Clemson staff changes taking shape

Clemson formally, if not finally, announced Kevin Steele’s hiring as defensive coordinator Friday.

The 50-year-old Dillon native agreed to take the job a week ago, but the school delayed confirming the hire until background checks and necessary paperwork had been completed.

To make room for Steele on Clemson’s staff, outside linebackers/defensive ends coach Ron West has been moved into a newly created administrative position, sources said. West remains a candidate for a defensive coaching position at Tulsa, perhaps as co-coordinator.

Steele and coach Dabo Swinney were not available for comment Friday and will address the media Monday morning. Athletic department spokesman Tim Bourret said Swinney will address any other staff changes at that time.

Steele will also serve as linebackers coach. And it is expected that David Blackwell, who has overseen Clemson’s inside linebackers the past six seasons, will work with on the defensive line. Blackwell was a defensive line coach at Illinois State from 1996-97 and has worked with rush ends before as well.

That is, assuming Blackwell opts to remain and doesn’t take a job elsewhere.

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No announcement coming today on whether Spiller will return for his senior season or go pro.

I’m of the belief that Spiller has his mind made up and will tell the team during its banquet Saturday night. Could be wrong there, but the impression I’ve gotten is that he was waiting for the NFL Advisory Committee’s projection to basically confirm his stance and has been leaning in one direction for a few days.

Regardless of his decision, I’m sure Spiller would speak reverently about his time at Clemson. And I’ve got to think that would play well in front of a large group of recruits the Tigers would figure to have in attendance during this big recruiting weekend (I’m not sure all the rules of official recruiting visits, but with the one or two team banquets I’ve been allowed to cover before, recruits were shuttled in and allowed to view certain parts of the ceremony). Just speculation on my part.

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Steele most recently served as Alabama’s defensive head coach, second-in-command over the Crimson Tide’s defense behind coach Nick Saban.

Every staff these days has five guys with fancy, made-up titles which a school uses to justify giving their coaches more money — not really sure why, given the transparent nature of those titles.

But given Saban’s history for being a pain in the rear to work for, Steele’s title — which he received last offseason — begged the question of whether Steele actually got a promotion or demotion.

After all, secondary coach Kirby Smart — who followed Saban to Alabama from the Miami Dolphins, a mild upset all its own — was bumped up to coordinator and given a hefty raise to nearly $325K.

Steele has a rep as a fantastic recruiter, so it would be believable that Saban, ever the control freak, handed the defense to someone else, but kept Steele around at a lofty price tag ($365K) because of everything else he brought to the table.

Well, contrary to what seemed a logical assumption, Steele and Saban really have a good relationship, from what I’ve gathered.

Steele has long been one of Saban’s sounding boards professionally, and at Alabama was one of the very few coaches (if not only) Saban respected to the degree that if Steele disagreed with something Saban proposes in a staff meeting, Steele could voice his disagreement and live to tell about it.

Arkansas, among others, came after both Steele and Smart when Bobby Petrino was hired a year ago, so the titles/promotions were a way Alabama could keep both on staff.

That said, Steele’s main allure to the Clemson job is said to be that he can now mold a defense in his own image.

Saban is a noted tinkerer, and what he says goes. And if the defense doesn’t work, it’s not his fault. I’ll always remember being at an SEC Media Days a few years ago and being asked about the high turnover on his coaching staffs. “I don’t bring in guys to reinvent the wheel,” Saban said, or so I’m paraphrasing. “We have a system in place.”

Steele, whose stint as a head coach failed miserably (in as much because it was at Baylor), wants to be a head coach again.

And I don’t think Alabama provides the quickest route there, because the world knows that Alabama’s defense … and offense, and special teams, and the entire AD operations … are ruled by Saban (hey, it’s worked for him, so the means to his end are hard to dispute).

There were, of course, plenty of other factors in Steele’s decision. Both he and his wife, Linda, are from Dillon (although Steele didn’t move there until 10th grade). Clemson will give him an incremental raise. And his work environment will certainly be a lot less stressful, too.