As a coach, Gene Stallings left a lasting impact on Dabo Swinney during his playing career at Alabama.
At the ACC Kickoff in Charlotte, Swinney was asked about the riggers of being a head coach, and he remarked that one thing he learned from Stallings was that, "You don't have to sacrifice your family to be a good coach."
As a player at Alabama, Swinney took notes on the things that were most important to Stallings, and those lessons have paid off for the 48-year-old coach.
Stallings, who coached Swinney and the Crimson Tide to the 1992 National Championship, joined AL.com writer Mark Heim's radio show, "The Opening Kickoff," said he was "pleased" to hear that Swinney had learned to keep a focus on family in the midst of being a college coach.
According to Heim, Stallings said this about coaching:
"It pleases me because your family is awfully important. When everything is said and done and you have some bad years, your family is your real support system.
"Back when I was coaching, even though sometimes it would be late, we would always sit down and have dinner as a family. That made a lot of difference. I tell people all the time don't judge me by my win-loss record, but judge me by the way my children turned out."
The legendary Crimson Tide coach also said that the greatest joy of coaching was seeing his players graduate, and Swinney has since instilled this entire attitude at Clemson.
Swinney and Stallings were reunited last football season, as Alabama celebrated the 25th Anniversary of their 1992 title run. It just so happened that Clemson was off that Saturday and Swinney was able to attend the event in Tuscaloosa.
The connection between the two coaches continues as, Stallings grandson, J.C. Chalk, is currently a tight end for the Tigers, bringing the story of family full circle.
Read Heim's full story about Coach Stallings comments on AL.com.
