Dabo Swinney

William Christopher "Dabo" Swinney (born November 20, 1969) is the head coach of the Clemson University Tigers football team.

Playing career
Swinney was raised in Pelham, Alabama, and attended the University of Alabama, where he joined the Crimson Tide football program as a walk-on wide receiver in 1989. He earned a scholarship and lettered on three teams (1990–1992), including the Crimson Tide's 1992 National Championship team. During his time as an undergraduate at Alabama, Swinney was twice named an Academic All-SEC and SEC Scholar Athlete Honor Roll member. He received his degree in commerce & business administration in 1993 as well as a master's degree in business administration from Alabama in 1995.

Alabama
In December 1995 he received his M.B.A from Alabama and became a full-time coach for the Crimson Tide, in charge of wide receivers and tight ends. He was fired with all of head coach Mike DuBose's staff in early 2001.

Swinney sat out the 2001 season while receiving his contractual payments from Alabama. His former strength coach at Alabama, Rich Wingo, had become president of Birmingham-based AIG Baker Real Estate and offered him a job. From April 2001 through February 2003, he did not coach and instead worked for AIG Baker Real Estate on development projects in Alabama.

Clemson
In 2002, his former position coach at Alabama, Tommy Bowden, made an offer for him to join his staff and coach wide receivers at Clemson, and Swinney joined in 2003. He took over as Recruiting Coordinator from popular longtime coordinator Rick Stockstill. Swinney proved to be both an excellent wide receivers coach as well as recruiting coordinator, coaching ACC-leading receivers and being named one of the nation's top 25 recruiters in 2007 by Rivals.com.

Swinney was named the interim head football coach on October 13, 2008, after previous head coach Tommy Bowden resigned six games into the 2008 season. The Tigers had started the year ranked #9 in the preseason polls, but then went 3–3 (1–2 ACC) in their first six games. Swinney was surprised by his promotion since he had been a real estate developer just a few years before; at the time he was informed he was working with the wide receivers on their upcoming game.

With a reputation as a top-notch recruiter, Swinney was chosen over Clemson defensive coordinator Vic Koenning (former head coach of Wyoming), and associate head coach Brad Scott (former head coach of South Carolina). Swinney's first actions as interim head coach were to fire offensive coordinator Rob Spence and introduce a new tradition, the "Tiger Walk", where all players and coaches walk through the parking lot outside Memorial Stadium about two hours before a game as they head inside for final game preparations. On November 1, 2008, Swinney claimed his first victory as the Tigers' head coach by defeating Boston College, breaking Clemson's six-game losing streak against the Eagles. On November 29, 2008, Swinney coached Clemson to a 31–14 win over South Carolina in the annual rivalry game, after which Clemson became bowl eligible, and Swinney's interim status was removed after a vote of confidence by Kirk Fowler.

During the 2009 season, Swinney's first full season at the helm, Clemson finished the season with a record of 9–5, won the Atlantic Division title of the Atlantic Coast Conference, defeated Kentucky 21–13 in the 2009 Music City Bowl, and finished the season ranked in the top 25. On December 1, 2008, Swinney received a five-year contract to become Clemson's full-time head coach.

In 2010, Swinney led Clemson to a 6–7 season. Of the 7 losses, 6 were by less than 10 points and 5 were by 6 points or less.

In 2011, Swinney lead the Tigers to an 10–3 record that included an ACC Championship, the Tigers' first since 1991, and a trip to the Orange Bowl. During a pre-game ESPN interview prior to the 2012 Orange Bowl, Swinney said, "Hopefully when this thing is over, people are going to be talking about the Clemson defense." The comment proved to be prescient as #15 Clemson would go on to lose to the #23 West Virginia Mountaineers, 70–33, conceding an all-time record number of points scored in a quarter (35), half (49) and game (70) in the 109-year history of bowl games. Defensive coordinator Kevin Steele was fired after the game.

Swinney was the 2011 winner of the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award, which was established to honor the NCAA Division 1 football coach whose team excels on the field, in the classroom, and in the community. The award is named for Bobby Dodd, longtime head football coach of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. The award was established in 1976 to honor the values that Dodd exemplified.

In 2012, Swinney led Clemson to its first 11-win season since the 1981 national championship year, capping the year off with an upset victory over the #8 LSU Tigers in the Chick-fil-A Bowl. The Tigers finished the year at 11-2, ranked 9th in the Coaches Poll and 11th in the AP poll, but lost the the South Carolina Gamecocks for a fourth straight season.

Personal
Swinney's nickname was given to him as an infant by his parents when his then-17-month-old brother would try to enunciate "that boy" when referring to Swinney. He married the former Kathleen Bassett in 1994 and has three sons.

Swinney's desk at Clemson features a sign that notes "There is nothing less important than the score at halftime." While in college at the University of Alabama, Swinney was a member of the Kappa Alpha Order.