Randy Smith: Dabo On The Verge Of A Dream Season

  • Tuesday, November 10, 2015
  • Randy Smith
Randy Smith
Randy Smith

At the risk of jinxing the Clemson Tigers top-ranked college football team, I can truthfully say that head coach Dabo Swinney is indeed on the verge of a dream season in 2015. The Tigers are currently 9-0 on the season and have already wrapped up the ACC Atlantic Division Title. They did that with a convincing 23-13 win over defending ACC Champion Florida State last weekend. Clemson will be heavily favored to win their final three regular season games against Syracuse, Wake Forest, and South Carolina, though the battle with the Gamecocks will be anything but a guaranteed victory. For Dabo Swinney it is not only a dream season but a chance to finally get the respect he deserves as a head coach.

His overall record is 70-26 but more impressively his Clemson teams are 51-11 since 2011. That's a winning percentage of better than 82%. " This is the best of times," Swinney said. "This is the good 'ol days."

Now that Clemson has reached the top spot in the world of college football, the rumor mongers have already hired Dabo as the next head coach at Alabama when Nick Saban retires. Dabo certainly has the Crimson Tide pedigree. He played for Gene Stallings and was a member of the 1992 National Championship squad. He was also an assistant coach under Mike Dubose at the Capstone and was born and bred in Alabama. While he is in the midst of a beautiful love affair with fans at Clemson, there is always the threat of that "call from mama." Coach Bear Bryant got that call when he left Texas A&M to return to Tuscaloosa. Bear said, " Mama called, and when mama calls you have to come running."

Nick Saban is 64 years old and the job at Alabama will likely be his last coaching stop. When you look at the viable candidates for the 'Bama job, Dabo Swinney is the most realistic choice. William Christopher Swinney is 45 years old, he dances with his players after wins, his post-game press conferences take on the appearance of a political really, and only a handful of current coaches can rival his recruiting prowess. He should be the hottest commodity in college football and he is. That certainly is not going unnoticed in Clemson. School President Jim Clements said, " He's done everything right. He's going to be on everyone's radar screen, including Alabama. Should that call ever come, we'll deal with it when it comes. If I'm the President at Alabama and I have an opening, guess who I'm calling?"

Things are really going well at Clemson. The school just announced plans to build a $55 million football facility, and while the Tigers are on top of the college football playoff poll, sophomore quarterback Deshaun Watson is receiving a lot of Heisman Trophy attention. It's a great time to be a Clemson Tiger fan.

If you have been to Clemson, S.C., you will know it's a quaint little southern village; one with a beautiful lake and  of course Clemson University. The fans are rabid and passionate, and they love Dabo Swinney. If and when the time comes and "Mama" calls Dabo Swinney to come home to Alabama, he will have a very tough decision to make. As for right now, I'm sure he plans to ride this potential dream season all he way to the end.   

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Randy Smith has been covering sports on radio, television and print for the past 45 years. After leaving WRCB-TV in 2009, he has written two books, and has continued to free-lance as a play-by-play announcer. He is currently teaching Broadcasting at Coahulla Creek High School near Dalton, Ga.

His career has included a 17-year stretch as host of the Kickoff Call In Show on the University of Tennessee’s prestigious Vol Network. He has been a member of the Vol Network staff for thirty years.

He has done play-by-play on ESPN, ESPN II, CSS, and Fox SportSouth, totaling more than 500 games, and served as a well-known sports anchor on Chattanooga Television for more than a quarter-century.

In 2003, he became the first television broadcaster to be inducted into the Greater Chattanooga Area Sports Hall of Fame. Randy and his wife Shelia reside in Hixson. They have two married children, (Christi and Chris Perry; Davey and Alison Smith.) They have four grandchildren, Coleman, Boone, DellaMae and CoraLee.

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