CLEMSON -- The final act of Brent Venables' time in Clemson played a role in shaping the perception among fans that he was irreplaceable.

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Let's just say the vibe probably would've been different had he taken the head-coaching leap a year earlier -- after a jarring playoff meltdown against Ohio State, as opposed to the infinitely satisfying 30-0 shutout (and shut-up) of South Carolina down in Columbia.

Venables' legacy at Clemson was more than just a game here or there, and more than secure after he was a major part of the foundation for the sustained greatness achieved by Dabo Swinney's program.

That said, the new defensive braintrust seems committed to doing what's necessary to make things simpler for the players on game day to produce freer and faster execution.

If you examine the brilliant, decade-long body of work under Venables and try to identify some nits to pick, some struggles against tempo offenses would probably come up.

If we're being fair, we have to point out that a lot of opposing offenses tried tempo against Clemson and were shut down. It's less of a story when that happens.

So it's simply not accurate to say that Venables' defenses couldn't stop tempo offenses.

That said, we're not that far removed from Ryan Day and Justin Fields doing a serious schematic number on Clemson's defense on the way to a 49-point binge in the Superdome -- and not far removed from an entire offseason of everyone wondering if there were cracks in Venables' scheme and approach.

The collective goal, of course, is for Clemson to get back into the playoff business now that everyone is learning the lesson of taking it for granted as the streak piled up to six trips in a row.

And even if Venables left a highly fortified group behind after handing the Gamecocks a big fat goose egg as a parting gift, Wesley Goodwin and Mickey Conn are making refinements even as they stick with plenty of Venables' core principles.

One clear theme that emerged during the spring and persisted recently during the coaches' visits with the media is a simplification of assignments and a paring down of the overall playbook.