Tuesday October 14, 2008

Dabo; Bowden; Spence; TDP; Players; Recruits; Fans

Dabo; Bowden; Spence; TDP; Players; Recruits; The Fans
What a crazy day Monday turned out to be. I just wanted to give some quick thoughts on a bunch of subjects that came to the forefront Monday:

Dabo
I want to get into more detail about Dabo later this week and in the coming weeks but I wanted to share a little story today. The most intelligent man I know is Dr. Byron Harder, Clemson’s long time team physician. Dr. Harder made a 1600 on the SAT and got all of the answers right on the first millionaire winner on “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” before they put the choices up. He is a genius that reads the dictionary daily.

I respect Dr. Harder as much as anyone I know but not only for his intelligence. I respect his judgment. He told his son, Bill, who you may remember from his Clemson basketball days, about Dabo four years ago. I remember Bill sharing his father’s thoughts with me soon after. Dr. Harder has been at Clemson since the 1960s and was recently inducted into the Clemson University Hall of Fame. Dr. Harder has been around every Clemson coach in every sport for over 30 years. He has seen the good and the bad and he has seen success and failure. It was his wisdom that noticed something special about Dabo very early in his time here.

Dr. Harder told his son that Dabo has “it”. He said he has the personality and the charisma. He said Dabo had enough fire and enough substance. But he also said that Dabo was a leader and he was a high character guy.

Dr. Harder realized early in Dabo’s potential to be a head coach and I was pleased to see Dr. Harder and Mrs. Harder at Dabo’s press conference last night.

Dabo-Part II
I think it says a lot that Dabo was picked by the athletic director to be on the presidential task force on the AARC issue. I understand he impressed the administration with his hard work to make Clemson even better.

In a few short years, Dabo has impressed a bunch of people in this community.

I remember hearing about his wife, Kathleen’s scare from a medical issue. Dabo and his family handled the situation with class and their faith was evident throughout that process. Kathleen is 100% healthy now and she is a major part of his success as well.

More Dabo Notes
When Clemson first hired Dabo Swinney, I remembered him as a player and a coach that recruited well at Alabama but I did not know him personally. I picked up the phone and called his good friend Danny Pearman. The former Clemson tight end coached with Dabo at Alabama and he gave Dabo rave reviews. He told me Dabo is the most optimistic person he has ever been around. Pearman said Dabo thought he was going to sign every prospect he was recruiting and he was going to win every game he ever coached. Pearman told me that Dabo will be a hit in Clemson because he is exactly what Clemson was about. He said Dabo was a great husband and a great father. He said he was a spiritual leader and a great molder of young men. Pearman said his alma mater should be proud to have Dabo as the new wide receiver coach and he would serve Clemson well.

At his press conference last night I noticed a couple of things. Remember that Dabo woke up Monday morning as the wide receiver coach then a few hours later walked into a room to face reporters as the head coach of the Tigers.

First, I thought Dabo hit a home run in Monday’s press conference. The main reason he was so good Monday night was the fact that Dabo is comfortable in his own skin. He is straight forward and honest. Dabo was Dabo Monday night and that was all he needed to be.

Also, he said the right things. He was polished and he said exactly what Clemson fans wanted to hear. He sounded like a leader and inspired me to follow.

Bowden
I commend Tommy Bowden on handling today’s events in a first class way. He did it first class for nine and a half years and continued to handle himself well all of the way to the finish line. I personally think Bowden stepped down today because he thought it was best for the program. I will always remember him as a classy man.

He is the third winningest coach in Clemson history and belongs in the Clemson Athletic Hall of Fame.

I personally hope he and Linda stay in the area. Clemson will be a better place if Tommy and Linda are a part of the community.

Spence
Rob Spence is one of the greatest men I have ever met. His faith is as strong as anyone I have ever been around. One of the few people more impressive than Spence is his terrific wife Susan. I will be forever grateful that I was able to learn from them and hope I can call on them as friends in the future. Today, I hurt more for Rob and Susan than anyone in this situation. They will lean upon their faith and I know they will emerge even stronger.

TDP
I was impressed by the leadership Terry Don Phillips showed during the past few days. He has been working tirelessly over the past few days and I commend him for his vision.

I think Phillips is serious when he says he will give Dabo full consideration. I also believe he will be entertaining a ton of national and regional interest in this job. Clemson is a good job and if given the freedom, Phillips will make a good hire.

The Players
I understand the players are shocked and I hurt for them today. They learned a hard lesson that life gives us today and they had to learn it at an early age. I would not make any negative judgments on any statements they make this week. Remember these are young people and they have a lot on their plate at this time.

The Recruits
I don’t blame any prospect for anything they say at this point. They are also in shock. Remember signing day is a long way off. Be patient.

The Fans
I must admit I have not been myself lately. I have been down in the dumps and depressed. I have been hurting since the Maryland game. Hurting.

However, after I sat in Dabo’s press conference the hurt was gone. I can’t wait to get into the Valley early Saturday and I am not going to leave the game with a voice. I am all in with Dabo and will do everything a fan can do to make the coaches and players know how much I am behind them Saturday.

Clemson has been divided as of late. But Saturday I hope we can all come together and be one again. I can’t wait to greet this team and Dabo when they reach the top of the Hill Saturday. I can’t wait to see the Valley full Saturday. I can’t wait to hear it rockin’ again.

Clemson is a family and it personally feels so good to be back. I can’t wait to see the rest of the family Saturday.

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