The headline of the 2026 offseason for Clemson isn’t about who left; it’s been about who stayed, and what comes next. For nearly three decades, the Clemson weight room had one strong voice, a man who spent 28 years as the architect of grit before finally deciding to step away. Dabo Swinney had his next man in line ready to take the throne, except the NFL came knocking. Who would leave one of 32 jobs in the world, right? Well, seems like Clemson chose the right man, because he stayed. Now, the program is rewarding that loyalty in a big way.

Clemson has approved a new two-year deal for football strength and conditioning coach Dennis Love, who was promoted to replace the retired Joey Batson. With this new deal, Love will make $450,000 annually. Love has Batson’s right-hand man since 2022, on his second stint. He previously worked for the Tigers from 2004 to 2014 as Director of Olympic sports strength and conditioning. He also served as the head strength coach for the baseball, men’s soccer, and women’s volleyball teams.

The South Carolina native also has two years of experience in the NFL and was also a part of the Super Bowl-winning side with the Denver Broncos while serving as an assistant. Before returning to Clemson, he served as Purdue’s associate director and Auburn’s assistant strength and conditioning coach.

The Tigers’ AD Graham Neff made the decision based on Love’s experience with the program as well as in the SEC & Big Ten.

“His rapport and camaraderie with the program and the student-athletes is significant and phenomenal,” Clemson athletic director Graham Neff told the board, “and his transition will be incredibly smooth and bring a different energy level to our strength room and Coach Swinney.”

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Love was promoted to the current role in November 2025, after Clemson’s 7-6 regular season following Joey Batson’s retirement after 28 long years. He was the Minnesota Vikings’ hottest commodity in the coaching search, while Batson retired, but the Tigers managed to retain him.

“We didn’t have a choice. It was either that or he was going to be the strength coach for the Vikings right then,” Swinney said during Love’s promotion. “This has been a dream job for him. He’s one of the most respected guys out there. That’s why he had the opportunity to be one of 32 NFL guys. It’s who he is, his reputation. Guys come from all over to train with him. He’s done that for years. That was a tough 24 hours for him to make a decision like that, but it all worked out.”

Being the hottest commodity in the NFL, the hefty paycheck to retain him looks obvious. However, it is important to note that only three other coaches under Swinney had their pay raise after the 2025 season.

Clemson coaches to earn salary hike this offseason

After a tough season, Clemson offered a pay raise to three coaches based on their existing contract in 2025. This includes the TE coach and co-OC Kyle Richardson, WR coach Tyler Grisham, and RB coach CJ Spiller.

Kyle Richardson received a salary bump from $637,500 to $675,000 for the 2026 season, based on his yearly incentive clause, under his existing contract. On the other hand, both Grisham and Spiller will be moving from $575,000 to $600,000 in the upcoming season. It is based on the automatic incentives per their multi-year deals signed back in February 2025. And now, Dennis Love joins them with a fresh new two-year contract extension.

The reason behind Clemson’s unusual restraint isn’t hard to figure out, as they are dealing with buyouts for firing the OC Garrett Riley and safeties coach Mickey Conn. Riley was fired with two years left on his contract, which adds a $3.5 million buyout liability. For Conn’s dismissal, Clemson had to pay $900,000 while they were already dealing with a $2.8 million buyout owed for firing former DC Wes Goodwin.