| NEWS Woody McCorvey explains why Dabo Swinney won't ever leave Clemson for Alabama

[Mark Heim | mheim@al.com]

Dabo Swinney on being told Nick Saban has no plans to retire anytime soon: "Good, that sounds great because I'm as happy as a pig in mud here."

Perhaps if any coach knows Dabo Swinney, it is Woody McCorvey.

McCorvey, who was Swinney's position coach at Alabama, is now the associate athletic director for football administration at Clemson.
In an ESPN piece entitled "Dabo Swinney has built his own Alabama at Clemson," Chris Low takes a look at the similarities - and differences - between the program Swinney coaches and the many assume he will eventually coach.

Count McCorvey in the camp of those who don't believe Swinney will return to Tuscaloosa.

"Dabo is Clemson. That's who he is," McCorvey told ESPN. "Dabo's the perfect fit here. He can get on his moped and ride from the house to the office and then back to the house, and everybody just waves at him and he's waving at everybody. Some places, you can't do that. And then look at his kids. Clemson is all they know. The only thing they know about Alabama is that their daddy played there. They've grown up Clemson, and now, he's got two sons on the team. This is their home."

The speculation is Swinney's future is not new news.

Swinney attended his Alabama team's 25th anniversary reunion at Bryant-Denny Stadium a day after Clemson's only loss of the season to Syracuse.
The Pelham native has taken an open approach when asked about it in the past, saying last year "You never say never" but stressed how happy he is at Clemson.

His son, Will, even went on record to say he doesn't see his father leaving.

In the ESPN piece on Friday, Swinney was told that Alabama coach Nick Saban has no plans of stepping aside anytime soon.

He replied: "Good, that sounds great because I'm as happy as a pig in mud here."

Some may view that as a preference to Clemson, but is it?

If Saban called it quits, would that be bad? If so, why?

Perhaps his heart is in Clemson, and maybe the comment was made because he didn't want to deal with the barrage of questions that come when your name is linked to a high-profile job.

Maybe.

Mark Heim | mheim@al.com
Woody McCorvey explains why Dabo Swinney won't ever leave Clemson for Alabama

 

[im4uainva]

I like Dabo. But, a man has to do what he needs to do. Best wishes to him...except when he goes against Bama, then...eat dirt, Dabo!

ROLL TIDE!

 

[BamaFan334]

I mean, what does anyone expect him to say to that? Yeah, I'd be banging down Alabama's door when Saban leaves?

 

[TerryP]

I mean, what does anyone expect him to say to that? Yeah, I'd be banging down Alabama's door when Saban leaves?

think about the welcome Woody would get if he tried to show up in Tuscaloosa

 

[JoshB]

The whole "Dabo has built his own Alabama at Clemson" is so unbelievably arrogant that it is maddening. He's built a power for three years, let us know when he's doing it for a decade plus.

 

[TerryP]

The whole "Dabo has built his own Alabama at Clemson" is so unbelievably arrogant that it is maddening. He's built a power for three years, let us know when he's doing it for a decade plus.

what is it, six seasons where he's been in the double digits?

 

[UAgrad93]

@Birdman37 , Dabo has done a pretty dang good job. 10 years, 101-30 record with 4 ACC titles and a Natty. 7 10+ win seasons out of those 10 seasons. Of the 3 seasons that they didn't achieve 10 wins was in '08 when he took over after the 3-3 start, '09 was 9-5, and '10 was 6-6.

@TerryP, me thinks that Woody wouldn't be too fondly remembered or welcomed should he come back to T'town.

 

[OldPlayer]

Never say never.

I personally don't think it will be Dabo when Saban leaves. Clemson is in a position to make it financially impossible for him to leave. At the same time, we're talking about in the future, not today. A lot can happen between now and when Saban leaves. Clemson could lose and lose big. If so, Clemson would be happy to get rid of Dabo and not pay him to leave. It's all ifs and maybes.

 

[JoshB]

@Birdman37 , Dabo has done a pretty dang good job. 10 years, 101-30 record with 4 ACC titles and a Natty. 7 10+ win seasons out of those 10 seasons. Of the 3 seasons that they didn't achieve 10 wins was in '08 when he took over after the 3-3 start, '09 was 9-5, and '10 was 6-6.

@TerryP, me thinks that Woody wouldn't be too fondly remembered or welcomed should he come back to T'town.

I'll never deny Dabo hasn't done a terrific job, especially with player development, but comparing his success to what Saban has built is very, very, very premature.

 

[50+yeartidefan]

@Birdman37 , Dabo has done a pretty dang good job. 10 years, 101-30 record with 4 ACC titles and a Natty. 7 10+ win seasons out of those 10 seasons. Of the 3 seasons that they didn't achieve 10 wins was in '08 when he took over after the 3-3 start, '09 was 9-5, and '10 was 6-6.

@TerryP, me thinks that Woody wouldn't be too fondly remembered or welcomed should he come back to T'town.

I'll never deny Dabo hasn't done a terrific job, especially with player development, but comparing his success to what Saban has built is very, very, very premature.

Well...really....Nick is in the class of...."Greatest Ever"...
So nobody...nobody can put Dabo or any other HC in that class...
But...when you look at greatness....you look at Dabo, Meyer, maybe one or 2 others...and you have to look at conference also..
With Jimbo gone....competition in ACC is reduced...
But people and vision is shortsighted......and looking at Dabo....
3 playoffs...one NC.......and loaded again this year

 

[TerryP]

@Birdman37 , Dabo has done a pretty dang good job. 10 years, 101-30 record with 4 ACC titles and a Natty. 7 10+ win seasons out of those 10 seasons. Of the 3 seasons that they didn't achieve 10 wins was in '08 when he took over after the 3-3 start, '09 was 9-5, and '10 was 6-6.

@TerryP, me thinks that Woody wouldn't be too fondly remembered or welcomed should he come back to T'town.

I'll never deny Dabo hasn't done a terrific job, especially with player development, but comparing his success to what Saban has built is very, very, very premature.

At Clemson.

I still go back to where Coach Stallings said to me, personally, "Dabo is going to be a great head coach." He was a GA at the time. Some shit just comes true...he's done a hell of a job up there. It's Clemson.

When he was on staff with DuBose I didn't like his style of recruiting. But, it worked. Still does.

If ... IF... he decides to "come home," oh lord. Recruiting won't miss a step. Talent won't as well. The arrogance of Bama fans will be at an all time high when it's "mama called" and "another trophy."

It would happen with him.

 

[TUSKtimes]

At Clemson.

I still go back to where Coach Stallings said to me, personally, "Dabo is going to be a great head coach." He was a GA at the time. Some shit just comes true...he's done a hell of a job up there. It's Clemson.

When he was on staff with DuBose I didn't like his style of recruiting. But, it worked. Still does.

If ... IF... he decides to "come home," oh lord. Recruiting won't miss a step. Talent won't as well. The arrogance of Bama fans will be at an all time high when it's "mama called" and "another trophy."

It would happen with him.

They say timing is everything. I'm getting to be a big believer in Saban's longevity. Alabama may still have a lot of tread on the tires with this regime. 7, 8, 10 years is a long time in coaching years and the HC landscape will look much different. Dabo would have another decade invested and by then who knows about feelings. Maybe in another decade, it's Lupoi that gets it and looks like the next big thing.

 

[TerryP]

They say timing is everything. I'm getting to be a big believer in Saban's longevity

It's not ironic an article like this comes out now. It's keep two things in the news, Saban and retirement. Remember. A few weeks ago there as a write up by Low on ESPN talking about how he saw Saban coaching another 10 years. That on the heels of a few coaches in the SEC still pushing "he's on his way out" as their pitch.

 

[TUSKtimes]

It's not ironic an article like this comes out now. It's keep two things in the news, Saban and retirement. Remember. A few weeks ago there as a write up by Low on ESPN talking about how he saw Saban coaching another 10 years. That on the heels of a few coaches in the SEC still pushing "he's on his way out" as their pitch.

That's really smart to do. It's kinda cool too because it has never been Saban's MO to give away such information about himself and his future. In Saban's earlier years here I wondered with all the Texas talk and NFL talk that has been out there if it didn't hurt us on the recruiting trail. Since the Texas scare, I think Saban has acted more like this is indeed his final stop and I would also say that his best recruiting has come during that time.


He looks, acts, dresses, and talks like a HOF Alabama head coach these days and I'm not too surprised that he's doing everything he can to change the narrative on the recruiting trail and let the recruits know he will be here. I still get a kick out of hearing him say that.

 

[TerryP]

@TUSKstuff, I've been tempted to post something about the talent that's on campus right now as compared to his early tenure here. I'm right at the point of saying it's better now than it's ever been--and that is with other schools having better ranked players.

I've seen one person continually refer to the "red machine." Telling. Isn't it?

 

[TUSKtimes]

@TUSKstuff, I've been tempted to post something about the talent that's on campus right now as compared to his early tenure here. I'm right at the point of saying it's better now than it's ever been--and that is with other schools having better ranked players.

I've seen one person continually refer to the "red machine." Telling. Isn't it?

You should do it. In the 2011 natty we had Hanks, Maze, Norwood, starting for us at WR. And I'll throw in Smelley. Decent receivers with modest credentials, but that's not what has been coming through the pipeline for a number of years now. It would be interesting to see what incline we've been on.