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Garrett Riley pressed on his future at Clemson amid involvement in other job openings

Chandler Vesselsby: Chandler Vessels12/17/25ChandlerVessels

Clemson offensive coordinator Garrett Riley assured fans Wednesday that his focus is with the team and their bowl game. Beyond that, however, he didn’t say anything to either confirm nor deny rumors that he had been a candidate for head coaching openings at other programs.

During a media avaiability Wednesday afternoon, Riley was asked specifically about his involvement in openings at North Texas and Coastal Carolina. Both programs have since hired other candidates, and the coach was also asked whether that meant he would be back at Clemson in 2026.

“My whole focus is operating here at Clemson,” he said. “I know this is an unbelievable place to work, unbelievable place to live. Certainly didn’t have the season that we all wanted, but sometimes that’s sports. I know there’s 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 that 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.”

Riley, the younger brother of USC coach Lincoln Riley, has been the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Clemson since 2023. He also has previous stops as the OC and QB coach at SMU and TCU.

The Tigers finished this past season 7-5, their worst record since 2010. The offense was mediocre at best, ranking just 10th in the ACC in points per game and seventh in yards per game.

The year was incredibly disappointing considering the preseason expectations. Clemson entered at No. 4 in the country and coming off of an ACC Championship in 2024. Cade Klubnik especially had expectations of being one of the better quarterbacks in the country.

However, Klubnik and the Tigers failed to reach those heights. He was an average quarterback at best, finishing with 2,750 yards passing and 16 touchdowns to six interceptions.

Although the year didn’t go how he wanted, Garrett Riley is still grateful for the opportunity to finish things out strong with a win in the Pinstripe Bowl against Penn State. Klubnik has also said he intends to play the game, which is scheduled for 12 p.m. ET on Dec. 27.