Michaux: Tigers are lucky to have Swinney still around

Dec 7, 2016, 12:05 PM

http://chronicle.augusta.com/columnists/2016-12-07/michaux-tigers-are-lucky-have-swinney-still-around

The Texas job was vacant for about 30 seconds (if that) before the Longhorns nabbed their new coaching hero, Tom Herman, who lost games to Navy, Memphis and SMU this season.

LSU spent the whole year in transition mode ogling Herman and Florida State’s Jimbo Fisher before grudgingly handing the keys to interim head coach Ed Orgeron, who went 10-25 in his only previous full-time head coaching job at Ole Miss.

Oregon fired the guy who took the Ducks to the playoff two years ago and with all its Nike wealth and facilities has a list of the usual coaching targets headlined by Florida’s Jim McElwain and three-time head coaching flameout Lane Kiffin.

The name that never pops up in any of these glamorous coaching searches is the 47-year-old who is arguably one of the three best head coaches in the nation – Dabo Swinney.

Swinney and Clemson won a second consecutive Atlantic Coast Conference title by winning the second hardest division in college football and consequently accepted its second consecutive berth in the College Football Playoffs.

Swinney and the Tigers will be facing in the Fiesta Bowl semifinal one of the two other head coaches who have made multiple trips in the brief history of the four-team playoff – Ohio State’s Urban Meyer, who claimed the initial title. He’s seeking a title rematch with the other, Alabama’s incomparable Nick Saban, last year’s prevailing champion.

The only thing Meyer and Saban have on their resumes that Swinney doesn’t are national championships – Meyer with three at Florida (2) and Ohio State (1) and Saban five at LSU (1) and Alabama (4). But Dabo’s working on it by turning Clemson into a major postseason staple.

“It’s an incredible achievement,” Swinney said of the Tigers joining Alabama as the only teams to return to the playoffs as the top two seeds. “We really are just soaking in winning the ACC championship in back-to-back years. That hasn’t happened in 28 years around here, so that’s hard. Then to be recognized with an opportunity to be in the playoff back-to-back years, it’s a huge achievement. The only thing that would make it better would be to win it all.”

The prevailing theory on why Swinney’s phone line isn’t burning up with marquee offers is that everyone knows it’s wasted breath. There’s only one call Swinney is presumably willing to take, and that’s from his beloved alma mater Alabama. Eventually, the 65-year-old Saban is bound to get bored with winning every year and will hang up his whistle to enjoy the riches he’s accumulated along with all the title bling. When that day eventually comes, if the first call the Crimson Tide doesn’t make is to Clemson, S.C., then he should be fired immediately.

Meyer would certainly endorse Swinney. The Buckeyes’ coach has gone 12-0, 12-1, 12-1, 12-1 and 11-1 through the Big Ten title game week in his five seasons in Ohio, so he’s got a pretty good lock on being silver medalist to Saban on the current coaching podium. Only twice in his head coaching history dating back to Utah in 2003 has he ever experienced a loss in a postseason game. The first was to Michigan in the 2007 Outback Bowl when the Wolverines edged out the worst team Meyer ever coached.

The second time was in the Orange Bowl three years ago to Swinney and Clemson. The Tigers rallied to win 40-35.

“He’s obviously a great coach, great recruiter,” Meyer said of Swinney.

Swinney has certainly proven that as he’s brought the Tigers up to peer status with the Alabamas and Ohio States of the football hierarchy with a sixth-consecutive season of double-digit victories. Much like Saban and Meyer, the infectiously enthusiastic Swinney keeps on accumulating NFL-caliber talent on both sides of the ball capable of reloading each year. He doesn’t shy away from playing tough non-conference opponents in the regular season, which has paid dividends with wins over Auburn (three times), Oklahoma (twice), Ohio State, LSU, Notre Dame and Georgia in the last six seasons.

You’d think with all of that, a two-time Heisman-finalist quarterback in Deshaun Watson and the endorsement of the CFP selection committee as a No. 2 seed might be enough to build more respect. Still, the oddsmakers installed the Tigers as 3.5-point underdogs to the Buckeyes in Arizona.

Swinney doesn’t sweat it. Whatever perceived deficiencies this year’s team has over the one that came so painfully close to being perfect a year ago, it still got the job done to get back to the place few coaches have been able to reach even once.

“Last year’s team was incredibly driven and motivated to finish and to earn the right,” Swinney said. “We were the No. 1 seed going in last year. This team came back, had a different type of expectation on it coming off of a national championship appearance. I think they’ve handled it well. We’ve set out to be right here where we are.”

Clemson should count its blessings that Swinney is still where he is.

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Michaux: Tigers are lucky to have Swinney still around

Re: Michaux: Tigers are lucky to have Swinney still around

Nice read, but we didn't play

Re: Nice read, but we didn't play

didn't necessarily read it that way-- playing tough non-conf

Who would want to hire away a Cheerleader?

Yes,

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