This week, a national outlet ranked the top coaching hires of the 2000s.

Clemson’s Dabo Swinney landed at No. 3 on CBS Sports’ list of college football’s top 25 coaching hires this century.

Only Nick Saban (Alabama; hired in January 2007) and Urban Meyer (Florida; hired in December 2004) are ranked ahead of Swinney.

In October 2008, Swinney was named Clemson’s interim head coach, replacing Tommy Bowden, who had been his position coach as a player at Alabama and was Clemson’s head coach since 1999. 2009 marked Swinney’s first full season as head coach at Clemson.

“Swinney isn’t the only coach on this list with multiple national championships, but his rise is nothing short of magical,” CBS Sports’ Shehan Jeyarajah wrote. “A former wide receivers coach on Tommy Bowden’s staff, Swinney was one of the least experienced hires on this list when he took over. All he did over the next 15 years was transform Clemson into a national powerhouse. Before his tenure, the Tigers had just one national title and six top-10 finishes; Swinney surpassed both marks on his own. There are fair questions about whether he can return Clemson to the mountaintop in a new era, but those are champagne problems. His hire remains one of the boldest and best swings a program has ever taken.”

Swinney has a career head coaching record of 180-47 in 17 seasons (16 full seasons) at Clemson. He enters the 2025 campaign as the program’s all-time winningest coach, the winningest coach in ACC history and the first coach to lead the Tigers to multiple national championships.

Clemson has won nine ACC titles under Swinney, including eight in the last 10 seasons, while he has guided the Tigers to seven College Football Playoff appearances during his tenure.

Swinney and Georgia’s Smart are the only active coaches with multiple national titles. In 13 of the last 14 years, Swinney’s Clemson program has won 10-plus games.

Smart is ranked No. 5 among CBS Sports’ top coaching hires this century, behind Pete Carroll (Southern Cal) at No. 4.

Rounding out the top 10, in order from Nos. 6-10, are Jim Harbaugh (Michigan), Gary Patterson (TCU), Mike Gundy (Oklahoma State), Chris Petersen (Boise State) and Mark Dantonio (Michigan State).

CBS Sports also recently ranked every Power Four coach ahead of the 2025 season, and Swinney checked in at No. 3 on that list, behind Ohio State’s Ryan Day at No. 2 and Smart at No. 1.