Swinney's Success; Bowden's Legacy; One in the Same (Pt. 2)
Take a moment and read Swinney's Success, Bowden's Legacy, One in the Same (Pt. 1) before reading this article.
The Roller Coaster
Under Tommy Bowden, the talent level at Clemson was improving. However, game day performances were still up and down. The Tigers continued to face many twists and turns during his tenure. They would play great one week and fall flat the next.
You never knew what Clemson team would show up. At the time, Clemson's uniform combinations were easier to predict.
Tommy Bowden's teams could defeat Miami one week and come up short against Duke the next. It was hard for Clemson fans to digest.
October 7th, 2006 is a prime example of the ride Tiger fans experienced under Bowden. On this day the Tigers managed to escape with a win.
Clemson, ranked 15th in the country matched up with an undefeated Wake Forest team at BB&T Stadium. The Tigers trailed 17-3 at the start of the 4th quarter.
The Demon Deacons were lining up for a field goal attempt to essentially end the contest. Falling behind by 17 points would have likely been the end of Clemson's chances.
For Clemson fans, it was just more of the same. Frustrations were boiling over. Fans at the game were frustrated. Those watching at home had seen this too many times.
There was no excuse for Clemson to lose, much less be blown out by Wake Forest. No one cared how good the Deacons might have been. They were still Wake Forest.
Fortunately, a little luck and the late Gaines Adams saved the day.
A botched snap.
Hope.
Adams hit the Deacon holder, popping the ball out of his hands.
Opportunity.
Snagging the loose ball, Adams raced 66 yards for the score making it 17-10 with plenty of time left to play.
Belief.
Clemson survived that trip to Wake Forest scoring 24 fourth-quarter points in a 27-17 win.
Sneaking out of Winston-Salem with a dramatic comeback was exciting, but it was just more false hope as the final weeks of the season would show.
Clemson opened up that year 7-1, but once again stumbled to the finish line dropping four out of their final five games to finish 8-5.
That Wake Forest team?
They went on to win the ACC Championship. Talk about a slap in the face.
In 2007, Clemson finally held their chance to get to the ACC Championship game in their own hands. The Tigers were 8-2 and faced Boston College in Death Valley for the Atlantic Division title.
Clemson cracked under pressure late. The Eagles thrived as Matt Ryan hit Ryan Gunnell with 1:46 left in the contest for a 43-yard touchdown giving Boston College a 20-17 win and an Atlantic Division crown.
Season after season, Clemson's dreams of winning their first ACC Title since 1991 went by the wayside.
Watching Wake Forest win an ACC crown? Watching Boston College play in the ACC Championship just three years into their time in the ACC?
For many, that was inexcusable, but Bowden survived.
Heading into 2008 the Tigers were loaded. They had NFL talent with guys like James Davis, CJ Spiller, Aaron Kelly, Jacoby Ford, DaQuan Bowers, and Byron Maxwell on the roster. It was sure to be Clemson's year.
The Tigers were one of the top-ranked teams in college football. Atlanta's Georgia Dome was set to host a good old-fashioned 'southern football showdown' between Clemson and Alabama.
The orange-clad faithful may have doubted their coach, but if Clemson could unleash their fury on one of college football's most storied programs, perhaps this would finally be the Tigers' return to the upper-echelon.
Instead, Clemson was flattened 34-10 by Nick Saban's Crimson Tide. It was ugly and Alabama that used the win to step towards the top of college football.
The air had been let out of Clemson's balloon before it even had a chance to fly.
The Tigers never recovered.
Bowden's run came to an end just five games later after dropping back-to-back games against Maryland and Wake Forest. Clemson's 12-7 loss in Winston-Salem would be Bowden's last as a head coach.
Sitting at 3-3, Clemson fans had enough. The administration had enough. Bowden had to go.
Spotting Excellence
Terry Don Phillips called Bowden into his office the following Monday morning. The two talked about the state of the program, and shortly after their conversation, Bowden offered to step down. Phillips then relieved him of his duty.
Before leaving the office, Bowden offered one suggestion, make Dabo Swinney the interim head coach. It was a bold move because Swinney was a position coach, not a coordinator.
Bowden, thinking back to his time as Swinney's position coach at Alabama, reuniting at the First Baptist Church in Tuscaloosa, text messages from his former player. For him, there was just something different about Swinney.
A thoughtfulness. A resolute determination.
Attributes that good coaches had.
Phillips also noticed Swinney's relationships with his players. He witnessed student-athletes stopping by Swinney's office and spending time with him. He wanted to give the young assistant coach a chance to prove himself.
"I'll never forget it, that day, his (Terry Don Phillips) exact words to me were, That was Coach Bowden's suggestion, would he give me a shot to be the interim", Swinney noted in 2015. "I'm very much indebted to Tommy Bowden. I’m very fortunate that he gave me a chance to come to Clemson. He's as good as it gets as far as a person."
After offensive coordinator Rob Spence was fired, Swinney's hodge-podge staff set out to put Clemson football back on the map.
Adding new traditions like the Tiger Walk, All-In Chips, and the Victory March, Swinney began placing his signature on the program. He embraced the opportunity.
During the final games of the season Phillips continued to look around the country for Clemson's next coach, but still, there was something about the young Swinney.
In the season finale, the Tigers disposed of Steve Spurrier's South Carolina team 31-14, and two days later Phillips removed Swinney’s interim tag making him the 25th head coach in Clemson history.
The Tigers had rallied behind their young leader.
In an interview with The Greenville News, Phillips said, "I had seen the situation he’d been placed in, how he handled it, how the kids reacted to him, the gain in attendance, the way he organized things. Under some difficult circumstances, Dabo did a real good job of salvaging that season, and I kept coming back to him. It was small things like that, cumulatively, that made me believe he could do it."
It was risky. Swinney had never been a coordinator and leaping from position coach to head coach in college football was rare.
With no coordinating experience, Swinney took over the program. He wasn't the first Clemson coach to make that move.
Thirty years prior a young position coach named Danny Ford was given the same opportunity at Clemson. Ford soon became the youngest coach to ever win a National Championship.
Like Ford, Swinney's first game as Clemson's head coach was in the Gator Bowl.
In 1978, Ford led Clemson to a win against Woody Hayes' Ohio State Buckeyes 17-15. Swinney's first game as head coach didn't go as well losing 26-21 to Nebraska.
Thanks in part to Bowden's vision, the Tigers had their new coach, and the parallels between Ford and Swinney continued in Tiger Town.
We continue our three-part series with 'Bowden's Vision' tomorrow. Join Clemson Sports Talk for just $1.