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Great hire.
Wake Forest hires Dave Clawson
Updated: December 10, 2013, 11:38 AM ET
Wake Forest has announced that Bowling Green's Dave Clawson has agreed to become the Demon Deacons' next football coach.
In formally announcing the hiring, Wake Forest AD Ron Wellman on Tuesday said in a release that Clawson is "a proven winner" who "has developed a national reputation as a builder of programs."
Clawson is 32-31 in five years at Bowling Green. The Falcons (10-3) won the MAC's East Division and beat Northern Illinois 47-27 on Friday night for the MAC championship.
He will be introduced during a news conference later Tuesday in Winston-Salem, N.C.
Clawson will not coach the Falcons against Pittsburgh in the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl. Bowling Green elevated special teams coordinator and tight ends coach Adam Scheier to interim head coach.
His hiring caps Wake Forest's search to find a successor for Jim Grobe, who resigned Dec. 2 after a 13-year stay that included five bowl games, but ended with five straight losing seasons.
While saying he didn't want to limit the scope of his search, Wellman said his preference was to find a proven winner who had experience at a private school.
"Dave has rebuilt every program that he has coached and has led each institution to a conference championship," Wellman said. "He has developed a national reputation as a builder of programs. Dave's expectations for our program and players are extremely high."
Clawson faces a tough job at Wake Forest, which shares the Atlantic Division with national powers Florida State, Clemson and, starting next year, Louisville.
Making the rebuild even more of a challenge: Most of the Demon Deacons' key players this season -- including quarterback Tanner Price, receiver Michael Campanaro and nose tackle Nikita Whitlock -- were seniors.
Wake Forest spent the past week looking for a replacement for the 61-year-old Grobe, who stepped down after tying the program record with 77 wins and five years after guiding the small, private school to the best three-season run in school history. It included its first ACC title since 1970 and an Orange Bowl berth in 2006.
Things got tougher for the Demon Deacons lately. They were 4-8 this year and lost five straight to end the season.
Before coming to Bowling Green, Clawson spent the 2008 season as Tennessee's offensive coordinator -- replacing David Cutcliffe when he was hired by Duke.
And before that, Clawson rebuilt the FCS programs at Fordham and Richmond. He was chosen as the national coach of the year in what was then called Division I-AA at each of those schools.
Wake Forest hires Dave Clawson
Updated: December 10, 2013, 11:38 AM ET
Wake Forest has announced that Bowling Green's Dave Clawson has agreed to become the Demon Deacons' next football coach.
In formally announcing the hiring, Wake Forest AD Ron Wellman on Tuesday said in a release that Clawson is "a proven winner" who "has developed a national reputation as a builder of programs."
Clawson is 32-31 in five years at Bowling Green. The Falcons (10-3) won the MAC's East Division and beat Northern Illinois 47-27 on Friday night for the MAC championship.
He will be introduced during a news conference later Tuesday in Winston-Salem, N.C.
Clawson will not coach the Falcons against Pittsburgh in the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl. Bowling Green elevated special teams coordinator and tight ends coach Adam Scheier to interim head coach.
His hiring caps Wake Forest's search to find a successor for Jim Grobe, who resigned Dec. 2 after a 13-year stay that included five bowl games, but ended with five straight losing seasons.
While saying he didn't want to limit the scope of his search, Wellman said his preference was to find a proven winner who had experience at a private school.
"Dave has rebuilt every program that he has coached and has led each institution to a conference championship," Wellman said. "He has developed a national reputation as a builder of programs. Dave's expectations for our program and players are extremely high."
Clawson faces a tough job at Wake Forest, which shares the Atlantic Division with national powers Florida State, Clemson and, starting next year, Louisville.
Making the rebuild even more of a challenge: Most of the Demon Deacons' key players this season -- including quarterback Tanner Price, receiver Michael Campanaro and nose tackle Nikita Whitlock -- were seniors.
Wake Forest spent the past week looking for a replacement for the 61-year-old Grobe, who stepped down after tying the program record with 77 wins and five years after guiding the small, private school to the best three-season run in school history. It included its first ACC title since 1970 and an Orange Bowl berth in 2006.
Things got tougher for the Demon Deacons lately. They were 4-8 this year and lost five straight to end the season.
Before coming to Bowling Green, Clawson spent the 2008 season as Tennessee's offensive coordinator -- replacing David Cutcliffe when he was hired by Duke.
And before that, Clawson rebuilt the FCS programs at Fordham and Richmond. He was chosen as the national coach of the year in what was then called Division I-AA at each of those schools.
