2025 was supposed to be a grand year for Clemson. Instead, it turned out to be a nightmare, largely due to the team’s offensive woes. Offensive coordinator Garrett Riley has become a polarizing figure at Clemson now, but he still has to lead the Tigers through the Pinstripe Bowl. Riley had some positive news to share about Cade Klubnik, who has developed yet another injury.

Cade Klubnik sparked worry among fans by not throwing at practice on December 15, as Clemson prepares for the Pinstripe Bowl. WR Tyler Brown revealed that he had injured his thumb, which is his 3rd blow this season. It will be his last game for the program, which is why the game holds special significance for the QB and Clemson.

“He has been getting implemented more and more in practice these last, whatever, couple of days,” Riley said in a December 17 presser. “So, I fully expect him to be ready to go and expect his workload to increase daily.” 

This season saw him become one of the biggest disappointments, finding himself in the same pool as Arch Manning and Garrett Nussmeier. Last year was a comeback year for Klubnik, who had everyone sold that he would only be better this season. Now, his future has been compromised due to his poor performance. Klubnik has only scored 16 TDs this season so far, the lowest in his career, and has passed for 2,750 yards. Garrett Riley is a big reason why the numbers have dropped so much for the star QB.

It’s been an on-and-off (mostly off) season for Riley’s offense. The Tigers ended up making mistakes that didn’t seem possible ahead of the season. Scoring rates dropped, the run game took a back seat, as did third-down conversions. The Tigers could only convert 55 of their 160 third-down attempts. Riley’s offense was able to put 30 or more points on the board just four times this season. All of these issues developed despite the Clemson offense having the best players in place. The only stars Clemson lacked this year were Phil Mafah and Jake Briningstool.

Clemson had a near-absent run game, despite this having become one of Cade Klubnik’s strengths last year. The Tigers were averaging only 131.25 yards on the ground. Another problem was that the run game disappeared in short-yardage clutch moments. Klubnik took a larger beating from the outside world since he is the face of Clemson football. The problem here is that the Clemson offense is underperforming compared to its own standards.

With the star of the show also taking a hit because of Riley’s struggles, it might not be long before Dabo Swinney lets go of him.

Garrett Riley addresses his job security at Clemson

Dabo Swinney tends to weed out the bad-performing coaches when Clemson finishes like it will this year. He’s not one to settle for a 7-5, which sparks trouble for Garrett Riley. He was able to keep his job this year after the successes of 2024. But yet another dip makes life difficult for the OC. Here’s what he had to say about his future at Clemson.

“Certainly didn’t have the season that we all wanted, but sometimes that’s sports,” Riley said. “I know there are decisions to be made and all that stuff, big picture-wise. But I’m telling you, my whole focus is being here, being the best I can for our staff, being the best I can for our players, and giving us the best chance to finish this thing out the way we have been the last few weeks and go cap it off with a great bowl win. That’s 100% the focus.”

Given how he’s performed this season, it is up to Riley to voluntarily walk out of Clemson or be shown the door. He has already interviewed for the North Texas and Coastal Carolina jobs, which have now been filled. In case Riley and Swinney part ways, this might be an interesting opportunity for Riley. He would be a head coach for the first time in his career. His older brother, Lincoln Riley, already beat him in that race.

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A head coaching spot in the G5 level is a good avenue for Riley to find his footing in that role. Before Clmeosn, Riley coached TCU’s offense for which he won the Broyles Award in 2022. It was his lone season with TCU, and he was able to see the team reach the National Championship. At Clemson last year, he built an offense that finished 18 in the country in scoring offense, averaging more than 30 points.

Around this same time in 2024, Riley was being fielded as a possible candidate for head coaching roles. A lot of programs wanted the man who had created the star out of Cade Klubnik. Clearly, there is a drastic change between then and now, which should be pinching at Riley and the hopes for his career.