Swinney Provided Reassurance to Herman Prior to 2019 Season

Texas head football coach Tom Herman reached out to Dabo Swinney for advice prior 2019 season

Clemson head football coach Dabo Swinney has proved he can take over a program and turn in into dynasty. While his blueprint might not work for every other coach or program, it's hard to knock Swinney's core principles giving his success over the last decade. 

Consistency in all phases of his Clemson program and the overall commitment to "best is the standard" as a coaching staff, on the recruiting trail, in practice and on game day have paved the way for one of the best runs in the modern era of college football. 

Other coaches across the country want to duplicate what Swinney has built in Clemson with their own programs and he isn't afraid to share some of the lessons he has learned along the way. 

 In a Zoom interview with Football Scoop, Herman stated he reached out to Swinney prior to the 2019 season about rebuilding and maintaining a winning culture in Austin.

FootballScoop: As the keeper of the culture, are you concerned at all about sounding like a broken record in trying to drive home your point?

Herman: "I don’t think you should worry. I called Dabo prior to this previous season and I said, “Coach, I’ve been a head coach four years now but I’ve never been a head coach going into Year 3. I’ve got a lot of these kids that have heard the same message for the last two years from me. What did you do? Did you bring in guest speakers, did you change your message?” 

"Absolutely not. When they can mock you and they know what's coming out of your mouth before it comes out of your mouth, that means they're listening," Swinney said. "I think it’s OK to be repetitive, and it’s OK to sound like a broken record, because eventually the kids are going to naturally understand how important some of those things that we talk about are on a daily basis." 

Perhaps that is just another reason why Swinney has been so successful at Clemson. Sure, he's had to make adjustments and go through the natural growth as a head coach. But at the end of the day, he hasn't wavered on his fundamentals as a football coach.