When he first came to Clemson in the spring of 2003, Dabo Swinney was thrilled to be back in coaching. He had been out of the coaching ranks for two years after he was a part of a Mike DuBose staff that got fired at Alabama following the 2000 season.
Swinney had spent the previous two football seasons selling commercial real estate, and though successful, he felt incomplete. He wanted to get back into coaching and Tommy Bowden gave him that opportunity as his wide receivers coach at Clemson.
It was a big risk for Swinney because Bowden was on the “hot seat” at Clemson following back-to-back seven-win seasons.