Wake Forest coach Dave Clawson is stepping down and will move into an advisory role within the athletic department, people briefed on the decision told The Athletic on Monday.
The 57-year-old Clawson has been a head coach for all but one season since 1999, across stints at Fordham, Richmond, Bowling Green and Wake Forest. He spent the 2008 season as Tennessee’s offensive coordinator.
Potential candidates to fill the Wake Forest job could include former West Virginia coach Neal Brown, James Madison head coach Bob Chesney and Washington State head coach Jake Dickert, people briefed on the situation said.
As Wake Forest’s head coach since 2014, Clawson amassed a 67-69 record, reaching seven consecutive bowl games from 2016 to ’22. The high point of his tenure was an 11-3 record in 2021, capped by an ACC Championship Game appearance and a top-15 final ranking. It was the longest period of sustained success in program history.
But things had been on a downward turn since. The Demon Deacons just wrapped their second consecutive 4-8 season.
Before Wake Forest, Clawson spent five years at Bowling Green, winning the MAC in his last season. He went 29-20 at FCS Richmond before that, winning two conference championships with two top-10 finishes. Clawson also went 29-29 in five seasons at Fordham, going from an 0-11 season in his debut season to a conference championship in Year 4.
This story will be updated.
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