Clemson OC Elliott: ‘My purpose is to be here at Clemson right now’

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WIS) - Before Clemson’s historic ACC Championship victory Saturday, several reports linked offensive coordinator Tony Elliott as a candidate for the Auburn Tigers’ head coaching vacancy.

They suggested Elliott was set to interview for the job in the coming days. Elliott was bothered by the reports and refuted them Saturday morning and following the ACC championship.

“At the time, I had not been contacted,” said Elliott. “I had not talked to anybody at Auburn. For there to be a report that I was interviewing tomorrow, man, that’s unfair to these kids in this locker room. That’s unfair to this staff for them to be questioning, ‘Well, is he focused for this game? Is he doing things that he said he doesn’t do?’

“So, I made a statement to those guys. They may be planning to call tonight or tomorrow. Up to this point, with that report, I was a little bit upset and perturbed. Because now Coach Swinney, the guys in the locker room, the staff, and players, they have some kind of question in their mind. So, I made a statement to our players.”

Elliott thinks highly of Auburn and does not deny interest in that position.

“I said it before. I’ll say it again. Money does not matter to me,” said Elliott. “Status does not matter to me. I believe that I’m living a purpose-filled life. My purpose is to be here at Clemson right now. When the Lord opens the door, then I’ll transition.”

Elliott has worthy credentials to be considered a head coaching candidate. He received the 2017 Broyles Award, which is given annually to the nation’s top assistant coach. In his time as co-offensive coordinator from 2015-2019, along with running the offense solo this season, Clemson’s been a juggernaut on that side of the ball.

In 11 games this season, Clemson is averaging 44.9 points and per game and 507.6 yards per game.