Dabo Swinney details giving Kelly Bryant the day off after 'emotional' conversation
Dabo Swinney had to do what he believed was the right thing to do.
That meant he had to make a tough decision. He had to have a hard conversation.
It was something that he didn’t look forward to, but as the head coach of a national powerhouse, he had to do his job.
Monday’s news of Trevor Lawrence being named the starting quarterback for this week’s game against Syracuse didn’t come as a surprise to many. The competition has been fierce and after a superior performance from a production standpoint on Saturday, it made complete sense that Lawrence earned the opportunity to be the first quarterback on the field this weekend.
“If there was a change, we’d probably all know it. And that’s what happened Saturday,” Swinney said Tuesday.
But then there’s Kelly Bryant, the redshirt senior who is 16-2 as a starter and undefeated playing in front of the home faithful in Death Valley. He has not only proven he’s a capable starter but is also an unequivocal leader inside Clemson’s locker room.
“Kelly didn’t do anything wrong. He played well,” Swinney added. “But Trevor has really, after four games with productivity and just the sheer data, he deserves to run out there first this game just like we changed it up all fall camp. That doesn’t mean Kelly doesn’t deserve to play.
“We trust Kelly. We believe in Kelly. Kelly is a great football player. This is the MVP of the ACC championship. Guy’s started 18 games. He’s already helped us win and he'll continue to help us win. That’s where we are this week.”
We said going into this week that the glaring situation would be difficult waters for Swinney to maneuver through. After watching the film, Swinney made the decision to go with Lawrence as the starter against Syracuse but wanted Bryant to be the first to know.
Quarterbacks coach Brandon Streeter sat down with Bryant on Sunday to deliver the news. Swinney met with Bryant the next day on what was described as “a bad day to be the head coach” to discuss the decision as well as other topics.
Swinney said it was an “emotional” and “tough” conversation. Not only for him, but for his senior leader who had done nothing wrong.
So tough that he decided to give Bryant the night off.
“We met yesterday afternoon and it was emotional,” Swinney said. “It was tough. Because he’s played well and there’s not a guy that has ever been here - as long as I’ve been at Clemson - there’s not a guy that has been more committed to this program than Kelly Bryant.
“There’s not a better leader. This guy is the epitome of what you want. He’s what you want your son to be like. I love him like a son… He’s very disappointed, but I don’t have any doubt that he’ll show up, go back to work, and respond.”
Swinney was then asked if the topic of Bryant redshirting the rest of this season and transferring after came up in the conversation.
With the new rule, Bryant could still technically redshirt because he hadn’t played in more than four games, and then transfer after the season is over. Bryant wouldn’t be forced to sit out a year because he would be a graduate transfer.
Swinney didn’t want to get into the details about what they talked about but did say Bryant did not convey an interest in transferring.
“It was emotional,” Swinney continued. “And a lot of things that we did talk about. And you know what, if I was worried about that or I was deceitful in some way I could’ve huddled the coaches up and said, ‘Hey, let’s make sure we start him for Syracuse. And that way he’s got no options.’ That’s not how I operate. We don’t operate that way. I’m just trying to do what’s right, and I’m not going to ever apologize for that.
“It’s something that we needed to talk through and go from there. But yeah, certainly, if he walked in here today and said, ‘Hey coach, I don’t want to play the rest of the year unless you’ve got to have me,’ well okay, if that’s what you want to do I’m all for it.’ I would be disappointed in that because we need him. But I wouldn’t judge him for that.”
Swinney expects Bryant to be back at practice Tuesday ready to play and contribute. He knows the team will need Bryant to play well as the season progresses.
Like Swinney said at his golf outing back in July, “how could you not play Kelly Bryant?”
The plan moving forward is that Clemson’s offense will continue doing what it had been doing: splitting the series up between the quarterbacks and going with the hot hand. Swinney said it’s unlikely that both of his starting quarterbacks would have an off day.
But it’s important to note how well Swinney handled Tuesday’s press conference and the situation thus far. He was open about the decision to go with Lawrence this week and spoke about how difficult his conversation with Bryant was.
You could tell how much of a toll it took on Swinney as a head coach to make that tough decision. Heck, he even went on a tangent about how he’s glad God isn’t a head coach.
But Swinney had to be fair and firm, as he has been all year during this competition - not just at quarterback, but at every position.
He had to do his job.
“I hate being in that situation but that’s my job,” Swinney said. “My job is to critique, judge, evaluate, hold people accountable, be fair, and do what’s right. Doesn’t make it easier, but what we are doing this weekend is what is right.
“When you have adversity in life and it doesn’t go our way, it can destroy you, it can define you, or it can develop you. My hope is that this will continue to develop Kelly into the player that he is and being a better version of himself and just continue to grind. Be who he’s been. It’s a hard conversation when you have to do that as a head coach. But that’s my job.”