Former Clemson assistant Tony Elliott isn’t buying into the doubts surrounding Dabo Swinney and the Tigers. Now in his fourth season as Virginia’s head coach, Elliott made it clear this week on The Zach Gelb Show that he expects his alma mater to bounce back despite a 1-3 start.
“I would say that their season is not over, right? So watch out,” Elliott said. “They’re going to bounce back. You can’t count him out because he’s done it not once but twice [winning the national title]. And he’s been there four times. And man, he knows how to kind of adapt. And the years that we were there, we had to adapt, each year. I’m fully confident that Coach Swinney and the Tigers will bounce back.”
Elliott has plenty of history with Swinney and Clemson. He was a wide receiver for the Tigers from 1999–2003, serving as captain in Swinney’s first season as receivers coach. After joining the staff in 2011, Elliott was part of a run that saw Clemson go 130-21 across the next decade. He rose from running backs coach to co-offensive coordinator, later becoming assistant head coach in 2021. Along the way, he won the Broyles Award as the nation’s top assistant in 2017 and helped guide Clemson to national championships in 2016 and 2018.
Asked why he believes Swinney can do it again, Elliott pointed to his track record. “Because he’s done it before,” he said. “That’s Coach Swinney — you can’t count him out. He’s going to figure it out. He got the job when I think the previous 29 interim coaches did not get hired; he got the job. And then he took Clemson from where it was at that point to what we all know it to be now.”
ESPN predicts the winner of Clemson vs UNC football https://t.co/LQquyUhBEcpic.twitter.com/ULJhLONYC5
— Clemson Wire (@Clemson_Wire) October 1, 2025
While Clemson is looking to climb out of an early hole, Elliott’s Cavaliers are off to a fast start. Virginia upset eighth-ranked Florida State last week to move to 4-1 overall and 2-0 in the ACC, earning a spot at No. 24 in the latest AP poll. They’ll travel to Louisville on Saturday, while Clemson faces North Carolina in Chapel Hill at noon on ESPN.
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This article originally appeared on Clemson Wire: Virginia HC Tony Elliott says you can’t count out Dabo Swinney
