Dabo coaching Jags and Trevor Lawrence? Former NFL GM calls it a ‘perfect situation’
Most 2021 NFL mock drafts have Trevor Lawrence going No. 1 overall to the Jacksonville Jaguars. USA Today, ESPN and Bleacher Report each have Lawrence landing with Jacksonville in their latest mock drafts.
A former NFL general manager believes if Lawrence ends up with the Jaguars, Clemson coach Dabo Swinney could join him.
Former Jets GM Mike Tannenbaum said on ESPN’s “Get Up!” TV show Monday morning that Swinney joining Lawrence in Jacksonville is “the perfect situation.”
“There’s a lot of speculation in the league that Dabo Swinney, who has been on the short list of multiple head coaching searches, could be a coach that teams want to talk about. And this would really be the perfect storm,” Tannenbaum said.
Swinney was asked in 2018 if he would be interested in coaching in the NFL and replied “never say never.”
“I’ve never really thought much about it. Nobody’s really ever called me and said, ‘Hey, do you want to come coach this NFL team?’ I’ve never really put much thought into it,” Swinney said at the time. “I’ve always just been so focused on what I’m doing. I guess you never say never.”
Swinney signed a 10-year, $93 million deal with Clemson in April of 2019. Swinney’s deal includes a buyout if he leaves for a college coaching job, but there is no buyout if he leaves to take an NFL job.
Tannenbaum believes Swinney landing in Jacksonville makes a lot of sense.
“He’s immensely popular in that area of the country, and if he could go with Trevor Lawrence from Clemson right down the road to Jacksonville, with all those picks and all that cap room, that’s the ideal situation,” he said. “I know in talking to a number of NFL general managers, they see Dabo Swinney in the same mold of a Pete Carroll — a high energy guy. ... If Swinney would ever go, this is the perfect storm to do it with following this season.”
