Clemson Football has seen some of the biggest success in the program’s history under the leadership of head coach Dabo Swinney. After fifteen seasons, Swinney stands at 161 wins, an average of 10.73 wins per season.
This is even more impressive when you consider that Swinney was interim head coach for only seven games in 2008, with only four wins.
The expectation is that at some point in the 2023 season, Swinney will pass legendary Clemson coach Frank Howard as the winningest coach in program history.
Howard was the head coach of the Tigers from 1940-69, a total of thirty seasons. He finished his career with 165 total wins. Howard averaged 5.5 wins per season during his tenure. That is well below Swinney, but you also must remember that the Tigers averaged only 9.83 games played per season during the Howard years. The program has played 13.33 games under Swinney during his fifteen seasons.
Dabo Swinney could become the leader in Clemson Football wins in almost half as many seasons as Frank Howard
While both men coached in different eras of college football, Swinney will only need four wins this season to tie Howard’s record, and the fifth win of the season will make Swinney the new king of Clemson Football.
If the Tigers don’t lose during the first half of the season, they will reach that achievement for Swinney against the Syracuse Orange on the road. If the Tigers stumble against any of their early opponents, they will have a decent chance to reach five victories against Wake Forest at home or Miami on the road.
Despite the reality that the program plays more games in this day and age, it is still very impressive that Swinney will become the leader in total wins in slightly more than half the seasons that Howard coached.