Garrett Riley’s name floated for ECU job. Clemson offensive coordinator responds

Clemson offensive coordinator Garrett Riley responded on Wednesday to his name being floated as a possible candidate for the ECU job opening.

The Pirates fired Mike Houston on Oct. 20 midway through his sixth season, and national outlets including CBS Sports and 247Sports mentioned Riley as a “potential candidate” to become the next head coach in Greenville, North Carolina. He hasn’t been formally connected to the job.

Riley, 35, spoke with the media for the first time since Houston’s firing on Wednesday and was asked if he had any reaction to being mentioned as a candidate for the ECU head coaching job.

“No,” he said. “I mean, I’m always in a rabbit hole. That’s why I was a couple minutes late here, doing some red zone and goal line (film review). I mean, I know chatter will happen at times. But, man, I’m where my feet are.”

In his second year as Clemson’s OC and quarterbacks coach, Riley has the offense humming for a Tigers team that’s currently 6-1 and ranked No. 11 in the AP Top 25. Clemson is No. 5 nationally in total offense (490.4 yards per game) and No. 10 in yards per play (7.0).

Riley, who was previously the offensive coordinator at TCU during their 2022 run to the national championship game, has also been praised for his work in helping develop Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik. Klubnik is currently fifth in the country in quarterback rating and has 24 total touchdowns (tied for seventh nationally).

On top of all that, he’s a former ECU staffer — which made his name a popular one among national and local reporters after the school fired Houston earlier this month. Houston went 27-38 (.415) at ECU and had two winning seasons.

The Pirates were 2-10 last year and had started 3-4 this year.

Riley’s connection to East Carolina, which competes in the American Athletic Conference, is clear. He followed his older brother, Lincoln Riley, to the school and worked for the Pirates from 2013-15. Riley was a graduate assistant for two years and was promoted to outside receivers coach in 2015 (his first year as a formal position coach) before both Riley brothers rose to major college football stardom.

Garrett Riley contract details

CBS Sports’ Matt Zenitz and John Talty, citing industry sources, reported Oct. 25 that ECU is “most interested in hiring a coach with a successful offensive background” and Riley, LSU OC Joe Sloan and Miami OC Shannon Dawson had been mentioned.

247Sports’ Brad Crawford also mentioned Riley as a potential ECU candidate, while 247Sports’ ECU site, Hoist the Colours, included Riley on its initial coaching “hot board” list published after Houston was fired.

Houston was making about $2.4 million annually at the time of his firing.

Riley is set to make $1.75 million in total salary (before bonuses) in 2024-25, according to his contract obtained by The State via public records request, and is one of the highest paid assistant coaches in the country.

If he accepts a head coaching job with any college or professional team, he does not owe Clemson any buyout money, according to his deal.

Riley, who was also a hot name in the coaching carousel during his 2022 stint at TCU, spoke in the offseason about how he’s evaluated his own coaching journey and his publicly stated desires of becoming a head coach some day.

“Yeah, you have long-term goals and try to set out some things for yourself and your professional career and in life,” Riley said in July. “But I’m definitely one of those that, man, wherever I’m at, I’m there. If something happens, we’ll see. But I’m certainly happy with where I’m at.”

Next Clemson football game

Who: No. 11 Clemson (6-1, 5-0 ACC) vs. Louisville (5-3, 3-2 ACC)

When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday

Where: Memorial Stadium in Clemson

TV: ESPN

Betting line: Clemson by 11 points