Dabo Swinney: A History of Winning
- Luke O'Reilly
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
Since becoming the full-time head coach of the Clemson Tigers in 2009, Dabo Swinney has done nothing but break records. Swinney, a two-time national champion in 2016 and 2018, is the winningest head coach in Clemson football history and ACC football history. After becoming the ACC’s winningest coach, passing the legendary Bobby Bowden, Swinney expressed gratitude and humility.
“I'm just blessed and very honored, there's been a lot of coaches coaching in this league for a very long time, 80 years or however long this league's been around, so it's a blessing and I honestly think Coach Bowden's probably smiling saying 'Somebody's gotta break it,' and somebody will break this record one of these days.”
Swinney would go on to praise Bobby Bowden for his impact on his players lives and how he wishes he could do a fraction of that.
“As I said last week, my name may be on the list, but there ain't nobody better than Bobby Bowden, and that's just a fact. I mean he's amazing, and honestly, if I could just have half the impact on my players' lives that Bobby Bowden had on his, then I would have lived a good life with purpose."
Swinney not only passed Bobby Bowden as the ACC’s winningest coach, but he is also one of four head coaches to record at least 14 consecutive seasons with nine or more wins with one program. The Alabama native joins Tom Osborne (25 straight seasons from 1973-97 with Nebraska), Nick Saban (16 straight seasons from 2008-23 with Alabama), and Bobby Bowden (14 straight seasons from 1987-2000 with Florida State) as the only major college football coaches to ever achieve this feat. These three coaches that Swinney joined are not just any ordinary coaches, they are all regarded as some of the greatest of all time.
When talking about his success with Clemson, Swinney acknowledged that his program isn’t perfect but has seen sustained success on the national level.
“This is our seventh CFP, our ninth ACC title in 14 years, and 13 seasons with double-digit wins…We’ve beaten the best, yet the narrative doesn’t change. We keep proving ourselves year after year…We’re not flawless, but we’re a family. That’s what makes this so special.”
The Clemson football social media team posted Swinney's statistic of 14 consecutive seasons with nine or more wins yesterday with the caption “Uncommon consistency,” which is the perfect explanation for Swinney’s time at Clemson. Everything that Swinney has done at Clemson would be considered “uncommon” by almost every other collegiate program. Whether it’s winning two national championships and reaching four national championship games in five years, the Tiger Walk before every game, the Walk of Champions after pre-game warm-ups, or recruiting a college basketball star to play tight end, Dabo Swinney’s tenure has been “uncommon” to say the least.
Not only has Dabo Swinney’s tenure at Clemson been “uncommon,” but his whole career has been as well. Swinney worked multiple minimum wage jobs to afford attending the University of Alabama and had his mother stay with him in an off-campus apartment until she could afford her own home. After his time as a student at Alabama, Swinney was hired as a graduate assistant and then became a full-time assistant coach with the Crimson Tide, until being hired by Clemson in 2002 to be in charge of their wide receivers. In 2008, just six games into the season, Tommy Bowden resigned as head coach after a 3-3 start to the season. In a shocking move, Clemson decided to appoint their wide receivers coach as their interim head coach. As they say, “the rest is history,” and for Dabo Swinney it has been a history of winning.
Dabo Swinney is the best thing to happen to Clemson athletics and the University itself, as he has drawn millions of people to “little ole Clemson” with his achievements. But the 55 year-old isn’t done yet as he is hoping his 2025 roster, which should be a national championship contender, can continue to break records.
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