Five best things about Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney
The Clemson football program has been blessed by the efforts and leadership of Dabo Swinney far beyond what anyone could’ve imagined more than a decade ago.
While other programs- such as the one down in Columbia– are scrambling to make coaching changes or on the hinge of making a decision to let-go of their head coach, Clemson football has remained steady.
Since Dabo Swinney took over the program, there has been signs of success. Swinney led the Tigers to an ACC Championship appearance in his first season and though there were some who wanted him gone during the 2010 debacle of a season, he made the right hires and came back with a vengeance, leading the Clemson football program to its first ACC Championship in more than two decades in 2011.
Dabo Swinney hasn’t stopped there, either.
He has since grow the Tigers into a national powerhouse and has won two National Championship in the past four seasons, including five-straight CFB Playoff appearances and five-straight conference titles.
As we enter this season of Thanksgiving, let’s look at the five things Clemson football fans appreciate most about Dabo Swinney.
5. Dabo-isms & his motivational speaking
‘All In’ ‘BYOG’ and ‘Best is the Standard.’ These are just a few examples of ‘Dabo-isms.’
Swinney is a master genius in the way he finds to motivate not just his team, but the communities that he impacts. Swinney is able to fire fans up. He’s able to generate enthusiasm for causes in the community. He’s just a natural-born motivational speaker.
He uses these catch-phrases as opportunities to motivate and encourage both fans and his players and they work to perfection more times than not.
4. He finds ways to win
One of the knocks on Dabo Swinney early into his coaching career was that he was too reliant on his coordinators and that he didn’t actually do the bulk of ‘the coaching.’
That’s simply not true.
Swinney oversees every aspect of the Clemson football program and his ability to actually coach and make moves and decisions during a game is something that people take for granted.
More times than not when the Tigers have been in close games over the course of Swinney’s tenure, they’ve come away victors. Yes, they’ve been beaten or bested on occasion and yes, Swinney has made some questionable decisions at times, but I’ve got not doubt you’d rather ride with a guy that has won on the biggest stage of them all any time.
3. Trusted recruiter
How about this aspect that is often overlooked now when it comes to Dabo Swinney?
Swinney isn’t just a great ‘salesman’ when it comes to his recruiting. He is able to sale the recruits on a vision, but he is up-front and honest with them. He does an excellent job not only finding talent, but looking past the talent to find character.
Clemson doesn’t just recruit every single 5-star out there. The Tigers look for program fits in every aspect- on-field talent, character and academics- and they heavily recruit based off all of those principles.
Oh, and in the end, Swinney typically finds a way to win way more recruiting battles than he loses.
2. His foresight & ability be a program-builder
There was no other person in America that could see what Swinney was building when he took over the Clemson football program.
No one could see the ACC dominance, National Championships, recruiting excellence, state-of-the-art facilities and winning culture that was to come. Well, no one except Dabo Swinney.
Swinney took over the job knowing that Clemson was a special place and that he could turn the program into a powerhouse. He has made great decisions in his assistant coach hirings and has built this program from the ground up. That’s why it’s been so successful.
There may be a few coaches who you consider better ‘X’s and O’s guys’ than Swinney, but none (other than Nick Saban) have come anywhere close to building a program like he has.
1. He’s genuine and has created a family culture at Clemson
Finally, Clemson football fans love Dabo Swinney because they know what he says is genuine and that he truly he cares for his players, coaches and everyone he comes in contact with.
There have been times when media have tried to trip him up, but he remains true to his faith and to the culture that he has built in Clemson.
Swinney credits his relationship with God as the No. 1 reason why he is where he is today- and he’s overcome a lot to get here- and people around the program know that he is genuine when he says that.
Swinney has created a family culture where players and their families know they’re going to be cared for. He has put in place programs like Paw Journey. He promises that if a player goes off to the NFL, that they will still have a scholarship available when their professional football career ends to come back and finish their degree.
He has made an impact in so many lives both in the program and outside of the program- for an example, just look at the Dabo & Kathleen Swinney Foundation– and for that, Tiger fans will always be grateful.