re: Potential replacement for when Saban retires

Y'all keep saying Dabo has built his own legacy at Clemson. Look, I may be splitting hairs here and I'm not disparaging Dabo, but Clemson was THE ACC power before FSU joined the league and they weren't chopped liver when Dabo took the reins. Clemson has won 16 ACC titles, most of them pre-Dabo. They have one NC, again, pre-Dabo. I'm not saying he's a bad coach; on the contrary, he's done really well. I'm just saying he didn't take over Vandy and turn them into Clemson. He took a fairly powerful program that was suffering through some mediocrity (think Bama between Stallings and Saban) and righted the ship.

He's probably going to get the call when the time comes and I'm OK with that. I hope he continues to grow and learn as a coach. He's still got some learning to do. I do think his "player's coach" style will play well in Tuscaloosa after Saban hangs it up. It's the polar opposite of CNS and will be a much needed breath of fresh air. You can't question the results, but the "all business, all the time" approach gets old for everyone: the fans, the players, the staff. The winning is fun, but the process isn't. It's a game, let's make it fun again. Dabo would do that.

My biggest reservation with Dabo is the maddening habit he has of playing to the level of his competition. I don't know if it's a Dabo thing, a Clemson thing, or a bad habit he learned from Tommy Bowden who got fired for that problem. Everybody has games like that from time to time. Clemson has done it so much it's called Clemsoning. Is that because of Dabo or in spite of Dabo? It has continued on his watch too, just not quite as often. He's got one of the most talented teams in the country and one of the 3 most talented players in the country, and they struggled with some regularity this year. They struggled with Auburn, Troy, Louisville, NC State, FSU, and Pitt. Pitt beat them and NC State should have. Did everything but make the winning FG at the end. Is that the mark of a top shelf coach? It raises questions...

For Dabo to retain the golden ticket until it's redemption time, he's going to have to continue to win after this season. This is Watson's last year and as I posted previously in this thread, people want to see how much of this elite level success was due to Dabo Swinney and how much was due to having DeShaun Watson at QB. Going 9-3 next season wouldn't be surprising or damaging to his career. Going 7-6 might make people take a second look. Fortunately, that doesn't appear to be a decision we have to make at this time. Let's enjoy the coach we have for as long as we have him. Nobody will match this level anytime soon, so let's enjoy it while we can.