Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney has been tabbed as a potential candidate to replace Nick Saban at Alabama. Tigers president Jim Clements addressed the rumors on Thursday.
“Love Dabo Swinney,” Clements said, via The State. “Dabo has done a great job. Look, Dabo loves Clemson. Clemson loves Dabo. Dabo is our guy. Dabo’s done a great job. He’s a phenomenal leader, built an incredible program with a great culture and delivered national championships. Dabo is our guy.”
Clements acknowledged that he hadn’t spoken to Swinney about the Alabama job, stating, “We’ll save that question for another day.”
Swinney has built Clemson into a national championship-winning program throughout his 16 years as a head coach. The Tigers have appeared in four College Football Playoff title games, including three head-to-head matchups with Alabama. Clemson won two of those. He has posted 12 double-digit win seasons during his tenure at Clemson with an overall record of 170-43 (.798). However, the Tigers last visited the College Football Playoff in 2020, and his reluctance to fully adopt the transfer portal could hurt his candidacy for the Alabama job.
He agreed to a 10-year contract extension in September 2022 that keeps him at Clemson through the 2031 season. His buyout is set at $7.5 million, one of the highest among potential Alabama candidates. Swinney hails from Birmingham and played collegiately at Alabama from 1990-92. He started his coaching career in Tuscaloosa in 1996 as an assistant and remained with the Crimson Tide until 2000, when he moved on to Clemson.
Swinney has reiterated his love for his home state and alma mater over the years.
“I have so much respect for Alabama,” Swinney said in 2018. “Alabama is home, it will always be a place that I love, and I’ve got a lot of family, and I look at it the same at Clemson. It’s home, it’s family. It’s a very healthy rivalry. I think there’s a lot of respect.”
Swinney addressed a rumor he could replace Saban at Alabama that same year.
“I always smile,” Swinney said. “I understand it. That’s kind of the world we live in. I stay focused on where I am. I’m incredibly happy here at Clemson. I love where I am. It’s not like I haven’t dug my roots in here. It’s a special, special place that we love dearly. I’ve had three or four opportunities to leave Clemson over the years. We still have a lot of work left to be done.”
Clemson shrugged off a 4-4 start this season and rattled off five straight wins to end the year, including an impressive win over Kentucky in the Gator Bowl. Swinney spoke about the respect he has for his team after the game.
“To finish this season with five wins in a row, I’m just really proud of these players,” Swinney said. “Clemson creates a lot of noise, a lot of narratives, a lot of doubt and leadership challenges. These guys chose to continue to believe, chose to continue to keep that windshield mentality, stayed in the moment, and stayed together. That’s what they chose to do.”
