Note: The following appears in the SMU football gameday program.
There are only a handful of football coaches who are common denominators over the history of the Clemson and SMU programs. Current Clemson Offensive Coordinator Garrett Riley is one, but no one has had a bigger combined influence on the heritage of both programs than Whitey Jordan.
Jordan was an assistant coach who worked under Head Coach Frank Howard from 1959-69, then with Head Coach Hootie Ingram from 1970-72. Jordan returned to Clemson as Head Coach Ken Hatfield’s offensive coordinator in 1993 and stayed on as an assistant athletic director until 1998.
In between, Jordan was the offensive coordinator of the Mustangs between 1982-86. During his first three years, SMU was 31-4-1 and had three top-12 finishes in the AP poll.
Many of you have heard of the “Pony Express,” SMU’s All-America backfield of Eric Dickerson and Craig James. The 1982 season was Dickerson’s final year, when he finished third in the Heisman Trophy voting thanks to 147 rushing yards per game, third highest in the nation. He averaged 7.0 yards per carry, helping SMU to an 11-0-1 record and a No. 2 final ranking behind Penn State.
“Eric was such a talented player…naturally gifted,” recalled Jordan. “James was a different style of runner and was a tough runner. They were both so easy to coach and there was never any jealousy. I called the plays from the press box and I let them decide when to sub for each other.”
Jordan made stops at Southern Mississippi (1975-81), Wake Forest (1987,88), Florida (1989) and North Carolina (1990-92) during his coaching career. His season as offensive coordinator at Florida enabled him to work with Emmitt Smith. So in the 1980s, he coached Dickerson, who still holds the NFL record for rushing yards in a season (2,105), and Smith, who still holds the NFL career rushing record (18,355).
“People always ask me about coaching both of those backs. The thing that comes to my mind first is how different their running styles and size were, but they both got the job done. Emmitt was just 5’9” and ran the 40 in 4.6. Dickerson was 6’2” and ran a 4.4. What they both did was put in the work and were easy to coach.”
Jordan’s career with Clemson dates to 1954, when he came to Clemson from Florence, S.C. as a freshman, an era when freshmen were not eligible to play with the varsity. He lettered from 1955-57, including the 1956 team that won the program’s first ACC championship and played in the Orange Bowl.
In an era when teams ran the ball and used the pass sparingly, Jordan had 12 receptions for 369 yards and three touchdowns as a senior in 1957. The Tigers finished 7-3 that year and did not go to a bowl (there were only seven bowls in 1957), but Clemson finished No. 18 in the coaches poll.
Jordan led the ACC in receiving by 154 yards (Fred Polzer of Virginia had 215), so he actually had 42 percent more yardage than the second-best receiver.
His 30.8 yards per catch stood as the Tiger record until 1988, when Gary Cooper averaged 32.1 yards per catch for Danny Ford’s ACC championship team.
“My last catch of the 1957 season was a four-yard touchdown against Furman. If I hadn’t made that catch, I would still have the record!”
Howard saw something in Jordan. After serving as a student assistant coach in 1958, Howard hired him to coach the freshmen in 1959.
“My coaching career got off to a great start. In 1958, we played LSU in the Sugar Bowl, and in 1959, we beat TCU in the Bluebonnet Bowl to finish 9-2 and No. 11 in the country. Winning three straight ACC championships (1965-67) was also a great time to be on Coach Howard’s staff.”
Jordan stayed on with Howard until the Hall of Fame mentor retired after the 1969 season. Ingram retained Jordan for the 1970-72 seasons.
He returned to Clemson as offensive coordinator in 1993, helping the Tigers to a 9-3 record and No. 23 final AP ranking. He remained with the program as an assistant athletic director during Tommy West’s tenure as head coach, then he coached in NFL Europe from 1998-07. He coached two World Bowl title teams.
Jordan wore #89 as a Tiger and is now 89 years old. We know he will be watching today’s game with keen interest and the satisfaction that he had a big impact on both programs.
