| WEB |
|
|
| ||||||||||
Follow Coach Swinney on Twitter
Swinney Bio in PDF Format 
(updated 4/11/09)
Dabo Swinney (pronounced DA-boh SWEEnee) became Clemson's interim head coach on October 13, 2008 when Tommy Bowden stepped down after guiding the program for nearly 10 seasons. Then on December 1, 2008, the "interim" tag was removed, as he took over on a full-time basis as the Tigers' 25th all-time head coach. The 39-year-old had been Clemson's assistant head coach for two years and had been in charge of the wide receivers since the 2003 season.
Swinney, who had never been a head coach prior to the 2008 season, led Clemson to a 4-3 record in 2008. That mark included four wins in the last five regular-season games, with its only loss at #24 Florida State. That 4-1 record to end the regular season tied for the best mark in the ACC. Four of his six regular-season opponents were later bowl participants. His 4-3 record included a 2-1 road record, wins over Boston College and Virginia.
Swinney hit the ground running in his first week as interim head coach, as he prepared for a 5-1 Georgia Tech team. He had to reorganize his staff, and regroup his football team and Clemson Nation in just five days. While the Tigers lost a four-point decision, he accomplished many goals in that first week through his outstanding leadership qualities. One of the most impressive demonstrations of unity came during the team's "Tiger Walk."
Prior to the game, Swinney decided to have his team depart buses outside the Lot 5 parking lot near the WestZone at Memorial Stadium and experience the gameday atmosphere. Dressed in jackets and ties, the team was embraced by thousands of Tiger fans who stood 10 deep for the 200-yard march to the stadium. It was the centerpiece of his "All In" theme in his first week as head coach. It is a tradition that will continue in the future.
In his second week as head coach, an offweek, he invited the Clemson student body to a practice, and nearly 1,000 students showed up. He spoke to the group and actually allowed some students to participate during practice, as they were selected to attempt a field goal, punt against a live rush, and field a punt. He also took the entire team to the Greenville Children's Hospital for a visit with young men and women fighting cancer.
The Tigers played at Boston College in Swinney's first-ever road game as head coach on November 1. Despite committing four turnovers and trailing in the fourth quarter, Swinney's troops rallied for a 27-21 win, giving Clemson its first victory over the Eagles since 1958. It also came against the eventual ACC Atlantic Division champion.
The Tigers suffered a 41-27 defeat at #24 Florida State a week later, but they rebounded to trounce Duke 31-7 at Memorial Stadium by outgaining the Blue Devils 466-168 under Swinney, who also served as offensive coordinator during the second half of 2008. Clemson showed its road prowess the following weekend by claiming a 13-3 victory at Virginia.
Rival South Carolina awaited for the final regular-season game. Against one of the SEC's best defenses, the Tigers used a balanced attack (184 rushing yards, 199 passing yards) to top the Gamecocks 31-14 at Memorial Stadium. Clemson also had four interceptions against Steve Spurrier's offense and held it to just 22-47 passing for 212 yards. The following week, the Tigers accepted an invitation to play in the Gator Bowl against Nebraska, a game in which the Cornhuskers were victorious by a score of 26-21.
The 1993 Alabama graduate joined the Clemson staff prior to the 2003 season. In his six years, the Tigers have finished in the top 25 of the final polls three times and totaled 10 wins over top-25 teams, including victories over Florida State (4), Miami (FL) (1), and Tennessee (1), during his tenure in Tigertown.
Swinney has coached his wide receiver position to a level of consistency that has not been seen previously at Clemson. He has had a wideout finish first or second in the ACC in catches each of the last five years. In his first year, he had three of the top-10 receivers in the ACC, a first in Tiger history. He coached a First-Team All-ACC wideout every year from 2004-07 (three different players), also an unprecedented feat at Clemson.
In 2004 and 2005, Swinney coached the ACC reception champion (Airese Currie in 2004, Chansi Stuckey in 2005). It was the first time Clemson had two different wideouts lead the ACC in receptions in consecutive years. In 2007, Aaron Kelly led the league in yardage, giving Swinney an ACC receiving king three out of four years. Stuckey earned First-Team All-ACC honors in back-to-back years, a first for a Clemson wideout in 25 years. He is now one of the top wide receivers for the New York Jets.
The play of Swinney's wideouts was a big reason Clemson led the ACC in total offense, rushing offense, and scoring offense in 2006, just the second time an ACC team led the conference in all three areas in the previous 25 years. Clemson also led the ACC and established school records for touchdowns (55) and yards per play (6.5).
In 2007, he coached Kelly, a First-Team All-ACC selection who led the conference in receiving yards per game and touchdown catches (11). He also finished second in receptions per game with a school-record 88 catches, tied for the second-highest total in ACC history. His 11 touchdown catches were a Tiger record as well.
Kelly is Clemson's and the ACC's career reception leader with 232 catches. He also owns the school touchdown reception record with 20. The previous record of 18 was held by Glenn Smith, who established the record in 1951.
The Alabama native has a reputation as one of the top recruiters in the nation. In February of 2006, he was listed as the fifth-best recruiter in the nation by Rivals.com. It marked the second straight year that he had been lauded by the website as a top-25 national recruiter. He has signed 38 players in his five recruiting seasons and was a major reason Clemson's 2008 recruiting class was rated #2 in the nation by ESPN.com when he signed 11 players. He was named one of the top-25 recruiters in the nation by Rivals.com in 2007 as well.
When Swinney accepted the interim head coaching position on October 13, 2008, he described his feelings as "bittersweet" because he was taking over for Bowden, who had been his first position coach at Alabama in 1989. He had also brought Swinney back to the coaching profession in 2003 and has had a profound effect on his life. Both had followed similar paths as players, as Bowden was a walk-on at West Virginia and Swinney was a walk-on at Alabama.
Swinney received a commerce & business administration degree from Alabama in 1993 after lettering three times (1990-92). A walk-on who went on to earn a scholarship, Swinney was a wide receiver on Alabama's 1992 National Championship team. He was also named Academic All-SEC along with being an SEC Scholar-Athlete Honor Roll member in 1990 and 1992.
Along with his appearance in the 1993 Sugar Bowl, his Alabama teams played in the 1990 Sugar Bowl, 1991 Fiesta Bowl, and 1991 Blockbuster Bowl. Both Sugar Bowl appearances came after winning the SEC Championship game.
After his playing career, Swinney served as a graduate assistant coach from 1993-95 at Alabama, where he coached in the 1994 Gator Bowl and 1995 Citrus Bowl. In December of 1995, he received a master's degree in business administration from Alabama.
He became a full-time assistant coach at Alabama in February of 1996 under Head Coach Gene Stallings and coached a total of five seasons there on a full-time basis. He was assigned to coach the Crimson Tide's wide receivers and tight ends in 1996, a season that saw Alabama win the SEC Western Division title and make an Outback Bowl appearance. The following year, he solely coached the tight ends under Head Coach Mike DuBose.
In 1998, he coached Alabama's wide receivers, a position he held for three seasons. At the end of the 1999 campaign, Swinney coached the Crimson Tide in the 2000 Orange Bowl after winning the SEC Championship game. Wide receiver Freddie Milons was the game MVP.
Since 1997, he has had 15 former players either drafted or sign free-agent contracts with NFL teams. The list includes Currie, Derrick Hamilton, Kevin Youngblood, Stuckey, and Milons, an All-American who is still second in career receptions at Alabama.
During his time at Alabama, Swinney was a part of six years of at least 10 wins, five top-10 finishes, one national title (1992), three SEC championships (1989,92,99), and five SEC Western Division titles (1992,93,94,96,99) as a player and coach. He has coached the #2 receiver at Alabama (Milons) along with the #1 (Kelly) and #2 (Hamilton) receivers in Tiger history.
From April of 2001 through February of 2003, Swinney was in private business in Alabama. He married the former Kathleen Bassett in 1994. They have three sons, Will (10), Drew (8), and Clay (5).
