No, you're way short sighted here, brother.

Before I get crucified, let me state that he has been great for Clemson, but I am referring to the game itself. I am not sure that his success has not given many programs unfair expectations for what they can expect of a coach, and that is especially true of their fanbases.

It just seems to me that the life cycle of a college coach has gotten shorter and shorter. You hear people say that you need to give a coach 4 years to get his own guys in, but how many just say that but then quietly think, "Dabo got to 10 wins in his 3rd season. Do we really need to give our guy that long?" I just wonder if a lot of the shortening of the lifespan of coaches might not be due to Dabo.

We also got Dabo without spending a whole lot. With the firing of Addazio, I wonder where BC intends to go. Addazio was 11th among ACC coaches as far as salary. If you are paying like a bottom of the barrel team, should you expect to get a top notch coach? I think way to many teams just think that they need to find their Dabo, and it just isn't that easy. Dabo is the exception to the exception of the rule. If teams make a hire expecting results even remotely similar, then they probably buy lottery tickets expecting to win, and that is if they are paying top dollar. If they expect to find their Dabo at a bargain basement price then they are downright delusional.

It doesn't help that most fanbases probably just see Dabo as coming out of nowhere, which in some ways he did, but in certain ways he certainly did not. Outside of Clemson, people probably do not realize that early on he got a commitment from the administration to spend the money necessary on facilities. They also probably do not know that he passed on making more in order to put a higher quality staff around him. For other programs, what they don't know can hurt them, because they might not be willing to spend money that they did not account for to grow the program.

We are awfully lucky to have Coach Swinney, and as grateful as I am, I probably do not give thanks enough for the gentleman that was sent our way. I am not going to complain about being on the good end of what I think is a growing talent disparity, but I hope that other teams will understand one thing. There is only one Dabo Swinney.

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Dabo is just Dabo. A good person. Period. Nothing special

Dec 2, 2019, 10:47 AM

about him otherwise. He would be great doing #### near anything. I have zero doubt he'd be one heckuva real estate agent if Tommy Bowden didn't grab him to coach wide receivers. He'd be great doing anything he can do well and enjoys. Period. Some people are just like that. I wouldn't overthink it any further than that. He is what every football coach strives to be, only Dabo doesn't strive to be that. He strives to be the best person he can be, and that rubs off on others. His players. Our assistant coaches. Everyone.

And don't discount that Clemson is a football (college) gem that's never been mined before Dabo came. He saw what was special. He saw the potential, and he went and grabbed it.

It's not a cookie cutter thing with coaches. Every coach is different. Every person is different. Every school is different. USC hit paydirt with Spurrier. He was the perfect fit for USC. Danny Ford was a perfect fit for Clemson.

My point is there are so many variables that have to come together, and the coaches resume is only one piece, and actually not that important, as Dabo has shown. For example, if Steve Spurrier came to Clemson (we'd never hire him), we would stink. Be mediocre at best. He overachieved at USC though because he was a good fit for the school. It's not rocket science.

Look at LSU. They hired Ed Orgeron. Guy has DEEP Lousiana roots. He coached at USC as an assistant for years in California and totally out of his environment. Then became head coach at Miss State, where he stunk and was fired. Went to LSU and he "grew where he was planted". Take Lou Holtz. Had an amazing run at Notre Dame only to come to USC and lay an absolute egg. Bobby Bowden, started off Howard and was good, then at WVU was average at best. Went to FSU and made them a powerhouse and became a legendary HOF coach. Point is the resume matters little. The PERSON and the school (and the fans) all need to match.

This is something so few people understand today. This group-think goes beyond college football coaching. You see it in the media, political and sports media. Dabo is absolutely correct that Virginia would be 9-3 in any league. This whole mentality that so and so is a good coach no matter where he's planted, that such and such a conference is better just because they have some really good teams, that doesn't matter. Just like Clemson struggling against UNC means absolutely zero as far as how good a team we have. Or that we played "soft" opponents in the eyes of the media group-thinkers. Doesn't matter.

No Dabo, if people take the time to understand him, will HELP college football. He will help PEOPLE. He's a guy who "gets" what no one else can see or understand. And this goes way beyond football, to life. He recruits the person as much as the player. He will take a 3 star guy with great character who sees the world his way, over a 5 star guy who beats his chest about his resume and numbers. That's how he picks his staff too. He will not hurt college football at all. In fact, if college football cared enough to really pay attention to what he has done, he will REVOLUTIONIZE college football. And honestly, despite the coaching record or anything else, you can thank Tommy Bowden and TDP as well. They saw the potential in a PERSON like Dabo, and put Clemson's money on that. And we hit the jackpot.

There are Dabo's all over this world. Some in schools like USC in Columbia who don't get it, who kill themselves trying to fill a resume instead of a life. Live a good life, and your resume makes itself.