Wednesday October 15, 2008

One Clemson

One Clemson
Last February Clemson’s president said, “In recent weeks I have learned that the words ‘One Clemson’ are easy to say but harder to live.

He was right. Clemson has been divided for too long. You have the Top 20 supporters and the Top 20 detractors. You have the academic people against the athletic segment. Clemson has those that support the in-state student increase and those that want a higher percentage of out of staters. Some have supported the higher tuition hikes and others have opposed it. Bowden had some supporters and had some others that have been calling for a change. Some Tiger supporters like the purple and others only want to see orange. Some “Woo Who” and others cringe at the sound of it.

Before Monday, the president, athletic director, coaches, IPTAY and others have tried to unite Clemson but have run into opposition.

That was before Monday.

Monday everything changed. Monday Clemson found a leader and someone who is not interested in the continued divisiveness and has been effective in ending it. They found someone who has had less than 48 hours to make his case but he has made it better than some who had 10 years or more to do so.

In the face of adversity and in a place where time is so crucial that there seems like he could never have enough hours in the day to do what needs to be done by Saturday at noon, Dabo Swinney does not appear to have a hard time living “One Clemson.”

Dabo Swinney is the only person that has been able to unite the Clemson Nation and he did it despite not having any head coaching experience. He did not need head coaching experience because he already had experience in something more important in handling the task he is facing. He had experience in handling adversity. He had experience in leadership. He also had experience in accountability and responsibility.

After the Maryland game Dabo gathered his wide receivers in the locker room and told them they were responsible for the loss. He was referencing Aaron Kelly’s holding on C.J. Spiller’s touchdown run that was called back. He was also referring to Xavier Dye’s personal foul on the final drive as well as Jacoby Ford’s fumble on the punt.

Dabo was not calling the players out for the purpose of using them as a scapegoat. It was done in private. He did it to let them know in advance how difficult practice would be the following week because he was going to teach them more about accountability and responsibility.

On Monday at his first team meeting he told the players that if you are “The Guy” then be “The Guy”. He said this is only about performance and execution. He told them those that play well and with effort and with a physical presence will play and those that don’t will not see the field.

Accountability and responsibility are two major parts of Dabo’s stamp on this program. At his second practice as the head coach he saw many members of the team throw their water cups on the ground. He stopped practice and told the team that that was unacceptable. He said, “You wouldn’t do that at your momma’s house.” He then told the team that the managers work hard every day and they take away from their job to go over and pick up dozens of cups each day. He told them to be responsible and throw the cups away in the trash cans they had provided or the team would run after practice or he could just stop water breaks all together.

After practice Dabo spoke to the team again. Usually the team huddled around the coach but Dabo felt it was not right to have to turn his back of half of the guys and then turn his back on the other side. So Dabo had the entire team take a knee in front of him. I was told all eyes were on him at all times.

Another stamp is positive energy. Dabo is one of the most positive people I have ever been around. He is taking steps to end the negative thoughts and energy but he understands that the way to end negative energy is to replace it with positive energy. You have to give the people a reason to be positive. Most times most people will choose positive if they are given a choice.

He has been the head coach here only a few hours but almost everything he has done he has done in an attempt to unite Tiger Nation with the idea of creating “One Clemson.” The stamp he has put on this program is a stamp of unity.

He put that stamp on it in his first team meeting.

He did that in an ultra impressive first press conference.

He united with his new policy of the team and coaches having to wear coats and ties on all road trips and game day rides to the stadium.

He is trying to unite with the Tiger Walk this Saturday at 10:00 AM when the Tigers will get off of the bus between Jervey Athletic Center and Lot 5. The team will then walk through the middle of the parking lot among the fans in an attempt to show more unity between players and fans.

He did that with a call for an Orange out.

He did that with the e-mail to students that informed them that the entire student body will be invited to a practice soon and he plans a pep rally with the students soon as well.

He united the staff when he asked Brad Scott if he preferred the two-point stance or the three point stance and decided to go with the three-point stance.

Most of what Dabo has done in 48 hours has been fairly simple stuff but the cumulative effect is working. He is demanding accountability and responsibility. He is providing positive energy. But most importantly, he has provided unity.

I have been to a bunch of meetings and heard a bunch of speeches from a bunch of Clemson people about “One Clemson.” I have heard the others attempt it but this is the first time I have seen it work. A fresh start. A renewed enthusiasm. ALL-IN!

Dabo Swinney has taken just a few short hours to lead by inspiring others to follow. He is the best example of “One Clemson” that I have seen since I first heard the slogan introduced. In the face of adversity, his genuine nature and positive energy make it look easy to live “One Clemson.”

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