Wake Forest's Clawson steps down after 11 seasons

Wake Forest head coach Dave Clawson announced Monday that he's stepping down after 11 seasons.

"After completing my 25th season as a head coach and 36th straight in college football, the timing is right for me and my family to step away into this new role within Wake Forest University," Clawson said in a statement.

"Coaching at Wake Forest has been the honor of my career. This is a special place with extraordinary people, and I am deeply grateful for the relationships I've built over the last 11 years," he continued.

The Youngstown, New York native took over the football program in December 2013 after leading Bowling Green to a 32-32 record in the five years prior. After back-to-back 3-9 campaigns in 2014 and 2015, Wake Forest made seven consecutive bowl appearances between 2016-22 and participated in an ACC title game in 2021.

Clawson is the only head coach in NCAA Division I history to lead four different programs (Fordham, Richmond, Bowling Green, and Wake Forest) to double-digit wins in a season.

Wake Forest's outgoing head coach has voiced his frustration with the new landscape of college football. Clawson's program has posted a 4-8 mark over the past two seasons as NIL and the transfer portal play a larger role in roster building.

Clawson will exit coaching after posting a 67-69 record during his tenure on Wake Forest's sideline. He'll remain with the school in an advisory role, serving as a special advisor to vice president and director of athletics John Currie.