Head coach Dabo Swinney is undoubtedly one of the most influential collegiate coaches of the century. This week, he added yet another accolade to his resume.
Following Clemson’s win on Saturday night against Florida State, Swinney became the all-time winningest head coach in ACC history, passing long-time Seminole and Hall of Fame head coach Bobby Bowden with win No. 174.
It’s flattering for Swinney, who faced Bowden just once in his entire coaching career, a loss in 2008 when he was the interim head coach. Despite a 41-27 loss to the Seminoles on that November afternoon 16 years ago, Swinney still remembers the moment vividly.
It was made all the more dramatic by the fact that Swinney was taking over for Bowden’s son, Tommy Bowden, at the helm for the Tigers.
“16 years ago, almost to the day, maybe a couple two or three weeks from now, I came down here with one win and had to meet Bobby Bowden at midfield, and I’ll never forget that,” Swinney said after the game on Saturday.
“I have a picture in my office. Never in my imagination did I think 16 years later, we would be sitting here and having this conversation. That’s how God works, and I just give all the Glory to God. I’m just thankful, and honestly, as I said last week, my name may be on the list, but there ain’t nobody better than Bobby Bowden. That’s just a fact.”
Winning is one of the easiest ways to look at a coach’s success statistically. However, Swinney is quick to bring credit to the other individuals who helped him reach the mountaintop he is at today.
“Those types of things — if coach Bowden, poof, was here right now, he’d tell you the same thing,” Swinney said. “Those types of things for the winningest head coach, coach of the year, that happens because you have great players and great coaches and kids that buy in.”
A value that Swinney has added to the program over his Tiger tenure has been the effects outside of the football field. Succeeding in the classroom and becoming a “Clemson man” have been two of the biggest aspects he has focused on during his tenure.
While the successes, trophies and accolades heighten a coach’s career, Swinney is quick to say, “It’s never been about any of that stuff.”
“If I could have just half the impact on my players’ lives that Bobby Bowden had on his, then I would have lived a good life of purpose,” he said. “He won, but he loved his players and he impacted them, shaped their lives, created transformation in their lives, and if I can be half of that throughout my life, then that’s a life well-lived.”
Overall success has been Swinney’s message to his teams over the last decade and a half, which has been seen with different efforts such as Clemson’s P.A.W. Journey. The initiative of the program is to help the team with personal growth and professional development, setting them up for prosperity in the world after the tight guidelines of collegiate athletics.
Although the win against the Seminoles has put the Clemson head coach at the top of the ACC, he sees it as just another step in his career.
“I honestly think coach Bowden is probably smiling,” Swinney said. “Somebody’s got to break it, and somebody will break this record one of these days. All I can tell you is that’s never been a goal of mine. I’m honored, I’m blessed and it’s not ever anything I’ve ever even dreamed about or cared about or thought about doing.
“It’s fun to just move forward,” he added with a smile. “I just want to go beat Wake Forest, move forward and reset and get back to practice on Monday and see if we can keep building something special this year.”