I would never do that, man. Pay for it like everyone else.

Father G®

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Dec 1, 2023, 9:06 AM

Larry Williams & Paul Strelow
Tigerillustrated.com
By his own choosing, Dabo Swinney often brought up the 2010 season over the past couple months as he tried to explain the mounting losses and the almost comical run of self-impaling gaffes.

Sometimes, context clues can point you in the right direction.

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So while no one other than Swinney himself knew what might be coming as far as coaching changes, the decision to part ways with Thomas Austin wasn't that big of a surprise to those paying attention.

Because anyone who thinks back to 2010 knows how painful it was to watch that offense at times, and knows what happened shortly after that season concluded in front of all the blue seats at Bank of America Stadium.

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Heck, Swinney had already put the wheels in motion to hire Chad Morris before that season even ended against South Florida in Charlotte.

The coming weeks ahead will be some of the busiest of Dabo Swinney's career with staff replacements, recruiting, bowl practices and of course heavy portal activity.
The coming weeks ahead will be some of the busiest of Dabo Swinney's career with staff replacements, recruiting, bowl practices and of course heavy portal activity. (AP)
This revelation didn't come to us until well after Morris was here, and we asked him when he first heard from Swinney. He told us it was before Christmas, when Morris and Tulsa were in Hawaii preparing for their bowl game. Clemson's loss to the Bulls unfolded on New Year's Eve, and Swinney pulled the trigger on changes two days later.

That snapshot provides a window into how methodical and calculating Swinney has always been. So as we're trying to assess where he and Garrett Riley look to replace Austin, it's more than safe to say they already have a target in mind (and yes, we'd love to know for sure the identity of this leading candidate).

But as we said in an article early in the week, the past 11 months have told us a heck of a lot about Swinney's priorities -- priorities that have a lot more to do with getting back to winning big than most folks thought when Tennessee was putting the finishing touches on Clemson in the Orange Bowl:

Swinney keeps these things almost totally to himself. That's just the way it is and always will be.

Yet we can still make important deductions based on the words he says in public, and to his staff in private.

And probably the most important deduction over the past year is this:

Swinney has pretty much knee-capped the idea that he's become too complacent to make the difficult decisions and modifications necessary to getting Clemson back to breathing elite air.

He's still fundamentally a cut-throat competitor, same as he was in early January of 2011 when he carried a 19-15 record and allegedly too much loyalty to assistants that helped him get the job in 2008 (he then fired two of those assistants, offensive coordinator Billy Napier and running backs coach Andre Powell). ...

We can't tell you how he plans to get there. No one can.

But there are plenty of clues.

And plenty of history. -- LARRY WILLIAMS

When Swinney went scorched earth on his staff behind closed doors in the middle of the 2022 season, it felt reasonable to think it was to get a response. Here was thinking Swinney didn't particularly want to make staff changes -- and wasn't wholly planning to until the very end when the passing game's demise compelled him to vet a couple of candidates, Riley at the top of the list.

It struck us as different a month ago when Swinney again went ballistic, essentially threatening to fire anyone and everyone who crossed his path involved with the program.

You can only use that response so many times before you have to enforce it, and reaching the four-loss mark halfway through the season felt like the point of no return. Something(s) -- and therefore, someone(s) -- had to change.

Rallying for four wins to close the regular season positioned Swinney to do so amid calmer seas and change the complexion for how such moves would be consumed publicly.

Therefore the Tigers retain credibility and a relatively strong foundation.

Which helps them massage and empower the retooling that is starting to take place.

We have lots of good things to say about Austin as a person and a football technician. This isn't to pile on.

But based on what we've been told, it's fair to say Swinney placed considerable weight on the recruiting defeats that mounted against him this cycle, and the returns of the last week -- well, if they weren't a final straw, they reinforced Swinney's decision to go in another direction.

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The natural tendency is for employers to seek characteristics within the replacement that were lacking or absent before. Our bet is Swinney has honed in on an initial candidate who owns ample coaching experience; one whom he believes won't be outworked on the recruiting trail; and one who has the charisma to close the deal.

Swinney built the Clemson dynasty with a staff that had the perfect blend of seasoned developers, experienced know-how and several assistants who knew how to get things done in big-boy recruitments.

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This is a new college football era with different challenges.

His designs on taking a farm system approach to building a staff in-house steeped in Clemson culture had benefits and some sound logic. It also came with consequences.

This ultimately feels like the course correction, and it's time again to chase a few of the most respected and most desired names to boost the Tigers back to their level.

Catching the big fish has always ranked among Swinney's greatest assets.

It's time for Clemson to play to his strengths. -- PAUL STRELOW

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Hey, TI peeps

or tmale them to me and Obed

And grouchingtiget too

Re: Hey, TI peeps

Just to make my case,

Hey, Obed. S T F U

Re: Hey, Obed. S T F U

If you and Father G ever need any articles from

I would never do that, man. Pay for it like everyone else.

Re: I would never do that, man. Pay for it like everyone else.

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