The man who started his career with an MBA and assistant coaching position at the team he would one day defeat became known as one of the greats after leading his team to victory over his own alma mater. William "Dabo" Swinney knows defeat, in many forms. He was fired from his coaching job at Alabama, the school he once played for as a wide receiver. He worked for a few years as a real-estate agent until he found the place that needed him, Clemson. After a few years, Clemson's head coach resigned and Dabo got offered the position that he would shine in. It took a few rough years, but he turned the game around for the Tigers, coaching them to 3 ACC Championships and a National Championship.
This walk-on receiver from Alabama somehow became the head coach for Clemson that would witness a walk-on receiver score the winning touchdown against the powerhouse of college football. How did he do it?
1. Having a great relationship with his team.
"So all of a sudden when I came to Clemson, I had more appreciation, a different perspective of the little things, like your relationship with players."
"That's been my word all year, love, and I said tonight we're gonna win it because we love each other."
2. Standing up for what he believes in.
"The answer to our problems in this world is just like Martin Luther King's: love, peace, tolerance, education, and Jesus."
"The bible says the 2 greatest commandments... if we all lived by those, a lot of problems would go away."
3. Living out his faith.
4. Building strong men rather than just strong players.
"We have three rules in our program that everyone must follow: 1. Players must go to class, 2., They must give effort, and 3. They must be good citizens. It's as simple as that."
5. Being a great recruiter.
"Recruits and their families want and deserve to know who you are as a person, not just what kind of coach you are."
6. Believing in the team when others won't.
When asked about the team "Clemsoning":
"We ain't lost to anybody unranked since 2011, but I have to come to a press conference in 2015 and get asked that... It's not a lack of respect. It's not doing your homework and paying attention to what reality is."
7. Not letting an old-school rivalry bother him.
"That's why Carolina's in Chapel Hill, USC's in California, and THE university in this state always has been and always will be Clemson."
8. Seeing the best in his players, even when they don't get the recognition they deserve.
"He didn't lose out on the Heisman, the Heisman lost out on him."
8. Learning from his losses.
"You're never going to be a great program if you lose a game and your season's over and you act like the world's coming to an end. None of the other games matter. That's a bad attitude and you're probably going to live a miserable life."
9. Having fun.
10. Going ALL-IN.
"We're going ALL IN. And I need these players to be ALL IN and we'll see what happens."
