Brad Scott Named Offensive Coordinator

Nov. 28, 2000

CLEMSON, S.C. – Brad Scott was named the offensive coordinator at Clemson, head football coach Tommy Bowden announced Tuesday. Scott replaces Rich Rodriguez who left Clemson after two years to become the head coach at the West Virginia University on Sunday.

“Brad Scott has a great background,” Bowden said. “He was with my father at Florida State as the offensive coordinator for a while and has been a head coach. He has the organizational skills. It should be an easy transition for our program.”

“I am excited about this opportunity,” Scott said. “It has been a good two years to be here and I appreciate the opportunity coach Bowden has given me, but I’m ready to get back into it and have a little bit more input in some of the things we are doing here. Obviously we’ve done a great job. The coaching staff is very experienced. Coach Bowden knows exactly what he wants to do. I look for this to be a very smooth transition.”

Scott is in his second season with the Tiger program after serving at the helm of the South Carolina program from 1994-98. The 46-year old has helped Clemson set 60 offensive records in the last two seasons, including records for total offense, scoring offense, passing offense and total touchdowns. Last season, the Tigers earned a trip to the Peach Bowl against a schedule that included four teams that finished the season ranked among the top 15 in the nation. This year, the Tigers earned a berth in the Toyota Gator Bowl after going 9-2 this year.

In addition to being in charge of the tight ends during the last two seasons, Scott also has numerous special teams duties, and is a top recruiter. Scott’s triumphs in recruiting, especially in the state of South Carolina, date to his days as an assistant coach at Florida State and the head coach at South Carolina. He brings a wealth of experience to the Clemson staff.

In his first season at South Carolina in 1994, Scott led the Gamecocks to their first and only post-season bowl victory in school history with a 24-21 win over West Virginia at the Carquest Bowl. The win climaxed a 7-5 season for the Gamecocks and for the first time in school history, a Gamecock football team won four road games. The victory that clinched the bowl bid was ironically a victory at Clemson. Scott posted a 2-1 record against the Tigers in Death Valley.

Before coming to South Carolina, Scott was a member of Bobby Bowden’s staff at Florida State for 11 years. While at Florida State, the Seminoles went 10-0-1 in bowls. Scott is 11-1-1 in his career in bowl games as an assistant or head coach.

Scott joined the Seminole staff in 1983 and spent his last four years in Tallahassee as the offensive coordinator and offensive line coach. Those four seasons included Florida State’s 1993 national championship season.

Florida State posted a 44-6 (.880) record with Scott as offensive coordinator, which ranked as the most wins by a Division 1-A program during those four years. The Seminoles won four consecutive bowl games and finished ranked no lower than fourth in the nation during that span.

Scott served as the FSU recruiting coordinator for five years (1985-90) where he built a reputation as a top-notch recruiter. Two of his five recruiting classes (1985 and 1989) were ranked number one in the nation, and Scott was responsible for building the nucleus of the 1993 national championship team.

Prior to joining the Seminole program, Scott was the head football coach and athletic director at DeSoto County High School in Arcadia, FL (1982-83). He was tabbed the conference coach of the year in 1982. It marked the second time Scott was a part of the DeSoto program as he began his football coaching career there in 1979 as an assistant coach.

Scott spent the 1981-82 seasons as a graduate assistant coach on Art Baker’s staff at The Citadel. Before arriving in Charleston, he was an assistant coach at Hardee County High School in Wauchula, FL for two seasons (1980-81).

The players Scott has recruited and coached read like a “Who’s who” of NFL mainstays. While at Florida State, Scott recruited Deion Sanders, Edgar Bennett, LeRoy Butler, Dexter Carter, Carl Simpson, Clay Shiver, and ironically Chris Weinke, who in 1997 passed up on a professional baseball career to play college football. Scott coached Shiver and tight end Lonnie Johnson along with Heisman Trophy winner Charlie Ward. Scott was the offensive coordinator when Ward led the Seminoles to the National Championship in 1993. At South Carolina, Scott coached current NFL running backs Stanley Pritchett and Duce Staley along with offensive lineman James Dexter.

Scott is a 1979 graduate of South Florida where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Science Education. He received a Master of Science degree in Athletic Administration from Florida State in 1984. Scott and his wife, Daryle, have two sons: Jeff (19) and John (16). Jeff is a red-shirt freshman receiver on the 2000 Clemson team.