Clemson's Dabo Swinney Celebrates Life, Legacy of Late FSU Coach Bobby Bowden
CLEMSON - Dabo Swinney woke up Sunday morning thinking about his father, who died six years to the day.
Shortly after, the Clemson head coach learned the news that shook the college football world: legendary Florida State head coach Bobby Bowden died at 91 from pancreatic cancer.
"He has had a huge impact on me," Swinney said Monday after Clemson's practice. "I loved him before I knew him. Sometimes you really love people, think you do, and then you get to know them and you say, 'Oh, he's a jerk.' But when I got to know him, he was even better than you could perceive."
Swinney has long been connected to Bowden and his family. Former Tiger head coach Tommy Bowden, son of Bobby, hired Swinney in 2003 as Clemson's receivers coach and took a young Swinney to Tallahassee to see "daddy" one year.
"Is this really happening?" Swinney said he thought in his mind when he was sitting in the office of a coach who won 377 games and two national titles. "He was watching West Virginia tape. They were getting ready to play West Virginia in the bowl game. Next think I know, Tommy gets up and walks out. He says, 'I'm gonna go say hey to all the guys,' and he just leaves me. It's me and Bobby Bowden and we just had this really cool conversation."
Years later, when Tommy and Clemson parted ways in the middle of the season, Swinney was named interim head coach. One of the first calls he received that night was from Bobby, who told him "all the Bowdens are behind you."
"That's the type of man he was," said Swinney, who later had son Terry Bowden on his staff. "That's the type of class he was. Then we played them three weeks later. He wasn't as nice to me that day. But just a class guy and a great example to all coaches everywhere because at the end of the day, it's not ever going to be about the Xs and Os...it's going to be about the hearts and the souls of your group. Nobody did that better than Bobby Bowden."
Swinney said Bobby Bowden, who set a standard all coaches still try to meet. The Seminoles, an ACC rival of the Tigers, finished in the top-5 of the AP poll in 14 consecutive seasons during Bowden's tenure. However, Swinney says it's the man off the field he'll remember most.
"As a coach, if I can have 25 percent of the influence over my players as he had on his, that's going to be a life well-lived for me," Swinney said. "He was a great, great football coach who set the standard for a long, long time."
Swinney paid homage to Bowden, comparing his influence on Swinney to others like Gene Stallings, Bear Bryant and Tom Landry.
"To me, to have all those influences through mentors, I'm the luckiest coach in the world," Swinney said.
In their last conversation, Swinney said it was hard to get off the phone, knowing it might not happen again. Bowden kept his southern charm and humor all the way through their talk.
"Last thing I told him was, 'Alright Coach, if you get to heaven before me, maybe every now and then help me get one of those balls through the uprights.' And he goes, 'Boy, you don't want my help. I have a tendency to go wide.'
"That's classic Bobby Bowden."
A public funeral for the second-winningest coach in Division I football history is scheduled for Saturday.
"Prayers to the whole Bowden family," Swinney said. "I know this is going to be a celebration this week. I look forward to being down there to support the entire family and celebrating the amazing life and legacy of Coach Bobby Bowden."
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