CLEMSON — Dabo Swinney has always believed you cannot have a championship team without having a great defense.
That’s why Swinney brought Brent Venables in to coach his defense in 2012. As result, the Tigers became one of the best defensive units in college football in his 10 seasons at Clemson. As a result of that, the Tigers won two national championships and played for it two other times.
Swinney continues to lean on his philosophy of having a good defense and on Friday he took more steps to assure that carries on for years to come.
As earlier reported , Clemson’s Board of Trustees Compensation Committee approved a $550,000 raise for defensive coordinator Wes Goodwin, bringing his annual salary to $1.4 million—not including bonuses or incentives—while also adding another year to his contract, which runs through January 31, 2027.
Swinney just did not sew up his defense by giving Goodwin a raise, but he gave defensive tackles coach and run game coordinator Nick Eason a $300,000 raise. Eason’s salary increased from $800,000 to $1.1 million. He also had one year added to his contract.