Swinney says he is a "wiser" coach heading into 2011

Swinney said he finally feels like he has all the pieces in place to build a consistent winner.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Thu Aug 18 12:47:28 GMT-04:00 2011

CLEMSON – Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney insisted earlier this week that he hasn’t changed, that he is still the same spirited coach he has been the past two seasons.

From a media perspective, however, Swinney has an edge to him this fall that he hasn’t had in the past. He is quicker to call out players who aren’t performing, and quicker to point out the bad as well as the good after each and every practice.

I spoke to Swinney earlier this week about that perception, and he insisted he hasn’t changed his core values – he is a just a wiser coach.

“I think I am who I have always been. I just call it like I see it,” Swinney said after Tuesday’s practice. “I try to be positive, and I have always tried to be that way. I don’t think I’ve changed as a head coach in two years. But we are coming off of a tough season, and I am very focused on getting this football team ready to play. That is all I am focused on.

“I am as enthusiastic as I have ever been, and I am as positive as I have ever been. My core fundamentals haven’t changed at all, and I just am who I am. But I am certainly a lot wiser than I was two years ago. At that time, I was just like anybody else who was doing something for the first time.”

Swinney said the past two seasons have been a learning experience – one which will make him a better coach.

“I felt like I was prepared to be a head coach two years ago, and I definitely was,” he said. “You can prepare all you want, but until you do something and go through a process, there’s no way really to get ready for it. It is one of those things you have to do, and I think anybody that has been a head coach would probably tell you that. Especially with the situation that I inherited here, and with me wanting to change things. But after two years, I think we have an incredible foundation in place that is going to sustain us for a long time.”

He said he finally feels like he has all the pieces in place to build a consistent winner.

“That’s the staff, the support staff, the resources and the facilities,” he said. “It’s all of those things. I am at a spot right now I wish I could have been two years ago. But things take time and you have to go through certain situations and processes to get where you want to go, and that is the way it has always been.

“I believe that you have to work hard for everything, and if you do that and continue to have integrity and make good decisions you feel are right, then things will work out the way they are supposed to. I am blessed to have a great staff and a great group of guys. We have put a couple of great recruiting classes together and we have another on the way. We are in a great spot as program, now we just have to go out and get the results we want to have out on the field this year.”