Former high school football coach Mickey Conn was in bigger plan at Clemson
CLEMSON -- Dabo Swinney didn’t just pluck away two of the most highly regarded high school football coaches in the Southeast for his Clemson staff six years ago because of friendships with them.
Swinney wasn’t going to just put them in comfortable, well-paid college analyst jobs at a national championship contender until they found something better or reached retirement age.
He had bigger plans.
Mickey Conn, 50, a former teammate of Swinney at Alabama and longtime coach at Grayson High School in Loganville, Georgia, last week was named co-defensive coordinator with Wesley Goodwin. They replaced Brent Venables, who is now coach at Oklahoma.
More: Get to know Wesley Goodwin, the quiet, mostly unknown genius behind Clemson's defense
Kyle Richardson, 43, who led Northwestern High School in Rock Hill, South Carolina, to state championships in 2013 and 2015, is Clemson’s new tight ends coach, replacing Tony Elliott, who is now coach at Virginia. Richardson previously for the Tigers had titles of senior offensive assistant and director of player development and freshman transition.
Conn started the Grayson football program when the school opened in 2000, coached the Rams for 16 years and won a state championship in 2011. They won seven region titles during his tenure and were ranked among the top 25 nationally in four different seasons, twice at No. 1.
“Six years ago, I wanted a high school perspective in our staff room,” Swinney said. “So, I went and hired two of the best in the country. I hired Kyle Richardson from Northwestern, who has won multiple state championships. … Then I went and hired this guy named Mickey Conn, who started the Grayson program. I brought them in and knew what they would bring to our staff and also knew that at some point we would get them on the field.”
Conn will use his experience to help Goodwin, 36, who was a right-hand man to Venables and will be a trusted rookie play-caller but had never been a position coach before taking over the linebackers when Venables left earlier this month.
“I’ve been doing this for 24 years (beginning as a graduate assistant at Alabama in 1996), mostly as a head football coach,” Conn said. “I think I can add a lot to help Wes and help him go with this … just having a louder voice to speak a little bit more and lead, which is my strength.”
“There is nobody better than Coach Conn,” Goodwin said. “An unbelievable man, a great leader of me. He’s done it at a high level for a long time. He’s one of my best friends here. We get along great. No egos. We’re going to do what’s best for this program.”
Conn will continue to coach the safeties, a position he has held since 2017. Swinney for years has pegged Goodwin as the coordinator in waiting and said the pairing with Conn was a natural fit.
“He has a big-picture understanding and will bring great leadership,” Swinney said.
Clemson (9-3) will give the new defensive coaching alignment its firsts test in the Cheez-It Bowl (5:45 p.m., ESPN) on Dec. 29 in Orlando, Florida, against Iowa State (7-5). Goodwin will be down on the field and Conn will offer his perspective from up in the coaches’ box.
“Wes is going to have the final decision when it comes to play-calling,” Conn said. “But he and I are going to work together. That’s the way we drew it up. There are five of us in that room that are position coaches (on defense). We’re all going to put it together and work hard.”
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Former high school coach Mickey Conn was in long-term plans at Clemson
