CLEMSON FOOTBALL

Dabo Swinney thanks the
Swinney says Caldwell has done anything asked of him.

Dabo Swinney thanks the "salty, savvy veteran" Robbie Caldwell


by - Senior Writer -

ORLANDO – Offensive line coach Robbie Caldwell didn’t look like he was prepared for the Gatorade bath that followed Clemson’s 20-13 victory over Iowa St., and his surprise was as real as his emotion in knowing that he was going out a winner.

Head coach Dabo Swinney told TigerNet in his postgame press conference that the game was Caldwell’s last as the Tigers’ offensive line coach and that Caldwell will transition into a new role in the program.

Swinney laughed when he was asked if Caldwell’s reaction had any significance.

“Don't act like you don't know. I know you know,” Swinney said with a big smile on his face. “But I appreciate y'all kind of respecting the process with Robbie, because, man, he deserves it. He's coached – I wrote his name down right here, so I appreciate you asking about him.

“That was a special moment on the field, and we had a special moment in the locker room. He's been coaching 40-something years. He's been leading young people. Man, I love Robbie Caldwell. He's 68, and, you know, this was his last on-the-field game tonight. The team has known that. Again, I'm sure y'all have probably known that. So I appreciate y'all and how y'all handled the process, allowing this to play out the way it has.”

Swinney said Caldwell came to him last year and told him he wanted one more year.

“He came here in 2011 and has had 11 straight 10-plus win seasons and a couple of National Championships and a bunch of ACC Championships and a bunch of big wins along the way,” Swinney said. “But he and I talked about this last year, and, you know, he really wanted to go one more year. And man, I am so thankful that he did because there aren’t many people that could have handled what we had to handle in that offensive line this year.

“It took a dang salty, savvy veteran like Robbie Caldwell to be able to hold it together the way we did this year with such chaos up front. I love him, he and his wife, Nora. The good news is he's not going anywhere. He's going to transition off the field and going to run our high school relations and sophomore transition and work on some scouting as well. I'm really thankful that he's going to be with us. But it's time, and he's excited about a new role and an opportunity to impact the team.”

That means a promotion for another Tiger great.

“So Thomas Austin will be moving into our offensive line job, and then (Tyrone) Crowder is moving into Thomas's analyst role,” Swinney said. “And Brandon Thomas, who just retired from the Jaguars, is coming to be the offensive line grad assistant. We are going to have BT (Brandon Thomas) and big Thomas Austin taking the reins for Robbie Caldwell and going to be coaching those guys on the field.

“It's going to be a great transition, man. I'm super excited. We knew this was going to happen. That's why I went and got Thomas (Austin) last year from Georgia State and brought him on in, so we could have a smooth transition.”

Swinney said Caldwell is the type of person who will do whatever it takes.

“But just appreciate Robbie and who he is. He's an unbelievable person of character, will do anything. He'll pick up trash. He'll clean the bus. He'll wipe the tables down. Every year when we go through job responsibilities and descriptions, he always puts on there, look for work,” Swinney said.

“This guy drove the bus at 16. He drove the bus – can y'all imagine that? At 16 years old, he drove the bus, did the route, picked them up, brought the bus home at night, drove the bus to play baseball. He was the bus driver at 16 years old – 15 years old. Yeah, it was a different planet. But he's amazing. It was awesome being able to give him a game ball.”

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