Tag: Kathleen Swinney

Kathleen Swinney shares a funny story about Dabo

The first lady of Clemson Football, head coach Dabo Swinney’s wife, Kathleen, joined Kelly Gramlich and Eric Mac Lain on the Gramlich and Mac Lain podcast this week. Kathleen shared a funny story about Dabo and what he won while playing high-stakes …

The first lady of Clemson Football, head coach Dabo Swinney’s wife, Kathleen, joined Kelly Gramlich and Eric Mac Lain on the Gramlich and Mac Lain podcast this week.

Kathleen shared a funny story about Dabo and what he won while playing high-stakes bingo during one of their first years on Nike co-founder Phil Knight’s college football coaches trip.

You can read and listen to Kathleen’s story below:

“Phil Knight and his wife invite coaches on this Nike trip every year. There’s like 20 coaches and their wives. For those that don’t know, he’s the founder of Nike and they’re just such an amazing couple.

“So, anyway, they do a bingo night for the coaches every year. I mean, this is like upscale bingo. So, one year we’re playing on the Nike coaches trip and so Dabo wins bingo and he wins a Rolex watch. It was one of our first years, they’re like no, no, no, you don’t understand. This bingo is like, like cutthroat. So we’re laughing ’cause Dabo’s like, ‘I would get fired at Clemson for wearing a Rolex watch.’ But it’s so Dabo… he would not wear… he’s not… that’s just not him.”

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Kathleen to Dabo: What took so long

Saturday was a special and memorable day for both Dabo Swinney and his oldest son, Clemson fifth-year senior wide receiver Will Swinney. Not only was it Senior Day at Death Valley – marking Will’s last time rubbing Howard’s Rock and running down the …

Saturday was a special and memorable day for both Dabo Swinney and his oldest son, Clemson fifth-year senior wide receiver Will Swinney.

Not only was it Senior Day at Death Valley – marking Will’s last time rubbing Howard’s Rock and running down the hill – but with Clemson’s receiving corps depleted by injuries, Will also got his first career start in his final game wearing the Paw in front of the home crowd.

After the Tigers lit up the scoreboard in a 48-27 win over No. 10 Wake Forest, Dabo joked in his postgame press conference that his wife, Kathleen, wondered what took him so long to let Will start.

“We started true freshman (receiver Beaux Collins), true freshman (receiver Dacari Collins), and fifth-year walk-on Swinney,” Dabo said. “His momma told me that we now are averaging 48 points a game when Swinney starts at receiver, so don’t know what took us so long.”

In addition to serving as Clemson’s holder for a 67th consecutive game, Will became the first son of a Clemson coach to start a game on offense or defense since 1963, when halfback Jimmy Howard started for head coach Frank Howard.

Dabo was emotional as he spoke about Will and watching him grow up during Dabo’s 19 years as a Clemson coach.

“He’s literally gone from a little big boy to a grown man on that field,” Swinney said. “19 years, he’s never missed a Clemson home game. 19 years straight. I haven’t either. So, it’s been an amazing journey. It’s really hard to understand, enjoy being a parent until you are one. And then they grow so fast. He’s grown up in this town. There’s nobody who loves Clemson more than Will. Unbelievably committed. Just a grinder, and it’s just crazy how it worked out. He did a good job, man. He was ready and took advantage of his opportunities. He’s done an unbelievable job in his role since he got here.

“But yeah, it was a very special moment. It was a special moment last night in our meeting last night for everyone. But I’m really proud of him.”

Will, a former walk-on who scored his first career rushing touchdown on a 6-yard fake field goal in last week’s win over UConn, is part of the Tigers’ senior class that improved to 26-0 at home from 2018-21 and became the second Clemson senior class in the modern era (and in Death Valley history) to go undefeated at home in a four-year span, joining the 2020 seniors.

“I’m proud of him, and it was a special day to be able to have that moment with him,” Swinney said. “19 years, home games – he’s lived and died with every single one of them. It was good to see him walk off that field undefeated in his career here.”

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Swinney’s motorcycle not a mid-life crisis

This football season Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney cut an advertisement for motorcycle safety that airs regularly on the radio in Upstate South Carolina. On Monday night during Swinney’s weekly “Tiger Calls” show with Don Munson on 105.5 FM WCCP, …

This football season Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney cut an advertisement for motorcycle safety that airs regularly on the radio in Upstate South Carolina.

On Monday night during Swinney’s weekly “Tiger Calls” show with Don Munson on 105.5 FM WCCP, a caller asked Swinney about the ad and his experience on motorcycles. And Swinney jumped at the opportunity to talk about his love for riding his Harley on the open road.

“It’s funny especially with your kids because when you have kids, they don’t really know you had a life before they existed,” Swinney joked. “I grew up riding motorcycles, I rode motorcycles probably since I was in the second grade. I rode motorcycles, mopeds, go carts and four wheelers.”

In fact, as a kid in Pelham, Alabama Swinney worked hard to save up money and bought a Honda-150 when he got his motorcycle license at 14.

Throughout high school a motorcycle proved his primary means of transportation until he sold it for nearly the same price it was purchased before he went to college.

“I would ride everywhere, I rode to the ballpark, I rode to school and I rode my motorcycle all over, I loved it and it was a natural thing for me,” Swinney said. “Then my senior year of high school I sold it and I kept it spit-shine, so I got almost what I paid for it, then you go on with life, go to college, get married and have kids.”

Throughout Swinney’s 20-year marriage to his wife Kathleen he dropped hints that one day he would get a Harley Davidson so they could go on rides together.

Then on Christmas morning in 2017, after the Swinney’s opened their presents, Kathleen told her husband that he may have something else waiting for him outside.

“I walk out there and son of a gun there’s a dang Harley out there and I was so blown away I couldn’t believe it,” Swinney recalled. “Of course, my boys said, ‘you don’t know how to ride that’ and I said, ‘y’all have lost your mind, are y’all crazy?’ I jumped on that thing and took off and they all looked at me like, how do you know how to do that?”

This year on the Swinney’s wedding anniversary Dabo and Kathleen loaded up the Harley and took a drive up to Highlands, N.C. for lunch. But they forgot to check the weather forecast before the couple embarked on their journey.

The bottom fell out before they entered Cashiers, N.C. and road construction forced the Swinneys to get soaked. So they pulled over at a little gas station to dry off before continuing toward their lunch plans.

“I went in there and gave the lady $20 and she let me park my motor there and thank god across the street there was a little mountain store where you can buy shoes and clothes,” Swinney said. “Literally we went in there bought underwear, pants, dry shirts and tennis shoes.”

“We were soaked so we let it pass but then it was great we just threw all of our wet stuff in the motor, went up to lunch at Highlands and drove back,” he said.

Football season has finally arrived. Time to represent your Tigers and show your stripes!