Terry Don's game ball

CLEMSON -- Clemson seniors C.J. Spiller, Jacoby Ford and Thomas Austin came off the Death Valley field to an exuberant standing ovation Saturday with 1:06 remaining in the Tigers' 34-21 win over Virginia.

Dabo Swinney, 40 as of Friday, got a Gatorade shower from his players and a "Happy Birthday" serenade from 77,000 fans. Most of the happy people took to the turf to toast Clemson's first trip to the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game.

But the real star of the game was a guy who didn't call a play and hasn't taken a snap since he played defensive tackle at Arkansas in 1969. Clemson athletic director Terry Don Phillips wore an orange sweater, orange shirt and friendly smile as the seconds ticked away in the fourth quarter.

Standing aside the West end zone, Phillips accepted congratulations. ACC commissioner John Swofford came by. So did two Orange Bowl reps wearing

their own orange jackets.

Not surprisingly, a grateful Swinney gave his boss a game ball and thanked him profusely for "taking a chance."

Almost a year ago, Phillips gambled in a shrewd sort of way. In a rare move within the major college sports entertainment biz, he hired a head coach who …

--Had never been a head coach.

--Or a coordinator.

--And was selling real estate in Alabama the day former Clemson head coach Tommy Bowden phoned with a job offer.

Soon, Phillips might be the most sought-after campus speaker in America.

Topics include:

--How to pick the head coach who finally gets your program over a frustrating hump and into first place after finishing second or third four seasons in a row.

--How to cut costs in a rough economy by paying the guy only $800,000 per season when other head coaches are making many millions.

'Moneyball' smarts

"It wasn't an economic decision. That wasn't the reason," Phillips insisted Saturday. "The way the contract is written, Dabo will have opportunities to get up there with the other contracts in our league."

Yes, the creative Dabo deal calls for a bump to $1.7 million now that Clemson has reached the ACC championship game. Brilliant! An incentive-laden contract only adds to a blue-collar, populist status Swinney started gaining soon after taking over for Bowden on an interim basis in October of 2008.

And makes for another lecture topic.

Phillips' jackpot mirrors some of the famous baseball management strategy made famous in the Michael Lewis bestseller "Moneyball." The book is about how Oakland Athletics general manager Billy Beane and his staff made cerebral use of "under-valued assets" -- college seniors with great on-base percentages, for instance -- to stay ahead of most big-market teams. It worked until many other teams adopted the "Moneyball" approach.

Phillips has pulled the superb position coach as ultimate under-valued asset act at a time when CEOs in various businesses all over the country are scrambling for frugal success.

Phillips acknowledged the benefits of Clemson's low-risk/potentially high-reward Swinney decision.

But, bless his heart, he doesn't see himself as an innovator.

He mentioned how Frank Howard was on Jess Neely's Clemson staff, and Charley Pell was on Red Parker's Clemson staff and Danny Ford was on Pell's staff.

"And those are three of the top coaches here at Clemson," Phillips said. "And all came from Alabama, like Dabo. I'm not saying that's the template but it's worked here."

Standing out

Clemson still has to play at South Carolina.

Beating Georgia Tech in the ACC title game won't be easy.

Spiller won't be back next season.

Swinney, however, remains "all in" into 2010.

"There are a lot of good, young coaches on staffs out there," Phillips said. "I think it really helps, too, if you have been around a guy a long time like we had been around Dabo and really got to know him."

But if hiring a head coach with no head coaching or coordinator experience happened as often as athletic directors identified exceptionally talented position coaches, there would be Dabo-like resumes throughout the ACC and SEC.

There are not.

Give Terry Don Phillips more than a game ball. Give him unique credit for cashing in.

Reach Gene Sapakoff at gsapakoff@postandcourier.com or 937-5593.