Syracuse HC Babers Considers Himself 'Older Version' of Clemson's Swinney
Syracuse's Dino Babers has more success against Clemson's Dabo Swinney than almost every other coach in the Atlantic Coast Conference, and that's with just one win at the Carrier Dome in 2017 under his belt.
Babers recollected Swinney joining the Orange in the locker room after one of the program's biggest wins and history and had no problem with the Tigers' head coach's actions. Babers even jokingly referred to himself as a "tanner" version of Swinney.
"I think, first of all, Dabo (and I), I don't know why we like each other. I can't tell you," Babers said during ACC Media Kickoff. "Some things you just can't explain, they just go together. But we have a good relationship. Obviously, we had the win, and he came in and spoke to the team, and I was fine with that. It's just one of those deals where you kind of know that certain people are going to say the right thing no matter what the situation, and I've always had him pegged as one of those people.
"It's always fun to compete, we enjoy playing Clemson; our guys enjoy playing them. They probably enjoy playing us too, considering that they've won most of them. But it's just something that we look forward to on the schedule."
After a 1-10 finish that saw Babers' Orange decimated by injury at multiple positions, the Syracuse head coach, unlike others, was very aware and open that Swinney's program and his are in two very different stages of building heading into 2021.
"You got to understand we're at two different stages, and we're operating in two different realms right now," Babers said. "Our goal is to get to where he's at. His goal is his goal, but I imagine it'd be to stay where he's at and get better. So I think there's a lot of differences, but I think that we kind of look at things the same way. We really care about our players; we really want what's best for our players and what's best for the game. He's a lot younger, but I consider myself an older version of him, only I got a lot better tan."
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