When Dan Brooks told Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney he was going to retire, it was no sweat. Swinney already had a plan in place. It was simple. He just promoted his good friend Mickey Conn, who he hired last year to be his senior defensive analyst, into Brooks place on the staff and have Marion Hobby, who teamed up with Brooks the last six seasons to form one of the best defensive lines in college football, be in charge of the defensive line.
Sure, losing Brooks is a big loss because he was such a good coach and recruiter, but Conn has ties to North Georgia where he was a high school coach for so many years at Grayson High School.