Clemson’s Board of Trustees will be convening this Friday morning for its quarterly compensation committee meeting. Usually, these February sessions are meant for contract extensions for Dabo Swinney’s staff. But not this time. The mood this year is considerably more subdued after a 7-6 season that was Clemson’s worst since 2010.

Only three coaches are actually getting raises this time around. And these raises were already baked into their contract in 2025. Kyle Richardson, the tight ends coach and co-offensive coordinator, will see his salary bump to $675,000 in 2026 from $637,500. 

Receivers coach Tyler Grisham and RB coach CJ Spiller are both moving up to $600,000 from $575,000. They were automatic escalators built into multi-year deals inked back in February 2025. The reason for this unusual restraint isn’t hard to figure out. Clemson has been hemorrhaging money on coaches who are no longer on the sideline. The most recent casualties were offensive coordinator Garrett Riley and safeties coach Mickey Conn. Both of them were shown the door after the disappointing 2025 campaign. 

Riley’s dismissal alone carries a $3.5 million price tag. It covered the two years remaining on his contract after Swinney extended his contract. That liability is further exacerbated by $2.8 million owed to former DC Wes Goodwin. He was fired in January 2025. Clemson also owes $900,000 to Mickey Conn. This is serious money being paid to coaches who aren’t even in the building anymore.

It gets worse when you zoom out a bit. Brandon Streeter, fired after the 2022 season, was owed $1.8 million on his deal. Thomas Austin, the offensive line coach let go in December 2023, collected his full $450,000 buyout because he never got back into coaching. All these buyouts come with mitigation clauses. It means Clemson’s liability decreases if the fired coaches land new jobs. But Riley, Goodwin, and Streeter all took low-paying support-staff roles. So the offsets are minimal. 

The financial strain is evident in the way Clemson approached hiring Riley’s replacement. Chad Morris, who returned for his third stint with the program, signed a three-year deal worth $1.2 million annually. The number that ranks near the bottom among ACC and SEC coordinators.

The bigger picture here is that multi-year contracts for assistants have become standard operating procedure at power-conference schools. But when things go south on the field, as they did in 2025, those guaranteed deals become albatrosses. 

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So Friday’s meeting won’t be a total non-event. But the usual parade of extensions and bonuses is on hold while Clemson pays for the mistakes of seasons past.

Dabo Swinney’s fate sits on Clemson’s no-mistake schedule

After a disappointing 2025 season, Dabo Swinney has no other option than to win. Now, their 2026 season gives him that chance, but with little margin of error. They open up the season against LSU, a game that will set the tone for the rest of the season.

Knowing Lane Kiffin’s dominance and his offensive strength, things might turn hard for Clemson. Then the schedule gives them free air to breathe against teams like UNC, then a road game to Cal. But then arrives their real test, their ACC matchup against Miami, which might be the deciding factor in their playoff chances in the future. Knowing Miami’s semifinal finish and dominance last year, this game can be very tricky for Dabo Swinney and team.

Now, other than Miami, Florida State, Syracuse, and Georgia Tech, they might look like easy opponents, but let’s not forget FSU won against Alabama, and Georgia Tech also came up strong in the 2024 and 2025 seasons. Then come the final two games: a game against Duke, a team that won against Virginia last season in the championship game. Then there’s South Carolina, which can pose a real threat to them.

So, with challenges ahead, it will be interesting to see Dabo Swinney’s turnaround season.