Former Assistant Coach Bill Oliver Passes Away

CLEMSON, S.C. — Former Clemson assistant coach Bill Oliver passed away on Monday, April 14. He was 85 years old.

Oliver’s 33 years in coaching included four seasons at Clemson from 1986-89. Clemson compiled a 38-8-2 record in his four seasons with the Tigers, including a 22-5-1 mark in ACC play and outright ACC championships in 1986, 1987 and 1988.

Oliver coached Clemson’s defensive backs for all four seasons and added defensive coordinator responsibilities in 1989. Clemson led the ACC in both scoring defense and total defense in three of his four seasons with the Tigers, posting the conference’s top figures in both categories in 1986, 1987 and 1989. In his final two games at Clemson, the Tigers surrendered only 155 yards in a 45-0 shutout of South Carolina and then stifled Heisman runner-up Major Harris and West Virginia in a 27-7 Gator Bowl victory.

A native of Epes, Ala., Oliver played defensive back at Alabama and later served multiple stints as an assistant coach for the Crimson Tide. He served as Alabama’s defensive backs coach on its 1992 national championship team, a squad for which current Clemson Head Coach Dabo Swinney played wide receiver. The two would then coach together amid Swinney’s time as a graduate assistant at Alabama from 1993-95.

A visitation and memorial services are planned for Tuesday, April 22. More information on those services and a full obituary are available via the Radney Funeral Home.