Dabo Swinney William Christopher " Dabo " Swinney ( born November 20 , 1969 ) is the head coach of the Clemson University Tigers football team . Playing career . Swinney was raised in Pelham , Alabama , and attended the University of Alabama , where he joined the Crimson Tide football program as a walk - on wide receiver in 1989 . He earned a scholarship and lettered on three teams ( 1990 – 1992 ) , including the Crimson Tide ' s 1992 National Championship team . During his time as an undergraduate at Alabama , Swinney was twice named an Academic All - SEC and SEC Scholar Athlete Honor Roll member . He received his degree in commerce & business administration in 1993 as well as a master ' s degree in business administration from Alabama in 1995 . Coaching career . Alabama . In December 1995 he received his M . B . A from Alabama and became a full - time coach for the Crimson Tide , in charge of wide receivers and tight ends . He was fired with all of head coach Mike DuBose ' s staff in early 2001 . Swinney sat out the 2001 season while receiving his contractual payments from Alabama . His former strength coach at Alabama , Rich Wingo , had become president of Birmingham - based AIG Baker Real Estate and offered him a job . From April 2001 through February 2003 , he did not coach and instead worked for AIG Baker Real Estate on development projects in Alabama . Clemson . In 2002 , his former position coach at Alabama , Tommy Bowden , made an offer for him to join his staff and coach wide receivers at Clemson , and Swinney joined in 2003 . He took over as Recruiting Coordinator from popular longtime coordinator Rick Stockstill . Swinney proved to be both an excellent wide receivers coach as well as recruiting coordinator , coaching ACC - leading receivers and being named one of the nation ' s top 25 recruiters in 2007 by Rivals . com . Swinney was named the interim head football coach on October 13 , 2008 , after previous head coach Tommy Bowden resigned six games into the 2008 season . The Tigers had started the year ranked # 9 in the preseason polls , but then went 3 – 3 ( 1 – 2 ACC ) in their first six games . Swinney was surprised by his promotion since he had been a real estate developer just a few years before ; at the time he was informed he was working with the wide receivers on their upcoming game . With a reputation as a top - notch recruiter , Swinney was chosen over Clemson defensive coordinator Vic Koenning ( former head coach of Wyoming ) , and associate head coach Brad Scott ( former head coach of South Carolina ) . Swinney ' s first actions as interim head coach were to fire offensive coordinator Rob Spence and introduce a new tradition , the " Tiger Walk " , where all players and coaches walk through the parking lot outside Memorial Stadium about two hours before a game as they head inside for final game preparations . On November 1 , 2008 , Swinney claimed his first victory as the Tigers ' head coach by defeating Boston College , breaking Clemson ' s six - game losing streak against the Eagles . On November 29 , 2008 , Swinney coached Clemson to a 31 – 14 win over South Carolina in the annual rivalry game , after which Clemson became bowl eligible , and Swinney ' s interim status was removed after a vote of confidence by Kirk Fowler . During the 2009 season , Swinney ' s first full season at the helm , Clemson finished the season with a record of 9 – 5 , won the Atlantic Division title of the Atlantic Coast Conference , defeated Kentucky 21 – 13 in the 2009 Music City Bowl , and finished the season ranked in the top 25 . On December 1 , 2008 , Swinney received a five - year contract to become Clemson ' s full - time head coach . In 2010 , Swinney led Clemson to a 6 – 7 season . Of the 7 losses , 6 were by less than 10 points and 5 were by 6 points or less . In 2011 , Swinney lead the Tigers to an 10 – 3 record that included an ACC Championship , the Tigers ' first since 1991 , and a trip to the Orange Bowl . During a pre - game ESPN interview prior to the 2012 Orange Bowl , Swinney said , " Hopefully when this thing is over , people are going to be talking about the Clemson defense . " The comment proved to be prescient as # 15 Clemson would go on to lose to the # 23 West Virginia Mountaineers , 70 – 33 , conceding an all - time record number of points scored in a quarter ( 35 ) , half ( 49 ) and game ( 70 ) in the 109 - year history of bowl games . Defensive coordinator Kevin Steele was fired after the game . Swinney was the 2011 winner of the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award , which was established to honor the NCAA Division 1 football coach whose team excels on the field , in the classroom , and in the community . The award is named for Bobby Dodd , longtime head football coach of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets . The award was established in 1976 to honor the values that Dodd exemplified . In 2012 , Swinney led Clemson to its first 11 - win season since the 1981 national championship year , capping the year off with an upset victory over the # 8 LSU Tigers in the Chick - fil - A Bowl . The Tigers finished the year at 11 - 2 , ranked 9th in the Coaches Poll and 11th in the AP poll , but lost the the South Carolina Gamecocks for a fourth straight season . Personal . Swinney ' s nickname was given to him as an infant by his parents when his then - 17 - month - old brother would try to enunciate " that boy " when referring to Swinney . He married the former Kathleen Bassett in 1994 and has three sons . Swinney ' s desk at Clemson features a sign that notes " There is nothing less important than the score at halftime . " While in college at the University of Alabama , Swinney was a member of the Kappa Alpha Order .