On his 45th, How Coach Swinney stacks up (c/p)

Nov 19, 2014, 11:01 PM

How birthday boy Dabo Swinney stacks up with other major coaches at age 45
Aaron Brenner
Aaron Brenner Email @Aaron_Brenner
Nov 19 2014 7:46 pm

CLEMSON - Les Miles, Chip Kelly and Gus Malzahn, who've all led teams into national title games, celebrated their respective 45th birthdays while serving as promising NFL assistants or college coordinators, patiently waiting to take their seat at the head of the table. The wait for Pat Narduzzi and Chad Morris continues.

Frank Beamer, Mack Brown and Charlie Strong owned losing records on the big 4-5. Nick Saban had 20 victories, and so did Steve Spurrier. Kevin Sumlin had eight. Jimbo Fisher had five.

Kind of puts in perspective what someone like Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney has accomplished as he turns 45 today.

"Big picture, I'm very proud of what we've been able to do," Swinney said. "It's been a great run here. It's been a lot of fun to do some things here that haven't been done ever, and things that haven't been done in a long, long time."

Swinney took over the Clemson program from Tommy Bowden on Oct. 13, 2008, having his "interim" title replaced by "full-time" seven weeks later. He has produced five winning seasons in six tries, and entering Clemson's Senior Day Saturday vs. Georgia State, Swinney's head coaching record is 58-26.

The "26" sticks with Swinney more than the "58." But that's the nature of coaching.

"Wish we could have pulled one of them two (losses) out early this year. I think it'd be a different conversation about where we are right now," said Swinney, who's collected a 9-16 record against ranked opponents.

"We're far from satisfied, but we've changed the culture here and built our brand back to the point where now when we lose a game, it's a big ordeal as opposed to, 'Well, they're just supposed to lose a few.'"

After spending eight years at Alabama, and two years in commercial real estate in Birmingham, Swinney was 33 years old when he joined Bowden's staff as Clemson's wide receivers coach. Five years later, he became the face of the Tigers.

"I thought I would be a head coach. I just didn't know when," Swinney said. "I was 38, very fortunate when I got this job. I always felt like if I got a chance, I would be successful. I think any competitor feels that way. I never said, 'OK, I'll be old when I got a head job.' I just tried to do a great job whatever I was doing."

Getting his opportunity at a young age is a big reason Swinney stacks up favorably with other name-brand coaches when they hit the midpoint of their 40s. He's ahead of the pace set by the likes of Mark Richt, Chris Petersen, Jim Harbaugh, Gary Patterson and Bobby Petrino.

With last Saturday's loss at Georgia Tech, Swinney didn't quite catch Oklahoma State's Mike Gundy (59-30) in the win column on 45.

Some other more successful Division I head coaches on their 45th birthdays: Bear Bryant and Lou Holtz (91 victories each), Bo Schembechler (88), Tom Osborne (84), Urban Meyer (83), Johnny Majors (73) and Bob Stoops (67).

Oh, and Swinney pales in comparison to two predecessors. Danny Ford, the youngest head coach to win a national championship in 1981, collected 96 victories before leaving Clemson at 42.

Frank Howard had 72 wins by 45, including undefeated seasons in 1948 and 1950. Coincidentally, another former Clemson coach - Ken Hatfield - equaled Swinney's 58 wins on his 45th, though all at Air Force and Arkansas.

The two winningest Division I coaches of all-time before NCAA sanctions, Penn State's Joe Paterno and Florida State's Bobby Bowden, had won 52 and 31 times on their 45th birthdays, respectively. (Bowden's wins were all at West Virginia at that time.)

Of course, college football legends like Paterno and Bowden became famous for longevity, not an early start. So how long does Swinney want to coach?

"I've never really thought about it. I just kind of go day by day, year by year, to be honest with you," Swinney said. "I look at a guy like coach Spurrier: I guess I'd have to coach about 25 more years, and, wow. That just goes to show how successful he's been to be able to coach that long. That seems like an eternity for me.

"I'm just getting going right now. Long way to go. Hopefully it's my choice and not somebody else's. That's the key."

The Big 4-5

How Clemson coach Dabo Swinney's career W-L record stacks up against 30 other major coaches on their 45th (Birthday, with name, 45th, Division I record, and school with most wins at that time):

Frank Kush (Jan. 20, 1974): 121-33, Arizona State

Darrell Royal (July 6, 1969): 114-41-4, Texas

Jackie Sherrill (Nov. 28, 1988): 105-44-2, Texas A&M

Vince Dooley (Sept. 4, 1977): 98-43-5, Georgia

Danny Ford (Dec. 19, 1992): 96-29-4, Clemson

Bear Bryant (Sept. 11, 1958): 91-39-9, Kentucky

Lou Holtz (Jan. 6, 1982): 91-46-4, Arkansas

Bo Schembechler (April 1, 1974): 88-23-4, Michigan

Tom Osborne (Feb. 23, 1982): 84-23-2, Nebraska

Urban Meyer (July 10, 2009): 83-17, Florida

Johnny Majors (May 21, 1980): 73-60-3, Pittsburgh

Frank Howard (March 25, 1954): 72-52-8, Clemson

Bob Stoops (Sept. 9, 2005): 67-13, Oklahoma

Mack Brown (Aug. 27, 1996): 60-66-1, North Carolina

Mike Gundy (Aug. 12, 2012): 59-30, Oklahoma State

Dabo Swinney (Nov. 20, 2014): 58-26, Clemson

Ken Hatfield (June 6, 1988): 58-44-2, Arkansas

Joe Paterno (Dec. 21, 1971): 52-10, Penn State

Woody Hayes (Feb. 14, 1958): 48-15-2, Ohio State

Mark Richt (Feb. 18, 2005): 42-10, Georgia

Chris Petersen (October 13, 2009): 40-4, Boise State

Jim Harbaugh (Dec. 23, 2008): 38-21, San Diego

Gary Patterson (Feb. 13, 2005): 32-17, TCU

Bobby Bowden (Nov. 8, 1974): 31-22, West Virginia

Bobby Petrino (March 10, 2006): 29-8, Louisville

Nick Saban (Oct. 31, 1996): 20-10-1, Michigan State

Steve Spurrier (April 20, 1990): 20-13-1, Duke

Frank Beamer (Oct. 18, 1991): 19-30-1, Virginia Tech

Brian Kelly (Oct. 25, 2006): 15-15, Central Michigan

Kevin Sumlin (Aug. 3, 2009): 8-5, Houston

Jimbo Fisher (Oct. 9, 2010): 5-1, Florida State

Aaron Brenn