Clemson Reaches Agreement with Swinney

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Sun Nov 30 23:32:00 GMT-04:00 2008

CLEMSON -- Clemson Athletic Director Terry Don Phillips met with interim head coach Dabo Swinney on Sunday afternoon, and the two sides agreed in principle for Swinney to remove the interim tag and take over as permanent head coach immediately.

An official announcement will be made sometime in the next few days, possibly after Swinney meets with the team tomorrow afternoon at 3 p.m. Swinney said on Saturday that the original plan was to meet with the team on Monday to give them "some direction", but now it appears he will have good news for them. The Charleston Post and Courier reports the agreement is a four-year deal worth $1 million a season.

Phillips began a national search after Tommy Bowden's resignation on Oct. 13, but seemingly was pulling for Swinney to do enough to be considered for the full-time job.

Swinney won four of six games as head man, including four of the last five and Saturday's win over rival South Carolina, but more importantly, he brought a team that might have split together. He encouraged players and fans alike to "go all in", invited students to practice, bought pizzas for students camping out for pizza, instituted Tiger Walk, and even took the players to a children's hospital, taking a day away from practice to show them there is more to life than football.

The team also played better under Swinney's tutelage than it did Bowden's, with a harder edge, and was the more physical of the two teams on Saturday, and it was apparent from talking to the players that they had already made their choice.

"He is a a guy I really love so much," senior running back James Davis said of Swinney. "This week (before the South Carolina game), he called every player in one-by-one, and got a chance to sit and ask each one how they would contribute to the game, and everyone game him a response. To take his time out of a busy week, that's the kind of guy you have to love. I think he has done enough (to get the head job)."

Co-offensive coordinator Billy Napier, who took over calling plays when Swinney took over, was also in his boss' corner on Saturday.

"I think he has done an outstanding job," Napier said. "I think he is a born leader, and I think he has all of the intangibles that it takes to be a head coach at this level. I think, given the opportunity, that he would do an outstanding job."

Senior safety Michael Hamlin, commenting on when the fans starting chanting Dabo's name on Saturday, said Swinney would also be his choice, especially after the way he helped turn the Tiger season around

"When the fans starting chanting, most of the players started doing the same thing," Hamlin said. "Everything he did for us was with a purpose and for a reason. The things he did in a short period of time shows he is the best man for the job. There is no other man I would put there beside him."