mogrits on 
AParker on 
Willy Mac on 
This week you’re getting a two-fer on the “Know Your…” segment. We thought it only fair to give you a brush up on our new coach as well. Most of it is influenced by his Wikipedia entry and his Clemson Football Bio, but this is our take on things.
William Christopher “Dabo” Swinney was born on November 20, 1969 and raised in Pelham, Alabama, living most of his early life in the state.
In 1989, he began attending the University of Alabama and walked on to the football team as a wide receiver his freshman year. During his freshman year, Dabo played for Tommy Bowden who was the wide receivers coach at the time for the school. He earned a scholarships and three letters. Ultimately, his playing career peaked when the Crimson Tide won the 1992 National Championship. He graduated with a commerce & business admin degree in 1993. He went to graduate school and joining the Bama staff as a Graduate Assistnant that year and after receiving his Masters became the full time wide receivers/tight ends coach on the team. Unfortunately for Swinney, when Mike Dubose got the boot in 2001, so did Dabo.
He then worked with AIG Real Estate, a job he got through his former strength coach at Alabama, Richard Wingo. In 2002, Bowden offered Swinney a job as the receivers coach at Clemson and he accepted. He also took over as recruiting coordinator and landed some of the nation’s top recruits in the years that he’s been here, being named to some of the top recruiter lists by several major media outlets for his efforts.
1DwightClark87
on Oct 15, 2008 at 8:11 pm:
What’s his real name? “Dabo” is just a nickname, right? Regardless, as we all know, Clemson has a long history of weird names in its football program (Igwebuike, etc.), so hopefully the national press will keep that in mind once they start making fun of him and, by proxy, Clemson. Of course, it will all make an interesting sidenote for Brent Musburger to fool around with and waste time discussing WHILE CLEMSON WINS THE ACC CHAMPIONSHIP…..THIS…..YEAR!!!! *(sound of breaking glass as I throw my laptop and can of Surge! out the window while “Shock the Monkey” plays in the background)*
2Kyle
on Oct 15, 2008 at 8:58 pm:
From the Greenville News:
“The move to Clemson has been successful for the native of Birmingham, Ala., who grew up knowing nothing but the University of Alabama and said for about eight years he didn’t know his real name.
Swinney’s birth name is William Christopher. His older brother by 17 months, Henry, referred to him as “that boy,” which came out of the toddler’s mouth as “Dabo.”
“The honest truth,” Swinney said this summer, “is that I was in about the third grade before before I knew what my birth name was, so there you go. Nobody I’ve ever known has called me anything other than Dabo.” “
3huj
on Oct 16, 2008 at 10:29 am:
On “Dabo”, I read somewhere that came from, when he was born, one of his slightly-older siblings were trying to mimic his parents when they referred to the newborn as “that boy”. His toddler sibling’s murdering of the phrase stuck as a nickname.
4Kyle
on Oct 16, 2008 at 3:19 pm:
Yes, please. Post it twice. :-p