CLEMSON – Even in Tee-ball, Dabo Swinney was finding ways to win.
“The parents are all out on the field, shifting kids around, and Dabo’s set up to hit down the third-base line, so everybody shifts to that side of the field,” said longtime friend Alex Morton. “Then Dabo jumps around to the front of the box and busts it out past second base. He’s always been messing with people and figuring things out before anyone else does.”
Fast forward 40-plus years and Swinney is on the cusp of his 50th birthday.
And still messing with people.
Showing up for team meetings wearing a pink sports coat.
Channeling his inner Justin Timberlake while executing post-victory dances in the locker room.
Pranking fellow coaches with exploding golf balls.
Winning games by an average margin of 35 points in what was supposed to be a “rebuilding” year, at least defensively.
Swinney is in his 11th full season as Clemson’s head football coach and already has no equals. He has won 127 games and lost only 30, guided the Tigers to a school-record nine straight seasons of 10 or more victories and won two national titles.
Players love him.
Fans adore him.
He’s the highest-paid coach in the nation and perhaps more importantly is worth every penny in the eyes of Clemson fans.
Swinney will celebrate his 50th birthday on Wednesday, although “celebrate” is a relative term. He’ll pause to enjoy a slice of his favorite cake – sour cream with cream cheese frosting and pecans – at the team’s weekly supper, but he won’t tarry long.
It’s crazy this time of year,” says Swinney’s wife, Kathleen. “We really can’t celebrate because he’s got to work. I think in the offseason he and I will celebrate.”
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Dabo and Kathleen have been married for 25 years, and this is how most of her husband’s birthdays have unfolded – put on hold until there’s an escape clause for a week or so after spring practice.
The days and weeks and years and birthdays have rolled by in a relentless procession.
“It’s just amazing,” Kathleen says. “I can’t believe how time has clicked by, but I’m so proud of my husband and the amazing program he has built.”
Dabo at 10
Dabo Swinney first caught Kathleen Bassett’s eye at Valley Elementary School in Pelham, Alabama
