frustrated, just because my name gets thrown out there, and you guys know, hopefully my track record speaks for itself, I’m focused on these players and this staff right here. They’ve been too good for me to even consider any other jobs at this time,” Elliott said. “So right now, I’m focusing on Clemson, being the best that I can be.”
Elliott has been open and honest in the past in stating that he has aspirations of becoming a head coach. But he has also made it clear that he doesn’t want to be a distraction for the program during a season.
It is difficult to balance the two. Schools want to hire coaches as soon as possible due to the early signing period in December.
“I don’t answer my phone, to be honest with you,” Elliott said of how he balances the two. “And I just am transparent with people, and I tell them, ‘Hey, look, this is who I am. I’m focusing on what I’m doing.’ Stay off of the Twitter stuff. Kind of remind my family, ‘Hey, don’t say anything, bring me up, just let it be.’ Because again, it’s about Clemson. It’s about these young men. We’re in 2020. These guys have invested so much during this pandemic, and it would be really selfish.
“There will be a time and a place, but right now it’s November 16th. We’ve gotta bounce back and we’ve gotta focus on the biggest game of the year, which is Florida State.”
Venables echoed Elliott’s comments in stating that his focus right now is on Clemson’s game this weekend.
“Whether or not at some point in time you want to be a head coach in the future, right now your focus is all on Florida State and getting ready for that,” Venables said.
Both Clemson assistants also spoke about the pain they feel for South Carolina’s players and coaches who are going through a coaching change in the middle of a season.
“It’s terrible. It’s part of the profession, which you feel terrible for anybody, whether it’s your rival or not,” Venables said. “There’s a lot of displacement that takes place. A lot of people are affected, starting with the players in the program. And certainly all the support staff and the coaching staff and their families.”
Elliott was a part of a coaching change in 2010 when he was on staff at Furman and head coach Bobby Lamb resigned after a disappointing season.
“I’ve said it before, man, it’s a coaching fraternity. I went through it when I was at Furman where we got fired, and there’s so much uncertainty, unknown. You start to question yourself, and man, that’s not a good situation for anybody,” Elliott said. “Then you think about the players that went there to play for him. They’re invested in him. They’re invested in the program. It’s been a crazy year, so I don’t know all the details surrounding that, but definitely my heart goes out to the coaches and the players, because again, this isn’t what they were working towards.”
This story was originally published November 16, 2020 at 12:39 PM with the headline "Clemson coordinators comment on USC opening, say they hurt for coaches and players."
