Swinney Named Interim Head Coach

Oct. 13, 2008

Clemson, SC – Clemson assistant head coach Tommy Bowden, who reached an agreement to depart the school after a meeting with Phillips on Monday morning.

Swinney is in his sixth season at Clemson as wide receivers coach, his second as assistant head coach. Clemson has finished in the top 25 of both polls in three of those five seasons.

Swinney has had a lot to do with the success of Clemson’s passing game over the last five years. He has coached a first-team All-ACC receiver each of the last four years and has had a player lead the ACC in receptions or reception yards each of the last three years.

Swinney has also had a strong impact on Clemson’s recruiting success in recent years. In February of 2006 he was listed as the fifth best recruiter in the nation by Rivals.com. He has been named one of the top 25 recruiters in the nation by that media outlet four times. He has signed 38 student-athletes in his five recruiting seasons and was a major reason Clemson’s 2008 class was ranked second nationally by ESPN.com when he signed 11 student-athletes.

The 1993 Alabama graduate served as an assistant coach at Alabama from 1993-2000. He was a graduate assistant with the Crimson Tide from 1993-95, the wide receivers and tight ends coach at Alabama in 1996, the tight ends coach in 1997 and the wide receivers coach from 1998-00.

During his time as a coach and player at Alabama, Swinney was a part of six teams with at least 10 wins, five top 10 finishes, one national championship, three SEC titles and five SEC Western Division titles. He coached the number two receiver in Alabama history in Freddie Milons and the number-one receiver in Clemson history in current Tiger Aaron Kelly.

Swinney is a native of Alabama who played on the Crimson Tide’s National Championship team of 1992. He is a 1993 Alabama graduate who earned his degree in commerce and business administration. He was named to the Academic All-SEC team during his career with the Crimson Tide.