The Tommy West Files

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HOOVER, Ala. -- Five days after Ken Hatfield and Clemson announced a separation, Tommy West was named the Tigers' 23rd head football coach on November 29, 1993.

West was a familiar name in Clemson, having served as an assistant coach under Danny Ford from 1982-89. And the fact that he spent much of the 80's as a Ford disciple immediately put him in good graces with the Clemson fan base.

But West inherited an 85-man roster that no longer resembled the top 10 program he had left in January of 1990. Though the longtime Tiger assistant was able to upgrade personnel, an 8-4 ledger in 1995 would be the program's high water mark under his watch. Three years later West would exit following a 3-8 campaign.

In late May of 2011 I sat down with West in Hoover, Ala. for an exclusive, one-on-one interview where the coach stepped back in time once more to place himself in the Clemson head coaching job to recall his five-year run as the program's front man.

West spoke candidly about the ups and downs of his program, keeping the ship afloat during a tumultuous 1996 campaign, recruiting battles, excessive attrition and the final days of his tenure where rumors began to swirl before the end of the 1998 season about an up-and-coming coach from Tulane who would soon end up in Clemson.

PUBLISHER's NOTE: When Tommy West prepared to ring in the New Year in late 1993, hours after receiving his first paycheck as Clemson's new head coach, he wasn't alone. That's because in December of 1993, Clemson's administration had three head football coaches on the payroll, as it was still making payments on contract settlements for Danny Ford and Ken Hatfield.

A decade earlier Clemson's football program had been recognized for pushing the envelope in facilities initiatives, so much so that Auburn had sent directors to Upstate, South Carolina to take a peek at the Tigers' box suites in Death Valley. By the time West took over in November of 1993, the program had fallen badly behind in football infrastructure with no real movement in ten years after Ford had begged the administration, notably foolhardy president Max Lennon, for additional football-related facilities.

By the time West took over as Clemson's head coach, in-state prospects the Tigers were used to landing under Ford were now leaving the Palmetto State with alarming regularity with Florida State, Tennessee and Penn State serving as the primary beneficiaries. Clemson also had been a strong, consistent recruiting presence in both Georgia and North Carolina and that too had abated.

Hatfield would sign just one top 20 recruiting class in four years. Four of West's five recruiting classes would rank inside of the top 20, yet the former Ford disciple would never finish a season ranked inside of the top 25, as massive academic casualties in recruiting, off-the-field problems, aging facilities and a lack of continuity on offense proved too much to overcome.

West would later meet with a young Tommy Bowden weeks after Bowden took over as head coach in 1998. Bowden wanted advice. The first thing West told him; "Stay on these people for facilities because you're way behind."

West's initial staff at Clemson was his best, but the coach backfilled with questionable hires, notably former UNC offensive coordinator Darryl Moody in 1996, a move West acknowledged in this interview was a mistake.

Nevertheless, in late November of 1993, a majority of the Clemson fan base had been quite eager to send Hatfield packing. Ford was not an option for the administration, so West - at the time - represented the perfect compromise, at least on the surface and despite just one year of head coaching experience at UTC-Chattanooga.

West would win his debut as Clemson's head coach in dramatic fashion in Atlanta, weeks later signing the 16th-best recruiting class in the country. Season ticket sales improved and sentiment held that the Tigers were on their way back.

This interview occurred at a hotel in Hoover, Ala. in May of 2011 not long after West had taken a job as the defensive coordinator at UAB. West, who now serves as an assistant coach at Middle Tennessee State under former Clemson assistant coach Rick Stockstill, acknowledges to this day that Clemson fired a better coach than it hired, a contention hard to dispute as Memphis had not gone to a bowl game since 1971 prior to West taking over as head coach in 2001. Before he left, Memphis had competed in five bowls in a six-year span, more than the program had participated in all-time.

This is Tommy West, in his own words.

This is his story.

Ard. Coach, it's good to see you again. It's been a long time. I just left Hootie Ingram a couple of hours ago and he said hello. We've got some ground to cover, so let's get started. Ken Hatfield and Clemson announced a separation on November 24, 1993. Five days later you're named head football coach. Do you remember at what point in 1993 when you were at UT-Chattanooga where you began to hear rumblings that Clemson's administration was considering making a change?

West. "Yes I do. I had been at Clemson for a long period of time, eight years and had been gone for four years, but I still knew a lot of people. I kept hearing that coach Hatfield's situation wasn't working out. They were winning, but it wasn't a good fit. I knew at that time it wouldn't have mattered who they hired. It wasn't going to be a good fit because it wasn't coach (Danny) Ford. They could have brought in anybody and the people wouldn't have wanted him. The Clemson people - the majority - wanted coach Ford. They never wanted a change. So when that had happened in 1990, it was very unpopular, as we all know. I know. I was there. But yes, I had heard rumblings that there might be a change at the end of the year."

Ard. It was widely thought that Bobby Robinson made up his mind that he was going to make a change after the Wake Forest game in 1993. Do you remember at what point in 1993 you were contacted about the job?

West. "No, I don't remember exactly. Bill D'Andrea called me. He said if a change was made I'd probably be on the list. He said, 'I just want to make sure, if you're contacted would you be interested?' I said, 'Are you kidding me?' I told him I was flattered that I'd even be on the list."

Ard. Who were the other candidates who interviewed for the job?

West. "It was myself, Chuck Reedy, Bobby Johnson and they interviewed Mickey Andrews. Those were the four and all had Clemson backgrounds. Clemson guys."

Ard. You had been with Ford all those years, he ranked third in the nation among active coaches in wins in late 1989, his last season. But as you were away from 1990-93 at Tennessee, South Carolina and UTC, as you observed the program under Hatfield, obviously you were aware of the slippage. What were your impressions of the personnel at Clemson as you followed the program some from the outside?

West. "I didn't see anything (out of the ordinary) in 1991. In 1992 Clemson had lost to South Carolina. There were still good defensive players, but I thought they had lost some on offense. But they were still a good team. Competitive."

Ard. The day you find out you're the guy, the day you get the job, do you remember that moment?

West. "Oh yes. That was Sunday evening (November 28, 1993) around midnight. They called and said they had made their decision. They said they were going to send a plane to pick me up the next day. Of course at this point I'm scrambling because I had to meet with my athletics director, my staff and our players, because there was no question what I was going to do."

Ard. What was your reaction?

West. "It wasn't a total shock when they called. I thought the interview had gone really well."

Ard. Where did you interview?

West. "I interviewed Saturday in Atlanta at the Airport Marriott. I was the last interview."

Ard. How long was the interview?

West. "About five hours."

Ard. But you felt pretty good when you walked out of the interview?

West. "I thought the interview was really good. You always sit down and re-evaluate what's said and what's happened. You always think, 'Man, I wish I had said this or that.' But there was nothing that was asked or said that I second-guessed. And I didn't know how to prepare for that interview. I just answered the questions. I think it was just more of my feelings towards Clemson. I mean I really liked Clemson. I fell in love with Clemson after being there as an assistant coach."

Ard. Tim Bourret told me a few weeks ago that of all the former head coaches he worked with, he thought you wanted to be the head coach at Clemson more than anyone else he had been around.

West. "I really wanted that job. I really did. I had been there at a great time and it even had gotten to the point where I wasn't leaving. I loved working for coach Ford. I loved being there, I loved living there. I had opportunities to leave, but I didn't. Coach (Johnny) Majors tried to get me to leave and go to Tennessee one time and I didn't and he got mad. But once we did leave when coach Ford got fired, I did go back to Tennessee. I just loved Clemson."

Ard. The day comes where there is a press conference announcing you as the new head coach. What was that day like, as you're getting ready to be announced as the new head coach?

West. "Well the first thing I did, I wore a bad tie. (Laughing) I wore a sports coat and I didn't even think they were going to put an orange sports coat on me. I was like, 'Gosh, I should have thought about this.' (Laughing)

"It was really exciting. But I wasn't nervous or anxious. I kind of felt in place. I had wanted to be there. I felt good about it. I knew there was a lot of work to do. And I knew when I got the job it wasn't like everybody was all of a sudden over coach Ford. I knew that there would be some of, 'Well, he's a coach Ford guy.' Which I was and I am. But yet I knew I wasn't coach Ford. We're different in a lot of ways. I knew it wasn't going to be easy and all of a sudden things would be great again. But gosh, what a day."

Ard. One of the things you said the day you were announced as head coach was, "Danny Ford did a lot for me and I'm very appreciative of that, but personally I think I got the job because of who I am."

But clearly the fan base wanted someone who resembled Ford or reminded them of Ford. The administration felt you fit that bill. And that was the perception surrounding your hiring at the time. Wasn't that a fair perception?

West. "I think so, sure. But I really believe that being a Clemson disciple was more important than being a Danny Ford guy, although I think in the back of their minds (administration), it didn't hurt that I was there under Ford. In the interviews, everyone had Clemson ties. They were going to hire someone with Clemson ties, someone who understood the ways of Clemson."

Ard. But the administration, at this point, you feel like they were very aware of what fans wanted as their head coach?

West. "Yes."

Ard. Tommy Bowden told me that he consulted with all the former head coaches when he got the job because he wanted their insight into the job. Did you call Hatfield when you got the job?

West."No. Because I knew Clemson. And I don't want to speak for coach Hatfield, but I think he was a little bit bitter at the time about it. I didn't want to bother him. It's odd because when coach Ford got fired and coach Hatfield got hired, coach Hatfield came out to coach Ford's farm. And I was out there that day with coach Ford hanging out. I was about to take a job at Tennessee."

Ard. Max Lennon was still the president at the time you were hired. A lot of people were and are still upset with him because of the way things were handled with Ford in late 1989 and early 1990. Because Lennon was still there, and because you were on Ford's staff in 1989 and had experienced all that, was this awkward for you? Were there still some hard feelings?

West. "I was still sour about that, oh yeah. Oh yeah. But I wasn't going to not take the job because of it. But yes, sure, I was sour when all that happened. And I've still got a little bit of a sour feeling about that."