Clemson head coach Brad Brownell has shaken-up his staff by releasing long-time assistant coach Mike Winiecki.

“It’s one of the more difficult decisions that I’ve ever made,” Brownell said. “He’s an outstanding coach, he’s been a great friend of mine for 15-plus years, we’ve been together since we were assistants at UNC-Wilmington and he came with me as an assistant coach — I hired him from Boston University and he came with me to Wright State for three years, and has obviously been here for seven.

“He’s just a really good coach and he’s a great man. He’s a guy that handles his business in a first-class way and he’s been an unbelievable ambassador for our school and our program since he’s been here,” Brownell said. “It’ s really no indictment at all on what he’s done or how he performed here.”

No word yet on a possible replacement.