Former Clemson offensive coordinator Jeff Scott would ‘love’ to return to Tigers

Ever since Jeff Scott and his family moved back to Clemson in January, the former Tigers offensive coordinator has been getting hit with the same question.

What’s next?

At this point, he doesn’t know. But when Scott, the former South Florida coach, does figure out the next step in his career, there’s a good chance he’ll return to work for Clemson in some way, shape or form.

“I mean, obviously, I’ve got a great relationship there with Coach (Dabo) Swinney,” Scott said on a Sept. 20 episode of The Clemson Dubcast. “I’ve got a great relationship with Graham Neff, our great AD. And I could see it at some point. I definitely would love to, at some point, get back in some type of capacity if I’m gonna be here in town.”

In one of his first extensive media interviews since he was fired as USF’s coach last November, Scott, 42, said he’s not sure when or if he’ll return to coaching college football and that he remains completely focused on spending time with his family in Upstate South Carolina.

After working long hours for years as an ace offensive coordinator, wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator at Clemson, as well South Florida’s head coach from 2019-22, Scott said he’s making up for lost time with his wife, his 8-year-old daughter and his 4-year-old son.

That includes spending this fall coaching his son, Hunter, in a local rec soccer league for kids ages 4 and under, which Scott has jokingly described on the platform X (formerly Twitter) as “the most challenging coaching job I’ve had.”

Everything else, including whether he’ll return to the school where he helped Clemson evolve into “WR U” and won two national championships as an OC, is on the back burner.

“The only decision that we’ve really made about our family’s future is that we’re putting down roots right here and we’re gonna raise our kids right here in Clemson … This is home for us,” Scott said on the podcast. “And I think over time, I’ll kind of figure out what direction I want to go from an occupation standpoint. But right now, we’re just enjoying being back here in Clemson.”

A fan favorite returns?

Scott caused a bit of a social media stir in January when, in his first post since being fired as USF’s coach after going 4-26 in three seasons, he shared a photo of his two kids posing in front of a sign in downtown Clemson reading “Welcome to the Clemson family!”

“Happy New Year,” he wrote in the caption.

A large number of fans took that to mean Scott was back on Swinney’s Clemson staff, where he worked for 11 seasons, including five seasons as co-offensive coordinator as the Tigers made five straight College Football Playoffs and won 2016 and 2018 national championships.

Scott also turned heads when he attended a Clemson spring practice scrimmage in April. And when he was photographed wearing Clemson gear and coaching high school prospects at the Dabo Swinney Football Camp that ran June 9-11 on campus as a volunteer coach.

Despite tremendous interest in a potential return to Clemson, Scott said he’s not rushing a decision and feels like he’s in a “unique” situation to step away from coaching for a year or longer to be with his family and OK financially.

Scott was making about $1 million in his last season as Clemson’s co-offensive coordinator in 2019 and also received a significant buyout from South Florida, which was estimated by the Tampa Bay Times to be in the $3 million range.

Scott said that has allowed him to operate without the sense of urgency another fired coach may have to “go get on somewhere else because there’s a fear that if you get out of coaching for too long, then that ship has kind of sailed.”

“My situation is a little different in the fact that I’ve got heavy roots here with Coach Swinney, with Graham Neff, and I’ve got a great relationship with our president, Jim Clements, as well,” Scott said. “And so I think that does afford me a little bit of time to kind of take this break.”

Although it’s not top of mind, Scott told podcast host Larry Williams it was “fair” to say he’d be back at Clemson in some capacity at some point, whether that’s as an assistant coach, a football administrative role or a role in the Clemson athletic department. He described his current break away from the game with a football analogy.

“You’re on a long drive and sometimes you need to call that timeout and get everyone on the sideline, catch your breath and refocus, recalibrate a little bit and then go back out there,” Scott said. “And so that’s probably what this is for me. But honestly, I don’t have a plan. And I don’t really think that I need one right now.”