Dabo addresses bowl news and coaching carousel rumors. Some reports linked him to OU
While Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney shot down reports that he was interested in the Oklahoma head coaching job, he did say he’s had contact with the Sooners program in some capacity.
“I have had no contact with Oklahoma from my standpoint,” he said Sunday during a Cheez-It Bowl teleconference call. “I talked to Oklahoma but not for me.”
Tigers defensive coordinator Brent Venables was officially named the Sooners’ next head coach later Sunday. When asked directly about Venables’ future, Swinney declined to answer.
“Definitely not something we’re going to talk about right now,” he said. “This is about our team. It’s about this opportunity and this matchup, all those types of things. If there’s something to be talked about there, we’ll discuss that at the appropriate time.”
Swinney was doing the Zoom call from the tunnel of Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas while watching a Raiders football game. He’ll also be in Vegas on Wednesday for former Tigers running back and current running backs coach C.J. Spiller’s induction into the National Football Federation’s Hall of Fame on Tuesday.
Clemson is scheduled to take on Iowa State in the Cheez-It Bowl on Dec. 29 in Orlando. The Tigers haven’t been to a bowl game outside of the College Football Playoff since 2014, though they’re not taking the opportunity for granted.
“This is not a lower-tier bowl,” Swinney said. “I think this is a great bowl and it’s a great opportunity and a great experience for us as coaches and our staff and a group of great student-athletes. I look at it as a real honor to be a part of it, so we’re excited about that.”
This story was originally published December 5, 2021 at 5:06 PM.
