Dabo Swinney was not expecting it at all.
Just a few hours earlier, his Clemson Tigers had just won the national championship. He, along with some of his old friends and members of his coaching staff, were sitting around the television in their Tampa, Fla., hotel watching the highlights from their 35-31 win over Alabama, while smoking a victory cigar.
It was about that time, somewhere around four in the morning when defensive tackles coach Dan Brooks leaned into Swinney and said, “Coach I think I’m done.”
“I just looked at him and my heart just dropped,” Swinney said.