Swinney Named to Dodd Trophy Watch List

Clemson, S.C.—Clemson Head Coach Dabo Swinney  is one of 24 FBS coaches on a preseason Watch List for the 2016 Dodd Trophy.   The award  is presented each year by officials from the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation and the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl.  The award celebrates the head coach of a team who enjoys success on the gridiron, while also stressing the importance of scholarship, leadership and integrity, three pillars of former Georgia Tech Head Coach Bobby Dodd.

Swinney won the Dodd Trophy in 2011 when he led the Tigers to the ACC Championship, the first ACC title for the program since 1991.  It marked the first time a Clemson coach won a National Coach of the Year Award since Danny Ford in 1981. 

Last year Swinney led Clemson to a 14-1 record and a No. 2 final national ranking when he was a finalist for the Dodd Trophy.  The Tigers reached the College Football Playoff Championship game where they lost to Alabama, 45-40. Clemson also won the ACC Championship and ranked No. 1 in the nation for all six of the College Football Playoff Polls.

Swinney was named National Coach of the Year by 10 different organizations in 2015.   He was also named ACC Coach of the Year.  Clemson’s 14 wins tied the FBS national record for wins in a season.

Each of the last five years Clemson has finished in the final top 25 of both the AP and USA Today polls, and ranked in the top 10 percent among all FBS schools in terms of APR scores.  Swinney is the only coach to have a program reach those levels on the field and in the classroom five years in a row.

The coaches on the 2016 Dodd Trophy Watch List include:

Paul Chryst (Wisconsin), Mark Dantonio (Michigan State), Larry Fedora (North Carolina), Kirk Ferenz (Iowa), Jimbo Fisher (Florida State), Mike Gundy (Oklahoma State), Jim Harbaugh (Michigan), Mark Helfrich (Oregon), Clay Helton (Southern California),  and Tom Herman (Houston).

The list also includes:  Brian Kelly (Notre Dame), Jim McElwain (Florida), Urban Meyer (Ohio State), Les Miles (LSU), Jim Mora (UCLA), Gary Patterson (TCU), Chris Petersen (Washington),  Nick Saban (Alabama), David Shaw (Stanford), Kirby Smart (Georgia), Bob Stoops (Oklahoma), Kevin Sumlin (Texas A&M), Dabo Swinnney (Clemson), and Kyle Whittingham (Utah).