Clemson football: Dabo Swinney proves yet again he truly loves his players
Once again, Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney is playing chess not checkers.
The stories and opinions of Clemson football head coach Dabo Swinney over the past few months have been about as deep in thought as a $15 kiddie pool from Walmart. They have touched on the surface and never bothered to really look at what this man is doing for people.
It is really easy to play Coach Swinney for a fool, but he has proven yet again he truly cares about these young men’s lives and is playing the “graduation will change your life game instead of the myopic game” (James Bostic III c/o 2005) that many of these writers have been.
Has Coach Swinney been perfect? Absolutely not, but he continues to live by the mantra that he serves people and that doesn’t stop at the edge of the football field.
Part of what came out yesterday when he spoke to the media to kick-off fall camp, was that he had zero players decide to opt-out for the season. But more importantly, he contacted all football players and let them know that their safety and concerns were most important to him and that if any of them chose to not return this fall, their scholarship would not go anywhere.
Dabo just said Clemson has not had any players opt out for the season. "In fact, I actually called a team meeting back in June and told them nobody has to come back. I wanted everyone to know your scholarships are good. Nobody needs to worry about that."
— Anna Adams (@AnnaH247) August 6, 2020
Clemson football is more than just a four-year partnership
When Coach Swinney tells a young man and his parents that this is a lifetime relationship, he truly means it. Is he going to make more mistakes along the way – without question because no one is perfect. However, Swinney truly does have his player’s best interest in mind when he makes the decisions that he does.
Not every decision he has made has been wildly popular with folks on the outside of the program, those on the inside and those that have taken the time to get to know who he is and what he is about, appreciate the platform from which he stands and leads from.
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While this should be a much bigger story than it is, that June meeting re-assuring his players that he cared more about who they are than what they do shows exactly who and what Coach Swinney stands for and why he is loved and respected by those that spend any amount of time with him.