The Man in the Mirror

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney laughed Wednesday night when someone mentioned that there now seems to be a “Clemson bias” in the rankings with Clemson being ranked second in the College Football Playoff standings.

“Boy, we’ve come a long way,” Swinney said smiling as wide as ever. “Didn’t think I would live to see that day.”

Clemson fans remember that not too long ago, the term “Clemson-ing” defined this program as not living up to expectations or suffering from a let down in big moments.

There used to be plenty of examples of that played out phrase back when Swinney was still building his program. These days examples like that are hard to find.

Sure, there were minor hiccups like Syracuse and Pittsburgh, but that is bound to happen to any team at any time. “Winning is hard,” Swinney quickly replies to anyone who takes it for granted.

This is the golden age of Clemson football. It’s an era where fans would be disappointed with a two-loss season. It’s an era where expectations of being the best have never been higher.

It took some time to get here, though.

The biggest step on Clemson’s ladder to being a consistent top program didn’t come in an ACC Championship victory, a college football playoff win, or appearing in a national championship.

The step was taken January 5th, 2012 in Miami, Florida. 

The No. 15 Tigers were thrashed in the Orange Bowl by No. 23 West Virginia as Clemson gave up a bowl-record 70 points to the Mountaineers.

© Brad Barr-USA TODAY Sports

West Virginia's Keith Tandy intercepts Tajh Boyd's pass intended for Sammy Watkins.

This game was an embarrassment. The ultimate letdown. A win would have pushed the program to new heights as it continued to grow, but instead fans felt the success they had seen might actually be a "flash in the pan".

People wanted to let this loss define Clemson’s program as a whole.

One man – Dabo Swinney – let something else define what he had built.

“Sometimes things don't go the way you plan them,” Swinney said. “It's how you handle those things; it's how you respond. You get better, you grow.”

Wouldn’t it be great if life was perfect and you could never lose? How easy would that be? But Swinney has always said that prosperity is a terrible teacher. The loss of that magnitude kicked Clemson in the right direction.

“We were a team that had a lot to learn. We were in the infant stages of trying to get better. If you allow things to develop you, you will get better. If you sit around and worry about what other people think, or say, you can't get past it. Every great anything in life, they all got one thing in common: resilience, perseverance.

"Because they've all failed, big time. It's the will to keep moving forward, to learn.”

Moving forward is just what Clemson did.

Swinney got right back to work and took the next step on the ladder, another 10-win season and a date with LSU to exercise the demons from the year before. Clemson won that game against that top program, but Swinney was not satisfied.

On Saturday against the Citadel, Clemson will look to secure its 10th win of the season for the seventh year in a row. Only Alabama has been as consistent.

© Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Swinney holds the College Football Playoff Championship trophy after Clemson's 35-31 win over Alabama.

Michael Jordan has a quote that says, “I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that’s why I succeed.”

That sums up Swinney’s mentality since his early, tough seasons as a head coach.

Swinney lets his past failures drive him and that’s what makes him successful today. The mentality he has bestowed on this program is a powerful thing.

“A lot of failures, a lot of criticism, but those things have never changed how I think. I try to tell these guys all the time… you control how you think; you control your attitude and your mindset, your drive your courage and your heart. Don't let other people take that from you.”

When you lose a game, it is easy to lose your way. You have to stay true to who you are and build upon it instead of letting it sink you in like quicksand.

“You just stay focused, you have a set of core values, and then if you are not successful, you just look in the mirror and know that you did the best that you can.”

Swinney has looked at himself in the mirror after every misstep during his journey as Clemson’s head coach, but he believes that if it weren’t for that moment back in 2012, Clemson wouldn’t be where it is today.

“I think it's all a part of the journey.”

Hard times won’t end as Clemson continues to climb that ladder as a program and the “man in the mirror” will have to reappear at some point. The team has bought into the mentality of re-evaluating themselves when things don’t seem to go as planned but never taking things too seriously.

“That's what is fun about this team, they just show up, and they think they are supposed to win, and that's a great quality to have, and when we don't win, nobody's panicking or point fingers, just congratulate the other team and go on from there.”

Two people define a player’s success on Clemson’s team: the player himself looking in the mirror and the person staring back at him.

Swinney’s mentality is so engulfed in this program that it feels like he is the “man in the mirror” that looks back and within his players.

“That's what it comes back to, the man in the mirror and how you think. That's why we are here.”