Deion Sanders Points to Dabo Swinney as Model for Resilience in College Football

Colorado head coach Deion Sanders made it clear this week that he has a deep respect for Clemson’s Dabo Swinney — not just for the championships and accolades, but for the way Swinney has handled adversity throughout his career.

“Dabo Swinney is one of my favorites. I love him to life. I love the man he is, the coach he is. Just a great guy. Just a guy that I look up to in this coaching realm,” Sanders said. “Looking back on some of the things that they've accomplished, they've been sitting here before, 1-2, and they turned it all around. I think they ended up 10-2 that season. Why not us? Why can't we turn it around? Why can't we correct the wrongs with the rights and display consistency and do those things? We have the talent in-house. We’ve just got to put it to use and do what we are capable of doing.”

Both the Buffaloes and the Tigers enter Week 4 with 1-2 records. Colorado opened its season with a 27-20 loss to Georgia Tech, bounced back with a 31-7 win over Delaware, and then fell 36-20 on the road at Houston. Meanwhile, Clemson dropped its season opener to LSU 17-10, rallied from a 16-0 deficit to beat Troy 27-16, and then fell at Georgia Tech in Week 3 on a walk-off 55-yard field goal.

Swinney’s track record supports Sanders’ point. Just last season, Clemson began 0-1 after a humbling loss to Georgia before rattling off a run to finish 10-4 overall, winning the ACC Championship before earning a College Football Playoff berth.

That resilience is something Sanders hopes to model as Colorado looks to right its own ship in 2025 while Swinney tries to do the same in Tiger Town.