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Mark Heim | mheim@al.com
Guest
This year, it was Dabo Swinney's turn to pay up.
In what has become an annual bet between the Clemson coach and Nick Saban, it appears the Alabama coach is eating on Swinney's dime.
Swinney, who joined me and Lee Shirvanian on "The Opening Kickoff" on WNSP-FM 105.5 on Tuesday, talked about the state of the Clemson program, signing the state of Alabama's top recruit and those pesky questions about mama calling.
Swinney is the keynote speaker for Tuesday night's 2018 University of Mobile Scholarship Banquet. The gala starts at 6:30 p.m. at the Arthur R. Outlaw Convention Center in downtown Mobile.
The bet with Saban has been annual eventover the past three years as both teams have reached the College Football Playoff Final Four. At stake is dinner at "Temptation," a restaurant in Boca Grande, Florida.
"It was a nice, sleepy little place for a long time, then coach Saban bought a place," Swinney joked Tuesday, a day before Clemson starts spring practice. "Then it got not-so-friendly. It got pretty competitive. Now, we got one side of the island against the other it seems like every year, but it's a lot of fun."
Alabama defeated Clemson in the CFP semifinal game 24-6 in the Sugar Bowlin New Orleans.
"I enjoy competing against. I know he's going to have his team ready year-in and year-out. We always have a little dinner bet. I fulfilled my end of the deal this year. Hopefully, we can get it back down the road."
Based on recent history, it would appear Swinney's chances of another bet are likely.
As the Pelham, Alabama, native points out only Clemson and the Crimson Tide are the only two programs in the country to have seven straight 10-win seasons.
"I definitely think we're one of those programs that has proven we can maintain consistency," Swinney explained. "To me, it's not all about winning national championships. There's only one team that's going to get that done every year, and Alabama is in a league of their own when it comes to national championships, especially in this modern era with coach Saban and what he has done.
"The big thing for me when we got this job was trying to build consistency. To me, that's the hardest thing to do in anything. To be considered elite at something or great at something, you have to be really good at something for a long period of time.
"I think we have established that."
In addition to consistency, though, is the ability to recruit, and Clemson appears to be ahead of the curve, pulling the state of Alabama's top prospect earlier this month in receiver Justyn Ross.
"It's huge," Swinney said of signing Ross. "It really is. I've recruited Alabama for a long time. It's really difficult to get any player out of the state of Alabama, much less the best player in the state.
"(Assistant coaches) Jeff Scott and Todd Bates did a phenomenal job from Day 1 in the recruiting process. They did a great job of establishing trust, developed a great relationship, not just with Justyn, but with his family. They came up here. They visited several times and just loved it. Obviously, we have had a great track record, if you will, with receivers. The number of guys that have come through our program at that position was something he was excited about. ...
"For whatever reason, it came down to us and mostly Alabama. I don't know if Auburn was too close or what. He had three great choices. He felt like Clemson was the best decision for him. We're excited we got him."
When it comes to football and Swinney, the conversation always comes back Alabama, whether it is recruiting, the CFP playoffs, his playing days or his future.
Would the former Crimson Tide player and native to the state of Alabama ever come back to Tuscaloosa as head coach if and when Saban is ready to call it a career?
"I always smile," Swinney said when asked what his reaction was when he is asked about coaching at Alabama. "I understand it. That's kind of the world we live in. I live in the here and now. I stay focused on where I am. I'm incredibly happy here at Clemson. I love where I am. This is my 16th year at Clemson. It's not like I haven't dug my roots in here. ...
"It's a special special place that we love dearly. I've had three or four opportunities to leave Clemson over the years. This is a place we still have a lot of work left to be done. The dream was to win a national championship here. We're so happy we could prove we could do that."
Mark Heim | mheim@al.com
Clemson's Dabo Swinney on another bet with Nick Saban, Justyn Ross and the Alabama job
In what has become an annual bet between the Clemson coach and Nick Saban, it appears the Alabama coach is eating on Swinney's dime.
Swinney, who joined me and Lee Shirvanian on "The Opening Kickoff" on WNSP-FM 105.5 on Tuesday, talked about the state of the Clemson program, signing the state of Alabama's top recruit and those pesky questions about mama calling.
Swinney is the keynote speaker for Tuesday night's 2018 University of Mobile Scholarship Banquet. The gala starts at 6:30 p.m. at the Arthur R. Outlaw Convention Center in downtown Mobile.
The bet with Saban has been annual eventover the past three years as both teams have reached the College Football Playoff Final Four. At stake is dinner at "Temptation," a restaurant in Boca Grande, Florida.
"It was a nice, sleepy little place for a long time, then coach Saban bought a place," Swinney joked Tuesday, a day before Clemson starts spring practice. "Then it got not-so-friendly. It got pretty competitive. Now, we got one side of the island against the other it seems like every year, but it's a lot of fun."
Alabama defeated Clemson in the CFP semifinal game 24-6 in the Sugar Bowlin New Orleans.
"I enjoy competing against. I know he's going to have his team ready year-in and year-out. We always have a little dinner bet. I fulfilled my end of the deal this year. Hopefully, we can get it back down the road."
Based on recent history, it would appear Swinney's chances of another bet are likely.
As the Pelham, Alabama, native points out only Clemson and the Crimson Tide are the only two programs in the country to have seven straight 10-win seasons.
"I definitely think we're one of those programs that has proven we can maintain consistency," Swinney explained. "To me, it's not all about winning national championships. There's only one team that's going to get that done every year, and Alabama is in a league of their own when it comes to national championships, especially in this modern era with coach Saban and what he has done.
"The big thing for me when we got this job was trying to build consistency. To me, that's the hardest thing to do in anything. To be considered elite at something or great at something, you have to be really good at something for a long period of time.
"I think we have established that."
In addition to consistency, though, is the ability to recruit, and Clemson appears to be ahead of the curve, pulling the state of Alabama's top prospect earlier this month in receiver Justyn Ross.
"It's huge," Swinney said of signing Ross. "It really is. I've recruited Alabama for a long time. It's really difficult to get any player out of the state of Alabama, much less the best player in the state.
"(Assistant coaches) Jeff Scott and Todd Bates did a phenomenal job from Day 1 in the recruiting process. They did a great job of establishing trust, developed a great relationship, not just with Justyn, but with his family. They came up here. They visited several times and just loved it. Obviously, we have had a great track record, if you will, with receivers. The number of guys that have come through our program at that position was something he was excited about. ...
"For whatever reason, it came down to us and mostly Alabama. I don't know if Auburn was too close or what. He had three great choices. He felt like Clemson was the best decision for him. We're excited we got him."
When it comes to football and Swinney, the conversation always comes back Alabama, whether it is recruiting, the CFP playoffs, his playing days or his future.
Would the former Crimson Tide player and native to the state of Alabama ever come back to Tuscaloosa as head coach if and when Saban is ready to call it a career?
"I always smile," Swinney said when asked what his reaction was when he is asked about coaching at Alabama. "I understand it. That's kind of the world we live in. I live in the here and now. I stay focused on where I am. I'm incredibly happy here at Clemson. I love where I am. This is my 16th year at Clemson. It's not like I haven't dug my roots in here. ...
"It's a special special place that we love dearly. I've had three or four opportunities to leave Clemson over the years. This is a place we still have a lot of work left to be done. The dream was to win a national championship here. We're so happy we could prove we could do that."
Mark Heim | mheim@al.com
Clemson's Dabo Swinney on another bet with Nick Saban, Justyn Ross and the Alabama job
