Swinney Wins 9th and 10th Coach of the Year Honors

Clemson, S.C.—Clemson coach Dabo Swinney was named National Coach of the Year by CBS Sports and Phil Steele on Friday.  The Tigers head coach has now been honored by 10 organizations with National Coach of the Year honors.

Swinney was earlier honored by the Associated Press, Walter Camp Foundation, Home Deport and ESPN,  Sports Illustrated, Sporting News, The Maxwell Award, The Bear Bryant Award, and the American Football Coaches Association.   Swinney will be in New Haven, Conn. on Saturday to receive his Walter Camp Foundation Coach of the Year award.

Swinney just concluded his seventh full season as the Tigers head coach and he has posted a 75-27 record.   He led the Tigers to a 14-1 record in 2015, the most victories in school history and just the eighth team in FBS history to win 14 games in a season. Clemson finished the season ranked No. 2 in the AP and USA Today polls released on Tuesday after the Tigers lost to Alabama in the National Football Playoff Championship game 45-40 on Monday night.

Swinney led Clemson to an 8-0 record in the ACC and league championship game victory over an eighth-ranked North Carolina team.  The Tigers defeated sixth ranked Notre Dame in the regular season and fourth ranked Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl in the semifinal game of the College Football Playoff.  The three top 10 wins tied a Clemson record for a season.

The Tigers had a school record 17-game winning streak entering Monday’s night’s game with Alabama and have won 37 in a row over unranked teams.  Clemson’s final No. 2 ranking is the second highest final ranking in school history.  Clemson was ranked No. 1 in the nation for all six weeks of the College Football Playoff Poll.