Clemson offensive coordinator Tony Elliott has had a number of opportunities to become a head coach over the years.
After a down year, at least by Clemson's very high standards, programs again pursued Elliott, leaving him with a choice between Virginia, Duke, and returning to Dabo's staff at Clemson once again.
With those choices in front of him, Elliott has decided that the time is right for the next step in his coaching journey, and has opted to take the Virginia job.
The news was first reported by Pete Thamel.
Elliott, the 2017 Broyles Award winner, had previously been in talks with Virginia for their head coaching opportunity, but a number of reports yesterday shared that those conversations hit a snag.
Elliott brought his family for a campus visit to Charlottesville on Thursday night, and now is close to a deal on Friday.
The move means that Dabo Swinney will undergo a significant rebuild at Clemson after enjoying years of nearly unprecedented staff continuity. Athletic director Dan Radakovich left for Miami, Brent Venables left to become the head coach at Oklahoma, and now Elliott is off to run his own program at Virginia.
Under Bronco Mendenhall, Virginia reached the ACC title game as recently as 2019 and has finished .500 or better for six straight seasons. The 2021 Cavaliers employed one of the most explosive passing attacks in the game, led by junior Brennan Armstrong, whose 404.5 passing yards per game rank second nationally.
Stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.
Update> Virginia has now announced this hire.