Clemson OC Tony Elliott has decision on Virginia vacancy, per reports
Dabo Swinney is looking at a major overhaul to his coaching staff with reports indicating he will lose long-time OC Tony Elliott to a head coaching job.
Elliott had been reported to be in the running for multiple head coaching jobs, including Duke and Virginia. As of Friday morning, he had not made a decision.
Friday afternoon, Elliott now has his mind made up. According to reports from Pete Thamel with Yahoo! Sports and Chris Low with ESPN, Elliott will take over for the Cavaliers.
After a day of deep thought, Tony Elliott has agreed to become @UVAFootball’s next head football coach, sources tell ESPN. Elliott visited the UVa campus with his family earlier this week. He takes the Cavs’ job after spending the last 11 seasons on @ClemsonFB’s staff.
— Chris Low (@ClowESPN) December 10, 2021
Sources: Tony Elliott is expected to be the next coach at Virginia. A deal should be finalized in the near future.
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) December 10, 2021
Elliott’s reported decision comes after a Friday morning announcement that Virginia has approved a significant transfer of funds to be used for improved facilities. That transfer was more than $10 million and is expected to be earmarked for an improved $65 million football facility.
With Elliott’s departure, Dabo Swinney now faces an interesting offseason. Longtime DC Brent Venables has already departed for the Oklahoma head coaching job. Venables and Elliott had been a part of Clemson’s staff since 2012 and 2011, respectively, leaving Swinney with some key pieces to fill for 2022.
