In football, it’s all about winning. If a coach can’t do that he won’t be around long enough for all his other attributes to shine through.
And so it goes for Clemson University’s head football coach, Dabo Swinney: an unrelenting optimist whose “aw shucks” personality has converted Tiger Nation from run-of-the-mill fanatics to full-on religious disciples.
Dabo is the proud owner of a 150-36 record since becoming Clemson’s head coach in 2008. He has won two national championships (2015 and 2018 seasons), 7 ACC Conference titles including six in a row from 2015-2020, 11 bowl games in all, and perhaps most significant to the die-hard locals in upstate South Carolina is the seven consecutive wins in the annual rivalry game against the University of South Carolina Gamecocks dubbed “the Palmetto Bowl”.
He’s entering his 20th season at Clemson — six as an assistant and now his 14th as the head coach — and has reached the mountaintop of his profession. Borrowing from a Clemson alum’s 90-year-old poem that references the local geography, “there’s something in these hills,” there certainly is and it’s the smiling, energetic Dabo Swinney at the top of the highest peak.
Like anyone, he’s not without his flaws. Some of his comments and reactions during the COVID-19 pandemic and the aftermath of the George Floyd shooting and Colin Kaepernick’s kneel-down were seen as insensitive and tone-deaf, especially for a man who has made tens of millions of dollars off the sweat of predominantly black players.
And yet the love those players have for him transcends even his occasional verbal misstep. His heart and his actions outweigh his unscripted comments.
They adore this man who first recruited them to the university, gave them an opportunity to play and get an education, gave them confidence and conviction (and in some cases, hope for a better life), gave them a reason to go “all in” for a university and a region and a state that believes in God, Country, and Football — not always in that order.
If all else were to fail, those Clemson football players will give 100% for Dabo because of how much he loves each one of them. It’s a true family and his loyalty to the players goes far beyond four seasons on the field.
No surprise that Dabo is also well-liked by the local and national media who always appreciate his big smile and candor, and they leave the microphone running just waiting for a juicy sound-bite or two (or three). You can always count on Dabo for a comment, that’s for sure. His energy is infectious.
Tonight he will kick off his 14th season as a head coach when the #4 Tigers take on the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in Atlanta as part of the Chick-fil-A Kickoff series.
His every move will be watched by millions during the national prime-time broadcast.
He will be adored by everyone connected in any way to Clemson University: students, alums, families, South Carolina residents (minus Gamecock fans), faculty and university employees, casual football fans, and anyone just interested in a good story.
And in the end, just like where we started, he will need to win.
That’s the life of a coach. That’s football.
