Venables will ‘never say never’ on being a head coach. Here’s why he’s still at Clemson
Brent Venables wasn’t expecting to see Mickey Andrews.
During a lunch this week, Andrews was visiting Clemson chief of football administration Woody McCorvey when Venables spotted him.
“Very humbling, super cool,” the Tigers’ defensive coordinator said of meeting Andrews. “Only thing is, I didn’t get a picture with him.”
Despite winning a national championship as a head coach at North Alabama in 1976, Andrews is widely considered to be one of the best defensive coordinators in college football history, occupying the position at Florida State for 26 years. During that time, he coached 19 first-round NFL Draft picks and helped the Seminoles win two national championships in 1993 and 1999.
Andrews, who also coached at Clemson from 1977 until 1980, retired in 2009 then came back to Florida State as a special assistant to head coach Willie Taggart in 2018.
“Just a wonderful example of what it looks like: commitment, loyalty, consistency, achieve at the highest level,” Venables said. “The players love him and respect him. His guys always played with so much passion and effort, so that was a real honor to meet him.”
For all of the success Andrews had with the Seminoles, he never used it as leverage to get back into head coaching. If Venables goes down the same path and is regarded as one of the best coordinators without becoming a head coach, he would be OK with that.
“That’s not the worst thing that could ever happen,” he commented.
College football programs have been trying for years to pull Venables away from Clemson. Auburn was the most recent school to try and lure him away. The Kansas native reportedly met with Auburn but decided to stay with the ACC Tigers.
While the jump didn’t happen for him this offseason, Venables said it would be accurate to say that he’s considered it more this year than ever before. He has the resume to back it up.
He’s been a full-time assistant for 25 years — this season will be his 10th with Clemson. Dabo Swinney hired Venables away from Oklahoma in 2012 to come run the Tigers’ defense.
For the fourth time in five years, Clemson’s defense in 2020 led the ACC with 326.8 yards allowed per game. The Tigers also produced 46 sacks, tied for most in the nation. During the 2018 championship run, the unit led the country in scoring defense (13.1 points per outing) for the first time in school history to go along with a school record of 54 sacks.
In 2016, he was named the 2016 Frank Broyles Award as the nation’s top assistant coach. He was a finalist for the award in 2015.
ACC analyst and former Georgia Tech running back Roddy Jones believes Venables’ ability to evolve is what makes him special.
“This is a team that was dominant on the defensive line a few years ago and they win a national championship that year with Clelin Ferrell and Christian Wilkins and Austin Bryant and Dexter Lawrence,” Jones said. “All four of those guys leave, and the next year, they’re not as good on the defensive line. Not as experienced, not as much depth, so what do you do? He morphed his defense. He played to the strengths of Isaiah Simmons, K’Von Wallace and Tanner Muse.
“That evolution was a significant one, and the fact that he did it and now he has the sort of ability to hybrid that has really made him effective.”
On paper, it makes sense that Venables would want to be a head coach at some point. He hasn’t ruled it out completely, but it doesn’t appear he’s focused on making that move any time soon.
“I’ve seen a lot of coaches prematurely take their super whistle and all their coaching acumen and they go somewhere else and don’t have the same kind of success,” he said. “I love winning. I love to be successful, and I don’t think that much of myself to think you can just go anywhere. And again, that’s never say never.”
When recruits commit to Clemson, they often cite the recent success the Tigers have had as the reason. It doubles as one of the reasons Venables is staying as well. A new contract didn’t hurt, either. Clemson’s board of trustees approved the DC for a five-year, $2.5 million contract extension on July 14. It allows him more time with his sons, Jake and Tyler, both of whom are defensive players for the Tigers.
More than just the on-field success, the former Kansas State linebacker has found an environment at Clemson that works.
“I don’t want my family to have to sacrifice for anything,” Venables said. “We’ve worked hard to be in the position we’re in as a family, so I value the connectivity and the simplicity that we have here. It’s just a wonderful place, incredible leadership that has integrity. They’re about the right things and they have a very progressive, forward-thinking leadership style from the president all the way down to coach (Dabo) Swinney and (athletic director Dan) Radakovich, so incredible environment to live and work and raise a family.”
Venables regretted not being able to get a photo with Andrews this week, but he is honored to potentially have his name mentioned alongside the Seminole coach once he’s done coaching. Whether or not that means becoming a head coach one day is yet to be determined. For now, Venables is comfortable with his role at Clemson.
“You don’t want to screw up ‘happy,’ ” he said. “Don’t screw up happy and it’s easy to do if you’re not careful, so I’m able to come to work every day and fulfill my purpose every single day, so whether I’m in the head coach’s office or down the hall, I’m leading. I’m teaching. I’m doing what I love to do.”
This story was originally published July 22, 2021 at 5:40 AM with the headline "Venables will ‘never say never’ on being a head coach. Here’s why he’s still at Clemson."
