Just In: Former Veteran Coach Returns To Clemson football
Last fall, Jeff Scott strolled onto the field at Memorial Stadium, surrounded by Clemson football players gearing up to face Notre Dame, and felt instantly at ease—perhaps a bit too at ease. “I had to stop myself from wandering over to the corner where they warm up the wide receivers,” Scott joked during a recent radio interview on 105.5 FM The Roar. “I had to remind myself to stay out of the way.”
At 43, Scott, who previously won two national championships at Clemson as Dabo Swinney’s co-offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach and spent three years as head coach at South Florida, is now enjoying his role as a real estate agent just a short drive from the stadium where he made his mark. Despite his current career shift, Scott hasn’t completely ruled out returning to Swinney’s Clemson staff in the future. Tigers fans have been hoping for his return ever since he was let go from USF in November 2022. As Scott mentioned on The Mickey Plyler Show on July 31, the only certainty for him and his wife is raising their kids in Clemson. Everything else remains open to possibilities.
Jeff Scott’s new chapter
Ahead of Clemson’s 2024 season opener, Jeff Scott’s name was in the spotlight again as he discussed his new real estate venture during a radio interview and on TigerNet’s Orange Crush Podcast. Since relocating his family back to Clemson in January 2023, Scott has launched Haven Valley, a business specializing in custom homes in the mountain and lake regions of South Carolina and North Carolina, including Lake Keowee near Clemson.
Scott, who has spent the past two decades in football, finds this new venture refreshing. With his extensive football background and recruitment skills, he’s discovering that integrity and effective communication are key to success in real estate. “If you do what you say you’re going to do, you have integrity, people can trust you, you call people back and you communicate, all of a sudden you’re in, like, the top 5%” of real estate agents, Scott noted on The Roar.
The transition to real estate has also allowed Scott more quality time with his wife, Sara, and their children, Savannah, 8, and Hunter, 4. He humorously described coaching Hunter’s 4-and-under soccer team as “the hardest coaching job I had.”
Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney, who lives just two doors down from Scott, praised his former colleague’s new career. “He loves what he’s doing. He’s having a ball. Anybody looking to build a house on Lake Keowee, call Jeff Scott. He’s your man. He’s ready to roll,” Swinney said with a grin, adding, “You owe me for that, Jeff.”
Not done yet?
Despite the fulfillment Scott finds in his new real estate career, he acknowledges that coaching remains deeply ingrained in his blood. He still feels a strong pull toward the profession and has previously expressed a desire to return to Clemson. Having spent 12 years at Clemson, where he became a standout assistant coach as Dabo Swinney’s co-offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach, Scott has continued to stay connected with the program. He has attended various Clemson events since moving back, including a game last year and two preseason practices this month.
Scott mentioned on August 9 that his only firm decision about his future is raising his family in Clemson, a choice he and his wife are enthusiastic about. He also noted that he and Swinney have discussed Swinney’s own brief stint away from college football, working as a real estate agent before returning to Clemson in 2003. “You never know what happens,” Scott said. For now, he is enjoying his new path while still cheering for the Tigers, including their upcoming season opener against Georgia in Atlanta. “Even though I only coached for 20 years, I’ve been a coach’s kid for 40 years,” Scott remarked. “So to be able to do something a little bit different in a place that I love has been really enjoyable to this point.”