How Clemson's Dabo Swinney Navigates Changing Times In College Football

The more things change, the more the Clemson Tigers head coach finds ways to keep the standard the same

Clemson Head Coach Dabo Swinney is all about consistency. | Ken Ruinard / USA Today Network South Carolina / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

In a college football environment that is constantly changing, there is always someone who continues to stick to his beliefs: Clemson Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney. 

While head coaches revamp their squads through high-paying contracts and transfer portal overhauls, Swinney keeps things consistent. High retention rates and years of developing players before they see the field is his way to go, and it’s worked. 

For Swinney, it’s simple. He’s looking for consistency rather than years of perfection, followed by tough rebuilds. 

“I want to be consistently good [as] opposed to occasionally great,” Swinney said on the Jim Rome Show on Tuesday. “Occasionally great, in my business, gets you fired, so I’ve always wanted to just be a program of consistency, and not just on the field, but how we win.”

The Tigers have taken two of the last three ACC Championships, consistently being a top contender to take the conference. The team saw its first College Football Playoff appearance in four years as well. 

However, academics and life skills are more important to Swinney. The team has finished top 10 academically in 13 of the last 14 years. It’s the purpose that means the most to him, and with these results, the players as well.

“I want to be purpose-driven, and for me, I want to graduate our players and I want to equip them as men,” he said. “I want them to have a good experience, this is college, and I want them all to win a championship, but we’ve never put winning a championship first, and so I think that I want to have a culture where people really value the place and they value the people that they are doing football life with, and that’s hard to do.”

Regardless of whether they’re in the portal or not, teams will reach out to Swinney’s players yearly, trying to lure them away from the Tigers. While some take the bait for personal reasons, like playing time, most choose to stay, conveying that they are fully bought into the program. 

“They can leave anytime they want, twice a year,” Swinney said. “Our guys got lots of money being thrown at them, but to have the highest graduation rate these past three years and retention, it just shows that our process works and these kids really value where they are and who they’re doing life with.”

Now, with the highest retention rate in the FBS, a bought-in squad has the chance to contend for a national championship. From a loss that the team learned from last postseason, a top returning offense and a new defensive coordinator who almost saw the top, it’s been the consistency that has always kept Swinney in the mix for being one of the best teams in the country. 

“We’ve got the highest graduation rate in the country and we lead the nation in retention,” he said. “In the last three years, in the craziest time in the history of football, we have the highest retention and graduation, so it’s been the consistency on and off the field.”