With 173 career victories, Dabo Swinney is one shy of the most wins recorded by a head coach at an ACC program.
A win Saturday by the Clemson Tigers means that Swinney would pass Bobby Bowden on that list. Perhaps it’s only fitting that Swinney’s first chance to pass Bowden will come at the stadium that bears the name of the legendary coach and Swinney’s friend.
Swinney has always spoken highly of Bowden, the revered former Florida State Seminoles coach who passed away in 2021 at the age of 91. And with Clemson set to face FSU at Bobby Bowden Field at Doak Campbell Stadium in Week 6, Swinney had a chance to reflect on his memories of Bowden at his weekly Tuesday press conference.
When Swinney was named interim coach at Clemson in 2008, one of the first calls he received was from Bowden, whose son (Tommy Bowden) Swinney had replaced as coach.
“We had just got our first win, at Boston College,” Swinney recalled. “That was surreal because obviously I’m an interim coach. Coach Bowden called me the night of the (first interim win) and said, ‘All the Bowdens are pullin’ for ya.'”
When Clemson and Florida State met a week later, it was a 41-27 Seminoles victory at Doak Campbell Stadium. But that isn’t what Swinney remembers most about that afternoon in Tallahassee.
“I just remember being kind of nervous before the game. I mean, you’ve got to go meet Bobby Bowden,” Swinney said. “Obviously, I knew him, but I’d never been in this role, and he was amazing. He was so gracious and just kind. I had one career win — one. It was just this surreal moment of, ‘I don’t know if I’m going to be the coach here in three weeks.’
“It was a negative outcome on the scoreboard,” Swinney said of that November 2008 game vs. FSU. “But one of those moments I’ll never forget just because of how he made me feel in what could have been an awkward situation. That’s just a credit to who he was. I think that was probably one of his gifts. He had the ability to just make everybody feel good.”
RELATED: Clemson-Florida State rivalry will feature familiar TV broadcast crew
Swinney and Bowden would meet one more time as opposing head coaches. In one of Bowden’s final games as Florida State’s coach, Clemson defeated the ‘Noles 40-24 in Death Valley in November 2009. The Tigers won their division and finished 9-5 that year.
Fast forward 15 years, and Swinney will be seeking his 174th victory. When a reporter noted that Swinney had a chance to surpass Bowden’s record at the field named after the late Seminoles coach, Swinney said that he thought Bowden would be “fine” with it.
“Honestly, if Bobby Bowden could, poof, pop down here with his hat on, he’d probably smile,” Swinney said, noting that both men are from Birmingham. “He went to Woodlawn High, my mom went to Woodlawn High. We were friends so, I don’t know, if God blesses us and that happens, I think Coach Bowden would be fine (with it).
“I’ve got a great letter in my office. He kind of claims me as one of his own. He said, ‘I hope that doesn’t offend you’ is kind of how he wrote in the letter. ‘I just see you as one of my own.’ And so, I think that’s one of the greatest compliments that I’ve ever gotten. I’ve got voicemails from him, even to this day, that I’ve kept long after he was done (coaching) where he would just call to encourage me.
“He was a big letter-writer. Probably a lot of people out there that’s got some letter from Bobby Bowden, and I’ve got a couple of them framed that mean a lot to me where he took the time to encourage me over the years. It may happen and I may get the record, but Bobby Bowden, he’s still the best.”
Kickoff for Saturday’s Clemson-Florida State matchup is set for 7 p.m. ET. The game can be seen on ESPN.
Contact/follow us @Clemson_Wire on X and on Facebook for ongoing coverage of Clemson Tigers news, notes, and opinions.