Swinney On 150 Wins: 'The Credit Goes to the Players'

With his 150th win, Clemson HC Dabo Swinney chose to remember the players, not beat his own chest.

When the final whistle sounded and the Clemson Tigers were champions of the Cheez-It Bowl on Dec. 29, not only was it a historic win for the program--as they won their 10th game for an 11th straight season--it was also historic for head coach Dabo Swinney.

That win marked his 150th win as the head coach of the Tigers.

Swinney joined Urban Meyer (165) and Bob Stoops (160) as the only coaches in FBS history to win 150 games in the first 15 seasons of a head coaching career. He also joined Bobby Bowden as the only head coaches ever to lead an ACC program to 150 career wins. Of Bowden’s 377 career wins, a conference-record 173 came during the Seminoles’ membership in the ACC.

"I can't process (what it means)," Swinney said. "But, you know, it's not about me. I mean, I've got 150 wins because of a bunch of great players, a bunch of great coaches, a bunch of great people and the good Lord.

"I try to do my part. But I can tell you this, and I've got a lot of guys on our staff, former players, that were a part of the first win, and it was pretty cool to be here tonight and be a part of the 150th win. That was a pretty cool moment."

In true Dabo Swinney fashion, he took the time to let everyone who would listen know that the accomplishment was not because of anything that he has done over the past 13 years that enabled him to reach the historic mark--instead, it was all due to the players.

"But credit goes to the player. This game is about players," Swinney said. "It's about players and players buying in. I'm incredibly blessed that I can't even really process that. But the same things that won the first game are the same things that won the game tonight, same exact things: Effort, toughness, physicality, no-quit attitude, discipline, belief in self and team, and just, you know, uncommon effort.

"I'm just really thankful. It's really cool to be a part of something like that. But again, you know, I can go on and on about all the great players that we've had all the way back to that very first win November 1, 2008, at BC, to where we are right now in 2021. It's been an amazing blessing, amazing journey. And, you know, I know, good Lord willing, keeps breath in my body, we'll have a lot more to come."

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