Dabo Swinney, Clemson part ways with two assistant football coaches

The Clemson football team is moving on from two assistant coaches.

In a Thursday news release, coach Dabo Swinney said second-year offensive line coach Thomas Austin and longtime defensive ends coach Lemanski Hall “will not return to Clemson’s coaching staff in 2024.”

The news of both departures, which came on the heels of Clemson finishing 8-4 and 4-4 in the ACC in 2023, a year the team openly framed as a chance to win a national championship, was first reported earlier Thursday by TigerIllustrated.com.

It’s the second straight season Swinney has moved on from at least one assistant coach. Last year, he fired offensive coordinator Brandon Streeter after one season and replaced him with current OC Garrett Riley.

It’s also the first time in 12 years Swinney has fired a non-coordinator assistant coach. After Clemson’s 6-7 season in 2010, he fired running backs coach Andre Powell along with offensive coordinator Billy Napier in the new year.

Swinney, in Thursday’s release, said he “made the difficult decision to seek new leadership for the offensive line,” indicating he’d fired Austin after two seasons.

Austin, an All-ACC offensive lineman at Clemson from 2006-09, was tapped to replace longtime Clemson offensive line coach Robbie Caldwell in 2022.

Austin’s unit struggled in 2023, due in part to injuries to starting left guard Marcus Tate and right guard Walker Parks. Clemson started six offensive line combinations in 12 games this seasons and often struggled to get the necessary push in short-yardage situations, one key factor in the team’s offensive struggles.

While Clemson’s release framing made it clear Austin, 37, was fired, it wasn’t immediately known if Hall resigned from his position or was fired. He and Swinney, who were teammates on Alabama’s 1992 national championship team, had been discussing Hall moving on from the program for “a while,” a source close to the situation told The State. Swinney said they made a “mutual decision” on the change.

Hall, 53, was a defensive analyst for Clemson from 2015-16 and a senior defensive analyst in 2017 before being promoted to defensive ends coach, the position he held through 2023, ahead of the 2018 season.

The coaching changes came less than a week after Clemson ended the regular season on a four-game win streak with a win over rival South Carolina. The Tigers are primarily being projected to play Oregon State or Southern Cal in the Dec. 27 Holiday Bowl in San Diego and will learn their destination Sunday.

Swinney released lengthy statements on both decisions. Clemson’s Thursday release also included a statement from Hall but no statement from Austin.

Austin was making $450,000 in 2023 as part of a two-year, $900,00 deal signed in February 2023. That contract, obtained by The State, states that “the University may terminate Employee’s employment without necessity of demonstrating cause. Upon termination without cause, the University shall provide 100% of Total Compensation over the remaining contract with mitigation.”

The aforementioned mitigation clause of Austin’s contract states that “Employee shall be obligated to seek other employment, and buyout amount due shall be reduced on a dollar-for-dollar basis by the amount earned by the Employee in employment obtained elsewhere during the remaining Term.” In other words, Clemson is obligated to pay Austin the remainder of his contract through 2025, but the amount will drop if he finds a new job.

Hall was making $650,000 as part of a two-year, $1.25 million deal signed in February 2023. That contract contains the same buyout and mitigation language as Austin’s contract, but it’s unclear whether or not Clemson will have to pay Hall any money since it’s unclear whether he was resigned or was fired.

If Hall chose to resign, his contract states that “Should Employee terminate early to accept another position, Employee shall provide 25% of Total Compensation over the remaining term.” The university, however, can waive that buyout if it chooses.

STATEMENT FROM DABO SWINNEY ON LEMANSKI HALL

“Lemanski Hall and I met and had a great conversation about his future and long-term goals both personally and professionally, and after great thought and discussion, we came to a mutual decision for him to seek opportunities to advance his career elsewhere.

“I am so thankful for Ski and his wife, Leslie, and their family. Lemanski and I have been almost lifelong friends back to 1989 and he is someone I love like a brother. I’m appreciative and thankful for the impact he has had here at Clemson.

“Since joining our program as an analyst in 2015, he has been part of six College Football Playoff teams, seven ACC title teams, four national championship game appearances and two national titles. Since becoming an on-field coach in 2018, he has coached and recruited great players like Clelin Ferrell, Austin Bryant, Myles Murphy and so many others, and I am proud of the work he did in developing potential Freshman All-American T.J. Parker this year.

“I am grateful for both his impact here and for his friendship, and I wish him nothing but the best with his next endeavor.”

STATEMENT FROM LEMANSKI HALL

“I am so grateful and thankful for the opportunity that Clemson has given me over the past nine years.

“Clemson has been so good to me and my family, and my wife and I want to thank the entire Clemson Family for being such a blessing in our lives. I also want to especially thank Coach Swinney and his wife, Kathleen, for welcoming us the way they have for almost a decade. I similarly want to thank Graham Neff, President Clements and the Board of Trustees for their faith in me representing this university for so many years.

“I am incredibly proud of what we have been able to accomplish here. I am so thankful for all of the young men that have been in our program, and I hope I’ve been able to impact them as positively as they have impacted me. I am excited to see what God has in store for me and my family moving forward.”

STATEMENT FROM DABO SWINNEY ON THOMAS AUSTIN

Today, I made the difficult decision to seek new leadership for the offensive line. It is my responsibility as head coach to make difficult decisions that I believe are in the best interest of our football program and the young men that comprise it. After a few days of deep thought and evaluation, I believe this was a change we needed to make.

“I love Thomas and his entire family, and Thomas has been a great representative of Clemson University and Clemson Football in every role — as a player, as a support staff member and as a coach. On the field, he was one of the best Tigers we’ve had, and his role as a captain and as a great leader is immortalized in concrete at Tiger Walk outside Memorial Stadium. I know God has a great plan for his future.

“I’m incredibly excited about our group of offensive linemen which could have seven players who have started significant time for us, and I look forward to seeing them continue their growth.”