Clemson’s Dabo Swinney wins Coach of the Year

Dabo Swinney is the first ACC coach to win since 2001.

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney was named the winner of the 2015 Home Depot Coach of the Year award.

Clemson enters the College Football Playoff as the No. 1 seed after finishing the season 13–0. The Tigers are coming off a 45–37 victory over the North Carolina Tarheels in the ACC Championship Game.

Swinney looks to extend the nation-leading 16-game win streak as Clemson faces the Oklahoma Sooners in the Orange Bowl, which serves as a College Football Playoff’s semifinal. With a victory, they would face either the Michigan State Spartans or Alabama Crimson Tide as they seek to win their first national title since 1981.

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Swinney has compiled a 74–26 record as the Tigers’ head coach since taking over for Terry Bowden in 2008. No Clemson coach has previously won the honor. He is the first coach from the ACC to win since Ralph Friedgen won for the Maryland Terrapins in 2001.

The awarded will be presented to Swinney on Thursday at ESPN’s college football awards show.

- Christopher Chavez