As one might imagine, his first week as interim head coach was a stressful time for Dabo Swinney. His head coach, Tommy Bowden, had just resigned and his future was up in the air. He was named as Bowden’s successor for the time being. He had to win the players over, and oh by the way, he had a football game against Georgia Tech to get ready for as well.

Swinney was really not in a situation to add any extra chores to his schedule. But when you are the head coach of a major college football program like Swinney learned, sometimes you have to things you do not want to do.

It was Friday and Swinney was exhausted from the long week. His plan before he started to get ready for Saturday’s game was to rest as long as he could. However, those plans changed when then athletic director Terry Don Phillips called him up on Friday and told him he needed to attend Saturday morning’s Board of Trustees meeting.

“I didn’t want to go. I did not really know any of them,” Swinney said. “It was at seven o’clock, I had not slept all week, and he said, ‘You know they just want to wish you well. You might want to come.’”

So Swinney got up and he went to the board meeting and met everyone. He remembers how nice everyone was and how supportive they were. Then he met this one board member who was as proud of Clemson as anyone and he told Swinney how committed they are to making Clemson great both on the field and in the classroom.

“So I get up and walked into this board meeting and they were all great,” Swinney recalled to the nearly 70,000 fans that attended Saturday’s national championship celebration in Death Valley. “I don’t remember which one it was, but they were very supportive, but one of the board members says, Coach, ‘We are very committed here. We just want to be great academically and athletically, like Georgia, Florida and Michigan.’

“I could not help it, but the Alabama just came out of me. I was trying to keep my mouth shut, but I could not do it. I figured right then that I was probably not going to get this job, so I’m going to say it anyway. I said, ‘Sir, I do not want this to be disrespectful, but that is not my vision for Clemson at all. I want for all of those other schools to want to be like Clemson.’”

Now, eight years later, that is exactly the case. Under Swinney’s direction, Clemson has won 70 games in the last six years, has won three ACC Championships, won five Atlantic Division Championships, has won five straight bowl games, including two Orange Bowls, the Fiesta Bowl and the Peach Bowl, played in the College Football Playoff twice, played for two national championships and of course won last Monday’s national championship game over then No. 1 Alabama.

In the classroom, the Tigers are one of the best in the APR rankings every year, and the university itself is listed as the top public university in the country.

Like Swinney said in that meeting with the board of directors eight years ago. Clemson does not want to be like all of those other schools, but those other schools want to be just like Clemson because right now Clemson is on top of the college football world.

Photo Credit: Dawson Powers-USA TODAY Sports

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