Swinney trying to make a case
CLEMSON — The search for Clemson's next football coach is moving swiftly, and all the while the interim coach is trying to show that the right man for the job is right under athletic director Terry Don Phillips' nose.
Dabo Swinney probably knows that his chances are bleak if the Tigers don't find a way to close the season with a flourish. But the pressure isn't evident on his face or in his voice as he talks about things he deems more important.
"It's not about me," he said Tuesday. "It really isn't. As I've said many times, I'll be fine no matter what."
As Clemson creeps closer to the end of the regular season, the elephant in the room is whether Swinney will be around in December. The Tigers close the season against South Carolina on Nov. 29, and Phillips has said he wants to act quickly in naming a permanent replacement for Tommy Bowden, who resigned under pressure Oct. 13.
The wheels are already very much in motion in Phillips' search for desirable candidates. A search firm is doing much of the legwork, but Phillips is also taking an active role in gauging interest in the job; sources said he was in Oklahoma on Tuesday interviewing Sooners defensive coordinator Brent Venables.
Phillips has put his support behind the 38-year-old Swinney, and a
growing number of people in the athletic department are backing him as well. But it would be hard to make the case that Swinney should remain as coach if Clemson closes the season in a tailspin.
The Tigers are 4-5 and 2-4 in the ACC after last week's 41-27 loss at Florida State. Swinney is 1-2 with games remaining against Duke (home, Saturday), Virginia (away) and the Gamecocks (home). The Tigers must win out to be eligible for a bowl.
"Hopefully the scoreboard will reflect the things that I want it to reflect, which is wins," Swinney said. "But there's a bigger picture. That's what we're working for every day is to go win. But I'm trying to do things the right way, and I'm trying to embrace these guys the right way and help them through a difficult situation, teach them some lessons that hopefully they'll carry for the rest of their lives and try to finish on a positive note."
It's easy to wonder whether Swinney, previously the receivers coach, was put in a fair situation. He has referred to this undertaking as a long-term process, saying often that "Rome wasn't built in a day." He said he took over "a very fractured program" when Bowden departed four days after a 12-7 loss at Wake Forest.
"I've always dreamed of being a head coach and have always had a plan for how that would happen," he said. "You think that you're going to get a head job the normal way: You put your staff together, and you go about spring ball and things you want to do. I never really envisioned anything like this, where you take over a team in the middle of a season and you inherit the good, the bad, and you've got to try to put it all together."
Piecing things back together has been a mixed bag. The Tigers rallied from a 14-3 deficit against Georgia Tech in Swinney's first game before squandering a fourth-quarter lead and losing 21-17.
The Tigers then went to Boston College and allowed the Eagles to surmount a 17-0 halftime deficit and take a 21-17 fourth-quarter lead. Clemson responded that day, winning 27-21.
The pendulum swung back last week, when Swinney's team was thoroughly outplayed at Florida State.
Senior quarterback Cullen Harper said Swinney inherited a difficult situation and is trying to correct a multitude of problems on the fly.
"I think it's tough, because with all the good that was on this team, he also inherited the bad," Harper said. "It's tough to make a big transition in six weeks, but he's really trying his best to make the most of it."
Through it all, Swinney remains optimistic.
"I see us making progress," he said. "And we're not using things as excuses. Do we have issues? Yeah, we've got some youth and some inexperience and a couple of guys that sometimes can create a mismatch problem. But we've made the best of it."
