CUin1993 on 
CUvinny on 
Blair on 
Willy Mac on 
5knklshfl on We hear tonight that Dabo will be offered the job tomorrow. More as it develops.
Hey, more developed. The Post & Courier is reporting that it’s a done deal.
The “interim” tag will be removed and Dabo Swinney officially will be named Clemson head coach within the next few days. Athletic Director Terry Don Phillips will conduct a formal interview with Swinney this afternoon, and Clemson sources indicate a formal news conference will be held Monday or Tuesday.
“We are still going to go through the process,” Phillips said Saturday after the Tigers’ 31-14 victory over archrival South Carolina at Death Valley. “I want this day to be about Dabo and the players, and I’m very happy for them. You can draw your own conclusions.”
Some Clemson athletic department staffers originally scheduled to leave Monday to accompany the men’s basketball team to Illinois for an ACC-Big 10 Challenge game Tuesday night will remain home instead.
There’s some sort of pattern here with Terry Don Phillips and football coaches where he chooses the highest emotional peak to make important hiring/contract decisions, we know how that’s worked for us in the past, let’s hope this reverses a trend.
***UPDATE***
Dabo to get a 4 year contract at around $1 mil per, according to the P&C.
1CUvinny
on Nov 29, 2008 at 9:34 pm:
Glad we won and all but isn’t giving a coach an extension because he can beat USC what got us in this mess in the first place?
2JasonL
on Nov 29, 2008 at 9:44 pm:
Honestly don’t have much of an opinion on this.
I’m gonna have to point out that Dabo went 4-2 for about 200k when Tommy went 3-3 for 3 mil. Plus, Swinney looks like he’s having a little fun. Tommy always looked like he was concentrating to keep from taking a dump on the sideline.
3Charlie
on Nov 29, 2008 at 9:53 pm:
I think its time for everybody to look at the whole season and evaluate the team based on the on-field performance and ignore all the things Dabo did off-field. We had a coach that did things right off-field and could beat SC.
If he’s named I’d support for 3 more years. But I get the idea that all the sunshine pumpers are now Dabo pumpers, and we wouldnt be rid of him if he went 7-5 or 8-4 for 3 more years.
4aftiger
on Nov 29, 2008 at 9:58 pm:
I’ll support three years, but no more. No more Bowden bullshit. Get it done or get out!
5Andrew The Terrible
on Nov 29, 2008 at 10:00 pm:
…I still want Bud Foster has our new HC
6tigergal13
on Nov 29, 2008 at 10:03 pm:
@3 what makes you think the “sunshine pumpers” wouldn’t put that same blind support behind ANY hc? A new coach will hopefully try to integrate into the community like Dabo has and can just as easily fall on his face on the football field as Dabo could in the future. The point is tiger faithful are always faithful to clemson. We just are preparing ourselves to be fully invested in our head coach and it could very well be dabo.
7aftiger
on Nov 29, 2008 at 10:08 pm:
@6 Well said.
8aftiger
on Nov 29, 2008 at 10:19 pm:
Hmmmm, heard this story before. Can lightning strike twice? Let us pray.
“After nine years as an assistant coach, he debuted with a 17-15 win over Ohio State in the 1978 Gator Bowl. The 30 year-old coach, youngest in Division I at the time, also defeated a college football legend in a contest that truly put Clemson football on the map, as he beat Woody Hayes in the latter’s last game.
“When Coach Ford was named coach at Clemson, there were mixed emotions,” recalls Jeff Davis, a Clemson Ring of Honor member. “It was obvious that he had so many things to offer. And what he lacked he made up for in working harder than anyone else and communicating his expectations to the players. He blossomed as well as any coac’h could.”
He compiled a 96-29-4 (.760) record at Clemson, including a 6-2 bowl record. He was the third winningest coach in the country on a percentage basis after the ‘89 season. “
9Tom
on Nov 29, 2008 at 11:52 pm:
@6 – I support Clemson and Clemson football. I demand therefore that Clemson hire a coach that wins football games, for the sake of Clemson and Clemson football. I don’t support his job security, whoever he may be.
10Tom
on Nov 29, 2008 at 11:54 pm:
@8 – while I think Dabo is much better than West, isn’t trying to find another Danny what got us into that whole debacle with the first Tommy?
11Sambo
on Nov 30, 2008 at 12:14 am:
I have a family friend who is on the board of the Clemson Town Hall or something like that, and before the game he was telling us that there is a ton of pressure coming from the Clemson community, not the fans, but the Clemson community to hire Dabo. Basically, he told us that if TDP doesn’t hire Dabo, then TDP’s gonna be canned. Personally, I don’t think that’s the best way to hire a coach, however, I do like Dabo, but are we, as fans, willing to go throw his growing pains as a newly appointed HC position? Well, the answer is, it’s not up to us, it’s up to a bunch of uppity pricks with money. Let’s just hope is the next coming of Danny “God” Ford, for our sake at least.
12tigergal13
on Nov 30, 2008 at 12:22 am:
@9 I totally agree that we as a Clemson community should demand greatness. I just think that whoever the new coach is, there will definitely be some folks who think that person permanently has sunshine pouring out their ass.
13lola
on Nov 30, 2008 at 5:43 am:
So what exactly was TDP doing in Oklahoma????
14CUin1993
on Nov 30, 2008 at 8:42 am:
I still want Chris Petersen from Boise State.
15Chili
on Nov 30, 2008 at 8:49 am:
I WANT BILL COWHER ADFASDFASDFASDFASDFASDFASDFMUSTACHEASDFASDFASDF
16Tom
on Nov 30, 2008 at 10:08 am:
Comments from my blog:
Me, I’m disappointed. These types of decisions should not be made at the height of an emotionally charged weekend and at the end of an emotionally charged 7 weeks. These decisions should be made deliberately based on reason and logic. Unfortunately, it wouldn’t surprise me that these rumors are true, as our last three major coaching decisions were made in similar knee-jerk fashion:
-2007 situation: Tommy Bowden flirts with signing on at Arkansas
-Knee jerk reaction: Terry Don Phillips offers Bowden a contract extension, raise, and buyout rather than firing him and hiring Paul Johnson
-2004 situation: Fight at the end of SC game draws attention of national media
-Knee jerk reaction: Terry Don Phillips forbids Clemson from accepting any Bowl Bids rather than disciplining the actual players responsible, allows South Carolina to keep us from going to a Bowl not by actually beating us, but by starting a fight.
-2003 situation: Tommy Bowden should have been fired after Wake Forest meltdown with a talent-stacked Clemson team, instead it is proclaimed “no decisions will be made until a thorough evaluation of the entire season takes place.” Bowden proceeds to lead the Tigers to a strong finish by beating FSU and blowing out South Carolina.
-Knee jerk reaction: The Monday after the South Carolina game Terry Don Phillips announces a contract extension, raise, and buyout for a coach that used the same group of talented players to get blown out by Wake Forest and then beat an extremely good FSU team.
Obviously, those three knee jerk reactions didn’t turn out so well. I hope this one (if it’s true) turns out better, but my gut feeling says otherwise.
17lola
on Nov 30, 2008 at 10:10 am:
i want Stoops but Dabo stays too
18Tom
on Nov 30, 2008 at 10:25 am:
Why would Stoops leave Oklahoma? He gets to coach in a conference with no defense and go to a BCS bowl every year.
PS – DSOT candidate: http://i36.tinypic.com/2akd0rc.png
19Daniel
on Nov 30, 2008 at 10:29 am:
TDP has made some real impulsive decisions, no doubt. But I think this one might be a little more thought out. Most would agree that Will Muschamp was the “people’s choice” early in the process but he was quickly snagged by Texas. Also, who’s to say he would be better? If Dabo does get the job it’s because he accomplished the job of making us bowl eligible, kept the team from absolutely laying down and energized the fan base. Plus keeping him may keep some recruits from looking elsewhere and might keep CJ Spiller on campus (but probably not). Lastly, we can look at history from another perspective. Danny Ford and Frank Howard were former Tide players; it’ll be interesting to see how the third Tide alum pans out if he does in fact become coach.
20Tom
on Nov 30, 2008 at 11:10 am:
The more I think about Will Muschamp the more I realize how silly it was to consider him a head coaching candidate. He rides the coat-tails of great head coaches and he jumps around on the sidelines… not exactly a great choice. He may indeed turn out to be a great HC some day but I don’t think he’s ready. (Texas seems to have shown some wisdom with their actions that was far beyond the collective intelligence of internet football fans.)
21Redman
on Nov 30, 2008 at 11:39 am:
The situation is so similar to Ford’s situation. I would only ask that TDP would wait and see how Dabo prepares and executes in the Bowl game. The players appear to love the guy and I have not seen that kind of effort since the 1989 Gator Bowl
22Tom
on Nov 30, 2008 at 11:44 am:
On the surface there are a lot of similarities with the Danny Ford situation, but if we keep touting this guy as the next Danny then he’s just going to fail, period.
How is that player cohesion going to be next year if we drop a couple of games? We’re losing a lot of talent to the NFL this year… next year could be ugly. How bad is the buyer’s remorse going to be?
23Lawtonfunk
on Nov 30, 2008 at 12:16 pm:
I just don’t think there is anyone out there for us right now . . . so we give Dabo a three year shot and roll the dice again. At least, that’s what I think TDP is thinking.
I like the guy . . . I hear he gets the best QB in the world next year.
24Charlie
on Nov 30, 2008 at 12:16 pm:
Well we all know about the BOTs history of making great coaching decisions….nothing to ever worry about, right?
25NavyChief
on Nov 30, 2008 at 12:22 pm:
He has earned a shot, enough said (from me anyway).
26Daniel
on Nov 30, 2008 at 12:25 pm:
I know this kind of contradicts my last post about Dabo being a ‘Bama boy like Danny, but I agree with Tom – he should NOT be viewed as the “next” Danny Ford. That was what Tommy West was supposed to be too and that is just an unfair tag to put on someone.
27Speck Backfire
on Nov 30, 2008 at 12:26 pm:
Who really cares. None of us have any real idea how well Dabo or anyone else will do as head football coach at Clemson. Sure, there are a lot of similarities between this situation and Danny Ford, but if we’re going to use personality as the defining heuristic here, then why not just get Tribble Reese (he’s young and from Alabama). There are examples of unknown coaches going on to do great things, and thanks to South Carolina, there are plenty of examples of winning coaches going on to do mediocre things. If Clemson is terrible next year, you’re going to have buyers remorse whether it’s Dabo or Stoops. If Dabo sucks, then yeah, we will have made a bad decision, but honestly there will be no way to know if Foster or anyone else would have been a better decision. This isn’t fantasy football, you get what you’re given and you figure out a way to be happy about it.
28Chili
on Nov 30, 2008 at 12:46 pm:
@27, good point. He certainly exceeded expectations as interim coach, let’s see where he goes as head coach.
29Tom
on Nov 30, 2008 at 1:25 pm:
OK fine, let’s say Dabo is our guy: make sure he has a Pay Per Win contract with no buyout, and I’ll be happy.
30Chili
on Nov 30, 2008 at 1:47 pm:
Fuck, Tom, what are you just hitting refresh every five minutes to have the last word?
31PenthouseTiger
on Nov 30, 2008 at 1:56 pm:
Yeah Tom, that’s Chili’s thing, don’t be a copycat!
32JasonL
on Nov 30, 2008 at 2:00 pm:
There are a couple of reasons to keep Dabo, the main one being continuity. Tommy’s problem wasn’t that he was a horrible coach, he was a passable coach (in lesser conferences and against lower tier teams). He got great players and kept things clean. He surrounded himself (for the most part) with a good staff. His main issue was motivation and inspiring leadership. He lacked in both those facets. Sorely lacking.
Dabo seems to have the qualities that Bowden lacked. He can still recruit good players, but the difference is that he will probably be able to inspire those players to play to their potential.
Ultimately, it’s a grand experiment that I think we fans are leery of. Sure, his demeanor off the field is “folksy” and his demeanor on the field is infectious. Let’s see how far it gets him in 2009 and beyond.
What will be interesting to see is who he might bring in as his staff. I say he keeps scott (both of them) and Napier. I would love to see him grab Burns back from Alabama (an improbability) and I’m not sure about Vic’s Bend and Don’t Win defense. I hope he also gets a better strength coach. But I’m probably waaaaaay off on that one.
33Tom
on Nov 30, 2008 at 2:21 pm:
I think Bowden’s problem was definitely that he’s a horrible coach. He simply doesn’t understand football. I’ve heard from many a HS coach that went to clinics with Tommy Bowden that he was a mumbling, bumbling fool when it came to X’s and O’s. After watching 9.5 years of his offenses going out there on the field and looking like a midget trying to hump a doorknob, I believe them. Tommy Bowden didn’t understand the fundamentals of football and was never anything more than a CEO of a head coach. When Rich Rodriguez left, Bowden never recovered.
34wbhump
on Nov 30, 2008 at 2:24 pm:
I really think the University owes Dabo a shot. In just a very short time, except for two weeks, he has re-energized the players, the University, and the fans! I can’t remember being this excited since back in the late 80’s when one year we beat Oklahoma and also laid the smack down on Joe-Pa! Dabo is genuine, honest, and he is excited as much as we are about the possibilities of a bright future. If he is not right for the job, his ideals, attitude, vision and excitement is exactly what CU, IPTAY and the fans want and deserve. If you don’t hire him, might as well give the team to Coach Purnell and let him coach both, because he’s the only thing as exciting on staff at TIger Town!
35Redman
on Nov 30, 2008 at 3:10 pm:
I really was not and would not compare Dabo to Ford. Danny use to say, “if the other Team does not score – they can not win”. The defense over the last few weeks has shown a bit of that Attitude. (see Utube “Ford’s last Stand). A look at that clip and our win over WVU will remind us all why we have been so disappointed. However, Dabo, like Ford is an inspirational guy. Tommy West is a football guy and it wasn’t enough.
The players have to win. The coaches job is to put them in a position to do so. Dabo has done that.
36PenthouseTiger
on Nov 30, 2008 at 4:24 pm:
zomg rumor rumor rumor rumor
http://www.thetigernet.com/forums/message.jspa?messageID=7002650#7002650
37Chili
on Nov 30, 2008 at 4:27 pm:
that taylorthetiger guy has been trolling the fuck out of some Tigernet
38PenthouseTiger
on Nov 30, 2008 at 5:21 pm:
that article had an interesting theory on the bowl situation. anyone remember what pick from the big 12 goes to orlando? i hope it’s not top 3…
39PenthouseTiger
on Nov 30, 2008 at 5:28 pm:
or is it at large or what’s the deal, i can’t remember
40Chili
on Nov 30, 2008 at 5:32 pm:
I’m not sure how that works, but it does appear that Orlando will be the Tigers’ destination.
41Chili
on Nov 30, 2008 at 5:33 pm:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automatic_bids_to_non-BCS_bowls
42PenthouseTiger
on Nov 30, 2008 at 5:34 pm:
Ok so im guessing it recently switched from big 12 to big 10, since we played texas tech and colorado in orlando recently
43Chili
on Nov 30, 2008 at 5:51 pm:
Iowa, Minnesota, or Wisconsin are likely opponents if los tigres get champy.
44lola
on Nov 30, 2008 at 5:54 pm:
I heard that rumor too. From the same person who informed me of what would happen to bowden scenario before the Wake game. Every detail he told me was exactly how it panned out. I don’t read Tigernet unless you guys post it on here. But there is something to this rumor. Venables would not be one to go for……
45Chili
on Nov 30, 2008 at 5:56 pm:
The Stoops thing has absolutely zero basis in reality and anyone who would believe he’d leave Oklahoma for Clemson needs to check their ego and realize where Clemson is on the college football food chain. No offense intended, lola.
46Manse
on Nov 30, 2008 at 5:57 pm:
Is there any weight to the rumor about playing Navy in DC? I’m sure most Clemson fans would hate that bowl choice, but as my dad played football at Navy, that would be one hell of a bourbon-filled family adventure.
47lola
on Nov 30, 2008 at 6:00 pm:
I know where it is, Chili, believe me after this long. But money does talk to a large amount of people in this country. I normally would not believe this, but hell, i’ve seen people do crazier things for a lot less money..
48madmac corleone
on Nov 30, 2008 at 6:47 pm:
@37, Twice now I’ve went back thru taylor’s posts at tardnet and showed where he’s just a moron who likes to post rumours based on nothing but his imagination. A couple of weeks ago he was saying Kiffin was a done deal….back before TB was fired, he said someone he “knew in the athletic dept.” told him that TB wouldn’t be fired but he had to let Spence go at the end of the season. I”ve made him look like an ass as have others but he keeps coming back with this shit. Stoops ain’t goin’ nowhere, ’specially to Clempson.
49PenthouseTiger
on Nov 30, 2008 at 7:59 pm:
haha one guy made a comment about taylorthetiger never making valid points. the rabid tnetters immediately jumped on him and defended ttt (not the drunk kind)
50Manse
on Nov 30, 2008 at 9:50 pm:
Tiger Illustrated, Charleston newspaper, and probably a lot of facebook, IM, and gchat messages all reporting that Dabo is in for 4 years at $1M/year.
51Chili
on Nov 30, 2008 at 9:51 pm:
@50, just like I’ve had on the post for hours now. (PAT ON BACK)
52Manse
on Nov 30, 2008 at 9:52 pm:
Or should I say, “ALL IN” for 4 years ?????????//??????//!!!!!1!
53Manse
on Nov 30, 2008 at 9:53 pm:
Fuck. Sorry. The length of that post got me. Let the shaming continue…
54Coby
on Nov 30, 2008 at 10:28 pm:
Why does this not surprise me.
Sure, Dabo, we’ll go “All-In” with the “Pocket 10s” (Swinney’s words) we’ve been dealt.
Too bad at least 3 of our opponents will have an over pair and 3 more will be holding AK. Hey, 54% ain’t too bad!
/Puke.
55boom boom
on Nov 30, 2008 at 10:33 pm:
What a great national search TDP put on! This really shows what TDP thinks of Clemson football. Lets keep the rental car!
56CUin1993
on Nov 30, 2008 at 11:42 pm:
Fucked up.
I am starting to believe that Clemson would have been just fine with Bowden’s losing. The only thing that lead to Bowden’s firing (or whatever) was the fans, or at least half of them.
I really hope that Dabo is a winner because if he’s not I don’t ever want to have to listen to this again:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YoifMZd5Ewg
Fucking Dave from Mt. Pleasant
57Manse
on Nov 30, 2008 at 11:52 pm:
@56: Even if he does a good job, your ears are still fucked: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBTSwEgyhH8
58PenthouseTiger
on Dec 1, 2008 at 1:11 am:
@56&57
NO MORE!! NO MORE!! OH PLEASE GOD NO MORE!
59Tully
on Dec 1, 2008 at 10:48 am:
@56-58 LOL. That song had me in stitches. Dave from Mount Pleasant still is a classic. The anchorman’s face is priceless.
Dabo-mania is a bit out of hand; let’s tone it down a notch, people. If I see one more ‘Yaba DABO Doo’ sign, I will take that sign and shove it up your ass American History X prison rape style.
Having said that, I agree with the hire and I am excited for the future. Dabo seems to be as excited about Clemson football as any fan, and is not just in it for the large paycheck, which is a lot more than you can say about most coaches.
On a different note, Tom: are you high??? A pay per win contract?? Are you fucking kidding? Please tell me that was a joke. Pay per win? Wow.