Many who doubted the viability of the Clemson football program under Dabo Swinney may have to walk back those comments.
Clemson is coming off a 2024 season that could be described as a rollercoaster. The Tigers did make the College Football Playoff after backdooring their way into an ACC Championship, but they were beaten by Texas in the first-round, marking a quick exit. In addition, Clemson was unable to get the job done at home against in-state rival South Carolina, marking a 9-3 overall season.
As a result, Dabo Swinney had some major moves to make this offseason to make Clemson a contender again. He checked every single box.
Clemson made elite moves in building its 2025 roster
First, Swinney retained essentially his entire roster. The Tigers will bring back 9 of their 11 starters on the offensive side of the ball, and they'll retain 9 out of their 11 starters on defense, as well. After re-signing guys like Cade Klubnik, Antonio Williams, T.J. Parker, Peter Woods, Sammy Brown, Bryant Wesco, T.J. Moore, and others, Swinney looked towards the portal.
With scholarship numbers already high, Clemson only had a select few spots to fill with Transfer Portal pieces. They needed to add a legitimate starter at defensive end. Check. They also needed to add a depth piece at wide receiver. Check. Then, they needed to add a quality depth piece at linebacker. Also check.
With Will Heldt (EDGE, Purdue), Tristan Smith (WR, Southeast Missouri State), and Jeremiah Alexander (LB/EDGE, Alabama) now a part of the roster, the Tigers have one of the most experienced and talented returning rosters in the country in 2025.
Dabo Swinney topped it all with his defensive coordinator hire
While a roster of talented players is important, it's also about the coaches you bring in to lead them. No one can deny that there's talent on the defensive side of the ball for Clemson, but Wes Goodwin — a former Analyst who had never been a Defensive Coordinator — was not able to get the most out of that unit.
Clemson's linebackers, in particular, were a problem all season long, especially against the run. Clemson was one of the worst teams in the country in gap integrity, and Goodwin — who was the LBs Coach — was never able to fix that. It was most apparent in the game against Texas when the offense did enough to compete with the Longhorns, but the defense was gashed all night.
Swinney ultimately made the decision to move on from Goodwin after the season, and Clemson fans were forced to wait to find out who would serve as his replacement. According to multiple reports, we got that answer today: Penn State Defensive Coordinator Tom Allen.
Sources: Clemson is working toward a deal to hire Penn State DC Tom Allen as the school’s new defensive coordinator. He’s the top target and a final decision is expected in the upcoming days. pic.twitter.com/8PLnibXD2j
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) January 13, 2025
Allen led one of the most physical and top defenses in the country last season. While there may be a few detractors, there's no question that Allen was one of the top assistants in the country last season. Allen has had success every stop of the way, including USF and Indiana.
As a head coach, he had Indiana set up for success prior to the floodgates of NIL and the Portal opening, leaving his roster decimated to begin that 2021 season. Ultimately, Allen ended up at Penn State and helped the Nittany Lions reach the College Football Playoff semifinals in 2024.
Now — assuming the deal goes through — Allen is going to inherit a Clemson defense he can immediately turn around. Will the Tigers be a top-10 unit in the country next year? Most likely not. But, with the returns you have on offense, Clemson will be an elite team if they can just have a defense ranked in the Top-25. There's legitimate reason to believe Allen can do just that, and much more.
For reference, here's the difference between Penn State and Clemson's defenses in 2024:
- Total Defense: Penn State No. 7, Clemson No. 69
- Scoring Defense: Penn State No. 8, Clemson No. 51
Dabo Swinney has Clemson set up to be a legitimate contender in 2025. Will the Tigers live up to that potential? Only time will tell, but no one can deny that this has been the offseason that Clemson football fans have been waiting for a long time.