Why Dabo Swinney said no staff changes are coming despite Clemson having ACC's worst offense

Clemson football's offense is in a rut, and it looks like Tigers coach Dabo Swinney will continue trusting offensive coordinator Chad Morris to fix it.Swinney said on Oct. 25 that Morris will finish the season as Clemson's offensive coordinator. He also said no changes are coming to the entire offensive staff in the wake of the Tigers' 20-16 defeat to Virginia Tech. Clemson (4-3, 2-2 ACC) plays Florida State (3-4, 1-3) for its first road game in a month on Oct. 31 (7 p.m., ACC Network)."I haven't lost any faith in Chad," Swinney said. "That guy's smart as they come. He's an incredible worker. He's incredibly organized, and sooner or later, this thing's going to come together."Morris joined the Clemson staff for the third time this season. He had a successful run as offensive coordinator from 2011-14, then returned as an offensive analyst for the 2023 season.Clemson once again struggled to move the football, specifically through the air, vs Virginia Tech. While freshman quarterback Tait Reynolds was 20-of-26 passing, he threw for only 153 yards.Clemson has passed for only two touchdowns all season, the fewest in the nation, and it's been over a month since its most recent one (Sept. 19 vs. North Carolina). The Tigers rank last in the ACC in total offense (331.1 yards) and passing offense (182.6).Swinney said after the Virginia Tech game that he would have "plenty of conversations" with Morris and Clemson's offensive staff. When asked how Morris can be better, he said by having the offense score more touchdowns."I mean, heck, we're going to win the Groza Award for (kicker Nolan Hauser) offensively," Swinney said. "We need to convert some of these field goals to touchdowns, and so we've got to get it done. Whether it's play calls (or something else), it's finding a way to get it put together."Clemson's offensive issues aren't rooted in one position group, according to Swinney. They're everywhere.Swinney described the Tigers' offensive struggles as a "musical chairs" problem, saying Reynolds, offensive linemen, receivers and running backs have all taken turns being out of sync. "We get the OL doing this right, then the tight end gets it wrong, or we get the OL making the perfect block and the running back doesn't run the track. We get (the) quarterback right, the receiver drops it. Or (the) quarterback's wrong," Swinney said.Dabo Swinney said Clemson's final offensive play shouldn't have been play actionClemson ran a "play-action" play on fourth-and-9 at its own 49-yard line with under one minute left vs Virginia Tech. After Reynolds faked a handoff, he held onto the ball for a few seconds and tried to scramble before getting sacked to seal the Tigers' defeat.DEFENSE CALLED GAME 😤#LetsGoHokiespic.twitter.com/JnLdnewnq5— Virginia Tech Football (@HokiesFB) October 25, 2026Swinney said the call wasn't supposed to include any fake handoff and wasn't sure Reynolds ran it like a play-action play."No, that was not a play-action pass. I have no idea why he's faking," Swinney said. "Ball should have been gone. Should have taken a drop. You had the crosser. You had T.J. Moore."Swinney said that's something Reynolds has to fix. "I think if he takes his drop, there's no (fake handoff) there .... Sometimes he just gets in a little bit of a habit, but something we've got to clean up for sure."Nick Coppola covers Clemson athletics for The Greenville News and the USA Today Network. Email him at ncoppola@usatodayco.com, follow him on X @Nick_Coppola__ and like his Facebook page at Nick Coppola, Clemson Sports.This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Why Dabo Swinney said no staff changes are coming despite Clemson having ACC's worst offense