Playing Experience
Lettered three years at Alabama (1990-92)...also a member of the 1988 and 1989 teams...member of the 1992 National Championship team...Academic All-SEC in 1990,92.
Bowl Participation as a Player
1990 Sugar Bowl...1991 Blockbuster Bowl...1991 Fiesta Bowl...1993 Sugar Bowl.
Education
B.S. degree in commerce & business administration from Alabama in 1993...master of business administration from Alabama in 1995.
Coaching Experience
Graduate assistant coach at Alabama (1993-95)...wide receivers/tight ends coach at Alabama (1996)...tight ends coach at Alabama (1997)...wide receivers coach at Alabama (1998-00)...wide receivers coach at Clemson (2003-06).
Bowl Seasons as an Assistant Coach
1994 Gator Bowl...1995 Citrus Bowl...1997 Outback Bowl...1998 Music City Bowl...2000 Orange Bowl...2004 Peach Bowl...2005 Champs Sports Bowl...2006 Music City Bowl.
Personal Data
Born November 20, 1969 in Birmingham, AL...married to the former Kathleen Bassett...the couple has three sons (Will 8, Drew 7, Clay 4).
Dabo Swinney has had a positive impact on the program since he joined Tommy Bowden's staff in 2003. As a result of that consistent positive impact, he was promoted to assistant head coach after the 2006 season.
The Tigers have been bowl eligible all four years, finished in the top 25 of the final polls two of those four seasons, recorded at least eight wins three times, and totaled nine wins over top-25 teams, including victories over Florida State (three), Miami (FL), and Tennessee, during his tenure at Clemson.
Swinney has coached his position to a level of consistency that has not been seen previously in school history. He has had a receiver finish first or second in the ACC in receptions each of the last three years. In his first year, he had three of the top-10 receivers in the ACC, a first in Clemson history.
In 2004 and 2005, Swinney coached the ACC reception champion. Airese Currie took the crown in 2004 and Chansi Stuckey led the ACC in 2005. It was the first time Clemson had two different wideouts lead the ACC in receptions in consecutive years.
The play of Swinney's receivers was a big reason Clemson led the ACC in total offense, rushing offense, and scoring offense in 2006, just the second time an ACC team has led the conference in all three areas in the last 25 seasons. Clemson also led the ACC and established school records for touchdowns (55) and yards per play (6.5).
The native of Alabama has a reputation as one of the top recruiters in the nation. In February of 2006, he was listed as the fifth-best recruiter in the nation by Rivals.com. It marked the second consecutive year he had been lauded by the website as a top-25 national recruiter. He has signed 26 players in his five recruiting seasons at Clemson.
Now in his fifth year as wide receivers coach, Swinney has known Head Coach Tommy Bowden for many years. Bowden was his position coach when Swinney played at Alabama in 1989. Swinney came to Alabama as a walk-on, but he quickly earned a scholarship. Bowden, who followed a similar path as a student-athlete at West Virginia, was familiar with his work-ethic, and thus he did not hesitate to hire him when he had an opening on his staff in 2003.
His pupils were a big reason the Tigers set school records for receptions, reception yards, and touchdown receptions in 2003. Currie, Derrick Hamilton, and Kevin Youngblood combined for 175 catches and 2,483 yards along with 16 touchdowns.
The outstanding play of the wideouts continued in 2004 when Currie became the first Tiger in 24 years to lead the ACC in receptions per game. Currie was also a First-Team All-ACC pick in 2004.
In 2005, Stuckey led the ACC with 64 catches for 770 yards and four touchdowns. He became the seventh Tiger wideout in history to record at least 60 catches in a season. Four of the seven have been coached by Swinney. Stuckey was a seventh-round draft pick of the Jets in 2007. He will join Currie, Youngblood, and Hamilton as his protegés who have gone on to play in the NFL.
He received a commerce & business administration degree from Alabama in 1993 after lettering three times (1990-92). A walk-on who went on to earn a scholarship, Swinney played wide receiver and was a member of Alabama's 1992 national title team. He was also an Academic All-SEC member along with being an SEC Scholar Athlete Honor Roll member in both 1990 and 1992.
Along with his appearance in the 1993 Sugar Bowl, his Alabama teams played in the 1991 Fiesta Bowl, 1991 Blockbuster Bowl, and 1990 Sugar Bowl. Both Sugar Bowl appearances came after winning the SEC Championship game.
After his playing career, Swinney served as a graduate assistant from 1993-95 at Alabama, where he coached in the 1994 Gator Bowl and 1995 Citrus Bowl. In December of 1995, he received a master's degree in business administration from Alabama.
He became a full-time assistant at Alabama in February of 1996 and coached a total of five seasons there on a full-time basis. He was assigned to coach the Crimson Tide's wideouts and tight ends in 1996, a season that saw Alabama win the SEC Western Division title and make an Outback Bowl appearance. The following year, he solely coached the tight ends under Head Coach Mike DuBose.
In January of 1998, he coached Alabama's wide receivers, a position he held for three seasons. At the end of the 1999 campaign, Swinney coached the Crimson Tide in the 2000 Orange Bowl after winning the SEC Championship game. Wide receiver Freddie Milons was the game MVP.
Since 1997, he has had 15 former players either drafted or sign free-agent contracts. The list includes Currie, Hamilton, Youngblood, and Milons, Alabama's all-time leader in receptions who also earned All-America accolades.
In all, Swinney was a part of six seasons of at least 10 wins, five top-10 finishes, one national title (1992), three SEC championships (1989,92, 99), and five SEC Western Division titles (1992,93,94,96,99) with the Crimson Tide as a player and coach.
He has coached the all-time reception leader at both Alabama and Clemson. He has also coached a First-Team All-ACC wideout each of the last three years, the second time that has happened in history.
From April of 2001 through February of 2003, Swinney was in private business in Alabama. He married the former Kathleen Bassett in 1994. They has three sons, Will (8), Drew (7), and Clay (4).