Dabo Swinney made a big change earlier this offseason when he hired Garrett Riley to replace Brandon Streeter as Clemson’s offensive coordinator.

It was a major decision, but one Swinney felt he had to make after the Tigers struggled offensively again in 2022. He said Streeter “deserved” the opportunity to be the OC in 2022, but the offense didn’t take a step forward in the right areas.

“The hard thing is we did get better, but not quite where we needed to be,” Swinney told reporters on Wednesday morning. “Sometimes you need a different voice, a different leader, maybe a different energy.

Swinney also addressed Clemson’s lack of scoring over the course of the season and in its bowl game. The Tigers didn’t score a touchdown until the 4th quarter of their 31-14 loss to Tennessee in the Orange Bowl.

“We have to score more,” Swinney said. “The bowl game was very frustrating. I think that’s the biggest thing, Garrett has scored consistently with whatever he’s had. We have to get better at throwing the football. Simple as that.”

Swinney said that Streeter will still have an “unbelievable career” in coaching. He was Clemson’s quarterback coach (amongst other roles) from 2015-21 and coaches players such as Deshaun Watson and Trevor Lawrence.

Riley will bring his air-raid style to Clemson this offseason. The Tigers will be hoping to drastically improve their offensive efficiency. In 2022, Clemson averaged 5.6 yards per play, which ranked 8th in the ACC.