Clemson coach must beat alma mater to win national championship

Dabo Swinney recalls journey from 'crawl-on' at Alabama to Clemson

TAMPA, Fla. –  Dabo Swinney likes to joke that he wasn't a walk-on when he got to Alabama in 1989.

"I always tell everybody, 'I was a crawl-on,'" Swinney said.

Now leading the charge at Clemson, Swinney gets a second chance at his alma mater Monday night in the College Football Playoff National Championship.

The third-ranked Tigers (No. 2 in CFP rankings) will face top-ranked Alabama in a rematch of last season's championship game, which the Crimson Tide won 45-40.

Swinney said he saw Alabama head coach Nick Saban in March and told him they'd see each other again in Tampa. He wasn't joking about that.

The 47-year-old Clemson coach and Alabama native said he grew up rooting for the Tide under legendary coach Bear Bryant, who won six national titles between 1961 and 1979.

When he finally got to Alabama, Swinney was a scrappy walk-on wide receiver who was just happy to be in the locker room.

"So at the time, I just wanted to be on the team, and then it was, I just wanted to gain some respect," Swinney recalled during Sunday's head coaches news conference. "Then I wanted them to learn my name. Then it was, OK, I want to play. Then I want to get a scholarship. So it just kind of went from there."

Swinney went on to earn a scholarship under then-coach Gene Stallings and was a member of Alabama's 1992 national championship team.

"It's not like now, they win it like every year, or every other year with coach Saban," Swinney said. "It had been a long time since Alabama had won a national championship."

Swinney's contributions to the championship team may have been minimal (seven catches for 81 yards in three seasons), but his character and commitment caught the eye of Stallings, who offered him a job as a graduate assistant the next season.

Swinney became a full-time assistant in 1996 and was retained by Mike DuBose after Stallings' departure.

"I went to Alabama as an 18-year-old kid, and I left when I was 31," Swinney said.

Of course, it wasn't by choice. Alabama severed ties with Swinney and the rest of DuBose's coaching staff after the 2000 season.

"I wasn't happy to leave," Swinney said. "I was mad at the time. I was not happy. But God had a plan for me, and he knew what I needed."

The plan included three years in the private sector before returning to coaching as an assistant under Tommy Bowden at Clemson. But it meant packing up with the family and moving to South Carolina.

"The grandparents didn't like me very much taking all the kids away, but it was a great opportunity to kind of have a new chapter and learn different things and be exposed to different things," Swinney said.

He's been at Clemson ever since, replacing Bowden after six games in 2008.

Swinney has won three Atlantic Coast Conference championships to go along with five Atlantic Division titles. The Tigers are 88-28 under his watch, have won 10 or more games for six straight seasons and are playing for their second consecutive national championship.

Now compare that Alabama, which is playing for its fifth national title in eight seasons under Saban. Swinney admits that what Saban has done is hard to match.

Saban credited Swinney for staying involved with Alabama, returning to the school with Stallings to help raise money for the football program.

"I really appreciate the way he has managed his loyalty to his alma mater, but done a great job at Clemson at the same time and never seems to be in conflict," Saban said.

Make no doubt about it, however. There will be no conflict for Swinney when his team takes the field at Raymond James Stadium.

"I'll just tell you, I'm not real excited about playing Alabama (Monday) night, but I'm very, very thankful to have the opportunity to be here," Swinney said.


About the Author:

Peter Burke returned for a second stint of duty at Local 10 News in February 2014.