Note: The following appears in the App State football gameday program.
Editor’s Note – Last season, Dabo Swinney became the winningest coach in Clemson history when he led the Tigers to a win over Notre Dame. It was his 166th career win, one more than Frank Howard had between 1940-69. In each gameday program this season, Tim Bourret reviews an important victory in Swinney’s head-coaching career. Today, we recall Clemson’s win over South Carolina in 2008, Swinney’s first game as head coach against the rival Gamecocks.
Any review of the most important games of the Dabo Swinney era must start with the 2008 South Carolina game at Death Valley. Swinney had taken over as interim head coach on Oct. 13, 2008, one of the most tumultuous days in program history. That Monday morning started with a meeting between Head Coach Tommy Bowden and Athletic Director Terry Don Phillips.
The Tigers had lost at Wake Forest 12-7 the previous Thursday in a game televised by ESPN. The loss dropped Clemson, which had been ranked No. 9 in the preseason AP poll, to 3-3.
After a weekend of consternation among Tiger fans, administrators and anyone affiliated with the program, Phillips wanted to have a face-to-face meeting with Bowden to let him know how he stood. Bowden was in his 10th year with the program. Although he had brought the program to a level of consistency (no losing seasons overall or in the ACC and a 7-2 record against South Carolina), Clemson had not won the ACC Atlantic Division title, nevermind the ACC title.
At that Monday morning meeting, Phillips told Bowden if Clemson had not won the Atlantic Division by season’s end, he was going to make a change.
Phillips had no intention of firing Bowden on Oct. 13, and he expected Bowden’s reaction would be to accept what Phillips had said and go back to work, preparing for the Georgia Tech game the next Saturday.
However, that was not Bowden’s reaction. He suggested Phillips make a change right away and give one of his assistant coaches a chance to run the program for the rest of the year to see if he could do the job.
Both Phillips and Bowden agreed that the man for the job, at least on an interim basis, was Swinney.
Phillips told Swinney to make whatever changes he wanted between Oct. 13 and the rest of the regular season.
“Run the program as if you were the head coach for the long term,” he said.
Swinney did just that when it came to staff, player personnel and any other intangibles he thought would help the program. He made many changes that first week, but the Tigers lost a close game to Georgia Tech that Saturday.
His first win came on Nov. 1 against a Boston College team that would win the ACC Atlantic Division title, and it gave his program momentum. Heading into the South Carolina game, Clemson had won three of the last four games and was bowl eligible with a 6-5 record.
Two hours prior to kickoff, I went to the first floor of the west endzone to meet the team and Swinney to go over any lineup changes. Before the team entered, I saw Associate Athletic Director Bill D’Andrea, Phillips’ right-hand man for many years.
“Jim Grobe (Wake Forest head coach) has contacted us and is interested in the job,” said D’Andrea.
I knew Clemson had already interviewed other coaches, including Lane Kiffin.
While Swinney had done a good job, winning three of five games, it was apparent he needed to win this game against South Carolina to get the job on a full-time basis.
As positive a person as Swinney is, he believed the same way, and he coached this game in an aggressive manner.
It proved to be the right approach.
Swinney threw caution to the wind when it came to the playbook in the first half, including his “Cock-A-Doodle-Doo” play in the second quarter, when Jacoby Ford lined up close to the sideline and snuck downfield to take a 50-yard touchdown pass from Cullen Harper. That play gave Clemson a 17-0 lead. A 20-yard rushing touchdown by James Davis made it 24-0 in favor of the Tigers.
South Carolina scored 14 consecutive points to get within 10 points, but Davis scored on a two-yard run late in the third quarter, his third touchdown on Senior Day, to put Clemson back in control. There was no scoring in the fourth quarter, and Clemson won 31-14. Swinney was carried off the field by the senior members of the team.
The following Monday, Dec. 1, a press conference was held in the west endzone to announce the interim tag had been removed from Swinney’s title.
