Dave Clawson


David Paul Clawson is an American football coach and former player. He currently serves as the head football coach at Wake Forest University. Clawson previously served as the head football coach at Fordham University from 1999 to 2003, at the University of Richmond from 2004 to 2007, and at Bowling Green State University from 2009 to 2013.

Assistant coaching career

Clawson got his start in the coaching business as the quarterbacks and running backs coach at the University at Albany in 1989. He was an assistant at Albany again in 1990, this time coaching the defensive secondary. He later went on to coach as an assistant at the University at Buffalo, Lehigh University, and Villanova University.

Tennessee

On January 11, 2008, it was announced that Clawson had been hired as the new offensive coordinator for the Tennessee Volunteers football team by head coach Phillip Fulmer. He replaced David Cutcliffe, who moved to Duke University as head coach. Clawson's stay in Knoxville was short and disappointing. Fulmer was forced to resign as head coach with 3 games left in the 2008 season. Incoming head coach Lane Kiffin relieved Clawson of his duties on December 1, 2008. With Clawson as their offensive coordinator, Tennessee suffered its worst statistical offensive season in over 30 years.

Head coaching career

Fordham

Clawson got his first head coaching position at Fordham University. Although his first squad finished with 0 wins in 11 games, he gradually built the Rams into a contender, with his fourth season being his best. That year, he led them to a Patriot League title, their first conference title since 1988. Winning the conference meant that they were invited to the Division I-AA Playoffs, their first postseason appearance in over 60 years. The Rams beat Northeastern in the First Round before losing to Villanova in the Quarterfinals. His final record as a head coach at Fordham was 29–29.

Richmond

After Fordham, Clawson became the head coach at the University of Richmond. He served as coach from the 2004 season until the end of the 2007 season, and was the 32nd football coach at the school. His career coaching record at Richmond was 29–20. This ranks him seventh at Richmond in total wins and fifth at Richmond in winning percentage.
At Richmond, he was awarded Football Championship Subdivision Coach of the Year twice. Clawson is credited with re-energizing the Richmond program. After going 3–8 in 2004, the Spiders went 9–4 to win the Atlantic 10 Conference and made the playoffs the following year. In 2007, Richmond won their conference again, going 11–3 before eventually losing in the semifinals to eventual champion Appalachian State.

Bowling Green

Clawson was hired on as the head football coach at Bowling Green State University on December 12, 2008, just 12 days after being let go by Tennessee. Clawson replaced Gregg Brandon, who after six seasons was let go after a disappointing 6–6 season in 2008, a season in which the Falcons were a preseason favorite to win their division.
Clawson's era at BGSU started off proving he would be a disciplinarian as he dismissed senior defensive lineman Michael Ream for an undisclosed violation of team rules just months into his tenure. His first game as coach of Bowling Green came on September 3, with a win at home against Sun Belt opponent Troy.
He coached his first bowl, the 2009 Humanitarian Bowl, on December 30 in Boise, Idaho. After scoring to make the lead 42–35 over the Vandals, the Vandals took over with 33 seconds left in the game. Idaho then connected on a long pass down inside the 20 and scored a touchdown to make it 42–41 with 00:04 left. The Vandals went for a gutsy two-point conversion and were successful, sealing a 43–42 and ruining Clawson's first bid at a bowl game.
In January 2010, rumors began to circulate that East Carolina University was interested in Clawson for their vacant head coaching position, following former ECU coach Skip Holtz' move to South Florida. The rumors intensified following Middle Tennessee State's head coach Rick Stockstill turning down the East Carolina job. However, as of January 20, 2010, Bowling Green has stated that neither athletic director Greg Christopher or Clawson himself have been contacted by East Carolina officials.
On November 7, 2012, he led the Falcons to an upset victory against division rival Ohio Bobcats 26–14. The special teams had two blocked punts and forced two bad snaps which one of them rolled into Ohio's end zone to force a safety. The Falcons took advantage of these turnovers and scored 19 points. With the win, BG moved into 2nd place in the MAC East Division and kept their hopes alive of winning the MAC East and better yet the entire conference.
The 2013 season was Clawson's last and most successful season at Bowling Green. His Falcons posted a 10-3 record, including an 8-1 conference record. On December 6, 2013, Clawson led his team to its first MAC Championship since 1992 with a 47-27 victory over the formerly undefeated and ranked #15 Northern Illinois Huskies in the MAC Championship Game which ruined the Huskies chances of receiving a BCS bowl bid.

Wake Forest

Clawson was named head football coach at Wake Forest University on December 10, 2013.

2016

After posting 3-9 seasons in 2014 and 2015, Clawson's 2016 team started the season by winning five of its first six games including road victories at Duke and Indiana. He led Wake Forest to its first bowl win in eight years, beating then No. 23 Temple 34-26 in the Military Bowl.

2017

Wake Forest concluded the 2017 season with a 55-52 victory over Texas A&M in a Belk Bowl shootout at Bank of America Stadium. In the highest scoring game in program history, the Demon Deacons edged the Aggies in a contest that featured over 100 total points and 1,200 yards of total offense.

2018

The Wake Forest Demon Deacons closed out the season with a thrilling 37-34 victory over the Memphis Tigers on Saturday in the 2018 Birmingham Bowl at Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama.
Wake Forest improved to 7-6 for their third straight winning season after seven consecutive losing campaigns. The Deacs, who were led by quarterback Jamie Newman's four total touchdowns, are winners of three bowl games in a row after coming out on top in the Military Bowl and Belk Bowl.

2019

In 2019, the Deacons were led by quarterback Jamie Newman, wide receiver Sage Surratt, linebacker Justin Strnad, and defensive end Boogie Basham. The Deacs started off hot going 5-0 to start the season with wins over in state foe North Carolina and against the Eagles in Boston. They were able to reach AP Top 25 status for the first time in over 10 years. After injuries sustained to veterans Strand, Scotty Washington, Luke Masterson and Sage Surratt, Wake Forest's Orange bowl hopes came to a grinding halt. Wake was able to beat in state foe Duke to become Big Four Champions, meaning wins against all three of the other power five ACC schools, NC State, UNC, and Duke. The season ended in a 27-20 loss in the Pinstripe Bowl against Michigan State, where the Deacs added on to the injured list Nasir Greer, and Rondell Bothroyd. What looked to be a very promising season was tarnished by injuries. Despite the injuries the Deacs still finished 8-5 overall, and finished 3rd in the Atlantic division.
He has re-built the Deacons using a philosophy of strong recruiting classes, redshirting as many freshmen as possible, and having a strong strength and conditioning program.

Head coaching record