Swinney has deep respect for Staley

Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney has never met South Carolina women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley.

But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have thoughts on her.

“I have a lot of respect for her, though, and what an unbelievable job she’s done,” Swinney said. “I have a great appreciation for how hard it is to win and to be consistent. She’s been very consistent down there and has built a great program. So I don’t know her, but I don’t really have to know her to know what she’s all about because you don’t win like she’s won and not have a lot of substance to you.”

Both coaches built programs to the top of their sports. Swinney took over a team that hadn’t won a conference title since 1991. He’s won double-digit games six years running, with back-to-back College Football Playoff title game appearances and a championship in January.

Staley inherited a program that stagnated after a solid run in the early 2000s. Her team’s national title this year capped off a run of four consecutive seasons as a No. 1 seed, with two Final Four trips and four Sweet 16s.

Swinney said he didn’t get much chance to watch Staley’s Gamecocks in the Final Four in Dallas, but he was rooting for them.

“I love seeing great competition,” Swinney said. “First of all, it was kind of good to see somebody beat UConn. I’m always trying to pull for the underdog. So that part of it was neat.

“Very, very happy for them and her team and all the fans. For them to have a chance to experience a championship, it’s special.”

This story was originally published May 14, 2017 at 12:07 AM.