CLEMSON — The 17th-ranked Clemson Tigers defeated Stanford 40-14 Saturday, maintaining their undefeated standing against the Cardinal. The Tigers’ victory, however, meant so much more for the home team and the leading man behind it all.
With the victory, head coach Dabo Swinney reached the 100-win mark at Memorial Stadium — a remarkable achievement for the program and his coaching career, which has found so much success.
Swinney has had a long tenure with the Clemson Tigers (3-1, 2-0 ACC), starting as the interim head coach in 2008.
His impact on the Clemson Tigers is nothing to laugh at. With a 173-44 record, the highest national winning percentage among head coaches with at least 10 years of experience, and so many more accolades, his name is etched permanently in college football history as one of the greatest ever to do it.
Eight ACC Championship wins and two National Championships headline the name Dabo Swinney and the legacy that is a part of his program. Had it not been for the leadership of the winningest coach in Clemson history, the Tigers program may not have the national recognition of greatness that it has.
In Swinney’s press conference this past Tuesday, he answered questions about the meaning of reaching 100 home wins in his career as Clemson’s head coach.
“It’s great, it just means I’ve been able to be here a long time,” Swinney said. “We’ve been able to win at home a lot of games, so it’s a blessing. A lot of great players, a lot of great coaches, and unbelievable fan support all make that happen.”
The supporting cast that Swinney was able to build and mold with his position in the program truly made it possible to reach such an accolade. Players like quarterbacks Deshaun Watson, Trevor Lawrence and Tajh Boyd, receivers DeAndre Hopkins, Sammy Watkins and Hunter Renfrow, defensive lineman Christian Wilkins and Dexter Lawrence, and so many more led Swinney’s team with so much success.
One thing in common with all of those players? Most all are or were NFL stars, impacting their teams significantly for years. Swinney’s impact on the NFL has been too significant to ignore, producing 83 NFL Draft picks across his career, including 18 first-rounders.
His coaching staff has also been such an integral part of his success, where multiple of Swinney’s assistants have gone on to earn head coach roles at other schools. These names include Brent Venables (Oklahoma), Tony Elliot (Virginia), Jeff Scott (South Florida), and more.
“The first one against South Carolina was my first home win,” Swinney said when asked about a few of his favorite victories at Memorial Stadium. “I probably don’t get the job if we don’t win that game in ’08.”
Among his other favorites was his 24-22 win in 2015 against Notre Dame amid Hurricane Joaquin, which created the legendary “BYOG – Bring Your Own Guts” tagline, as well as his multiple battles against Lamar Jackson, former Louisville quarterback and ACC rival.
With 100 wins for Swinney at home, he hopes to extend that number even further with games against Louisville, Citadel, and South Carolina on the horizon in the 2024 season.
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