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Andrea Adelson, ESPN Senior Writer
CLEMSON, S.C. — Dabo Swinney has plenty left to do at Clemson and has no plans to go anywhere anytime soon.
During a wide-ranging interview that will air on The Huddle pregame show on the ACC Network on Saturday (11 a.m. ET), Swinney acknowledged he’s had “lots” of opportunities to leave the Tigers but opted to stay with them because he doesn’t “think there’s ever been a better time to lead Clemson than right now.”
But he declined to share whether one of those opportunities was at his alma mater, Alabama, where he began his career as a walk-on in 1989. Swinney was long thought to be a top choice to replace Nick Saban, given his ties to the school and its schampionship pedigree. After Saban announced his retirement in January, Swinney said he had a conversation with him early the following day.
“That’s a conversation that stays between us,” Swinney said. “I’m here because this is where I want to be. I’m glad that’s over, because for a long time, people say these things. I’m happy for Alabama. I’m happy for Coach Saban, too.”
Entering his 17th season as Clemson head coach, Swinney is one of three active head coaches to win a national championship, along with Georgia’s Kirby Smart and North Carolina’s Mack Brown. Swinney and Smart face off Saturday in the season opener in a huge showdown for both teams.
For Clemson, the stakes are perhaps higher, considering it hasn’t made the College Football Playoff the last three years after a run of six straight appearances from 2015 to 2020. After a 4-4 start to last season, Swinney ripped into a caller on his radio show after he was asked to defend the team’s performance given his status as one of the highest-paid coaches in the country.
As part of his response to “Tyler in Spartanburg,” Swinney said, “I work for the board of trustees, the president and the AD, and if they’re tired of me leading this program, all they got to do is let me know. I’ll go somewhere else where there is an appreciation.”
Asked whether he had ever considered stepping down, Swinney said no.
“I’ve had lots of opportunities to leave Clemson, both for the NFL and college. Lots of opportunities, and you don’t read about (that) because that’s not how I operate,” Swinney said. “I’ve got some of the best kids in America that have come to Clemson to play for me. That means a lot. A lot of people, they don’t understand Clemson. Most of them have never been here, and they certainly don’t know me. They may think they know me, but they don’t know me. It’s a really, really special place, a place I really love. We can win at the highest level.
“It’d be hard for me to leave here. Who knows what God’s plan is for me down the road. My focus is just being great right where I am and leading at a time where we need leadership more than ever.”
“A lot of people, they don’t understand Clemson. Most of them have never been here, and they certainly don’t know me. They may think they know me, but they don’t know me. It’s a really, really special place, a place I really love. We can win at the highest level.”
Clemson coach Dabo Swinney
Clemson closed last season on a five-game winning streak to go 9-4, spurred by a 31-23 victory over Notre Dame. After the win, Swinney said, “If Clemson’s a stock, you better buy all you freaking can buy right now.”
“I think you saw the heart of our team,” Swinney said. “You saw the foundation of our program. I think the biggest thing is how they fought last year and the type of finish that they had. That’s fueled a lot of enthusiasm into this offseason with these guys. We have a very talented roster.
“Those are reasons to be optimistic. Thirteen years in a row we’ve been in the Top 25. Only us and Alabama. So history says we’re pretty good stock. Now we’ve had some years where we’ve been great, and I think these past couple years we’ve been good. But we want to be great.”
Massive changes already have come to college football, between the transfer portal and NIL, with more to come. Swinney has taken criticism for not using the portal more, signing zero players this past offseason.
But he says he has nothing against the portal, referencing a report by Rivals that listed Clemson’s roster as the fifth-most talented in the country and second in player retention.
“My philosophy is what’s best for Clemson,” Swinney said. “I’m not worried about what’s best for other people. If we have the fifth-most talented roster in college football, we don’t have a lot of gaps, right? When you have the retention that we have, somebody has to leave. We believe in our guys.
“I’ve said this many times: If I left Clemson today and took another job, half the team would leave. I’d be the greatest portal recruiter ever because you have to do what you have to do.”
Swinney has watched college coaches either retire or move on to the NFL over the last few seasons because of the seismic shifts to the sport. A looming revenue-sharing settlement will only add to those changes, but Swinney said thinking about the challenges “jacks me up.”
“We need leadership,” Swinney said. “We need some adults that really care about these kids and will tell them the truth, regardless of what the outcome may be. There’s never been a more challenging time as a college football coach. But that jacks me up. I love the opportunity to lead and create a path and manage all the moving parts.”