CLEMSON — IT IS APROPOS THAT one day after coach Dabo Swinney becomes over the hill, Clemson should get over the hump.
Swinney, the youngest head coach in the ACC by almost four years, will turn 40 on Friday. On Saturday, the 18th-ranked Tigers plays host to Virginia, knowing a win clinches the ACC Atlantic Division title.
To ensure a spot in the ACC championship game Dec. 5 in Tampa, Fla., Clemson needs to beat an opponent that has scored no more than 17 points in its past four games, all losses. The Tigers have not scored fewer than 19 points in their past four second halves.
Considering the team's offensive rampage, the ages of Swinney and 30-year-old offensive coordinator Billy Napier are but numbers, too.
When the pair were promoted, the question was whether they could recognize and implement whatever changes needed to be made for Clemson to maximize its talent. And they had to do so while working on a shorter leash because of their association as assistants in the Tommy Bowden era.
Such skepticism went beyond their ages - neither had coordinator experience, with Napier calling the plays for one year as quarterback coach at South Carolina State. Those fears came to life when shaky clock management and continued late-game collapses culminated in a 2-3 start.
Yet through trial, tribulation and one infamously heated practice exchange, Swinney and Napier have demonstrated two vital traits to prolonged success:.
- They read the pulse of their players and sensed what buttons to push.
- They have shown the ability to adjust, practicing what they preach about accountability.
Clemson's ultimate prize, of course, would be its first ACC title since 1991.
By meeting the standard for which Bowden's 10-year tenure was being measured at the end - winning the Atlantic Division - Swinney and Napier appear headed in the direction of validating athletics director Terry Don Phillips' premise that you don't have to break the bank for an established commodity when there are up-and-comers who can do the job.
Swinney is the sixth-youngest coach among the six BCS conferences. Three are in their first year - Tennessee's Lane Kiffin (34), Washington's Steve Sarkisian (35) and Mississippi State's Dan Mullen (37) - and it is a good bet the next wave of coaches will only get younger.
By reaching the ACC title game, Swinney nets a projected $100,000 bonus when tied to an academic standard Clemson will likely meet. Moreover, it triggers a clause that will escalate his guaranteed compensation for the remaining four years of his contract to the median ACC salary - roughly $1.75 million, about double his current $800,000.
The sum will push above $2 million if the Tigers claim the ACC crown, although Clemson can deduct any raises rewarded to assistants.
That's quite a belated birthday gift.
And it doesn't come with training wheels.
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