Absolutely not, you're using the word all wrong. "He's" is present tense, as if he is still alive.
It's like if I were talking about Dak Prescott and said "He's a better QB than Aaron Rodgers." That is an apt comparison since they're both alive.
If I was talking about Knute Rockne and said "He's a better player than Aaron Rodgers" then, again, that's present tense and makes no sense because KNUTE ROCKNE IS F**KING DEAD.
"He's" is a contraction for "he is" or "he has". It has never no way been a contraction for "he was". Get educated here https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/he%27s
Since Cliff is dead, he's not better at anything compared to anyone, except perhaps for a competition in pushing up daisies. "He's pushed up more daisies than anyone at Forest Lawn cemetery."
Sorry if this seems unsensitive, it just irks me when people say that a dead person is currently better at something than a living person.
Again, if I wanted to say that Cliff was better at bass than Kirk is at guitar then I'd have to say exactly that and not use the contraction because it DOESN'T F**KING MEAN WHAT YOU THINK IT MEANS.