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Clemson University football coach Dabo Swinney has always been known as a passionate man. It’s that passion that has helped his teams win two national championships and make Clemson one of the most revered teams in the nation over the past 10 years.
Swinney also doesn’t like to lose—which his teams haven’t done much of in a decade—but his humility as a man of God allows him to swallow his pride when the Tigers do. That includes last weekend’s 35-14 loss to Notre Dame, which knocked Clemson from the ranks of the unbeaten and cost the Tigers (8-1, 6-0 in the ACC) their No. 4 ranking in the country.
It was Clemson’s worst loss to an unranked opponent since 2011.
But there was Swinney, quoting from the Bible in his weekly news conference.
“Ain’t nothing gonna steal my joy,” Swinney said. “I don’t grow weary, you know. I grow stronger. The Bible says that. Galatians 6:9 says, ‘Do not grow weary from doing what is right and good for, at the appropriate time, you will reap a harvest of blessing if you don’t give up.’
“That’s the big thing. And I’ve lived that my whole life—I don’t grow weary, I grow stronger. I’m excited about having a good Tuesday practice today and ain’t nothing gonna steal my joy.
“And I’m gonna do everything I can to not let the joy be taken out of it for this football team,” Swinney continued. ” If people can’t get on board with that, then they’re missing a lot of opportunity. If you’re only going to be happy if we win the national championship, then you’re gonna spend a lot of years down in the dumps in the gutter. They went 35 years without winning one here. You’re missing out on a lot of fun, that’s all I can tell you.”
The Tigers have won seven conference championships during Swinney’s tenure, and he revived a proud college football program when he took over as head coach in 2008.
But lately, Tiger fans have come to expect more from their team, and Swinney bemoaned the negativity on social media after the loss to Notre Dame.
“We’ve had one undefeated team since I’ve been the head coach. That’s it,” he said. “So, I just think we’re at a place now where you lose a game, and people lose their minds—just absolutely lose their minds, and they lose all their joy. And they hate everybody, and you need to fire everybody, and you need to get rid of every player.
“It’s such a negative thing that’s been created with this world of social media. And it’s sad. And I don’t buy into that.”
A strong lesson to learn from a deeply devoted Christian. Swinney says he will keep his players motivated and will maintain a positive attitude.
The No. 12 Tigers play host to Louisville Saturday at Death Valley, then host both Miami and South Carolina in the next two weeks with a strong shot at making the four-team college football playoff.
“The main thing is just not growing weary [and to] just keep growing stronger,” he said. “And if you do that, we’re gonna have a lot more good days than bad days.” {eoa}
Shawn A. Akers is the online editor at Charisma Media.
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