Tigertown Tiff?
So this is what happens when you let a bunch of dumb, country hicks run your football program …
After an early season implosion a year ago handed the Clemson head coaching job to William C. “Dabo” Swinney, the 39-year-old coach is suddenly facing an implosion of his own.
According to The Avenue Of Champions – a popular Clemson football blog – Swinney and Tigers’ offensive coordinator Billy Napier had several heated altercations last week during football practice, with assistant coaches having to step in and separate the two men.
From the blog report:
Clemson’s 2-3 record has Swinney panicking and riding the players and coaches extremely hard. Swinney’s temper got the better of him on a couple of occasions during last Wednesday’s practice, resulting in two face-to-face altercations with Napier. Coaches had to step-in and separate the parties prior to it escalating. Woody McCorvey recently was forced to step-in and council Swinney on controlling his temper.
These reports – alternately denied and downplayed on Tuesday by Swinney and Napier, respectively – have been confirmed by reporters at Tiger Illustrated as well.
At the heart of the dispute between the two coaches is the responsibility for Clemson’s offensive play-calling. Apparently Swinney has been overruling the 30-year-old Napier on multiple occasions during games, which has led to some disastrous results.
Again, quoting from The Avenue of Champions …
Swinney reportedly overrides Napier around 15-25 plays per game, primarily taking control in the red zone and during critical situations including calling almost all of the last 3 drives of the game against Maryland.
On the final offensive play against Maryland, Billy Napier called a play and Dabo signaled in a different one. Unfortunately, Swinney forgot to change the protection scheme to match the new play and as a result a blitzing LB was given an unobstructed path to the QB. The play ultimately resulted in a sack and fumble and killed the Tigers chances of kicking a game tying FG.
For the first time since winning the Clemson coaching job at the conclusion of the 2008 season, Swinney finds himself on the hot seat.
And why not?
Despite having preseason Heisman Trophy candidate C.J. Spiller, speedster Jacoby Ford and strong-armed freshman Kyle Parker in his arsenal, Swinney’s offense is somehow ranked 102nd out of 109 Division I-A teams in total offense. The Tigers also rank eighty-third in the nation in scoring offense.
Comments
By Jeffy01 on October 13th, 2009 at 3:53 pm
Taters….same thing every year. Spiller has a plan I am sure.
By CNSYD on October 13th, 2009 at 3:58 pm
Popular blog? Never heard of Avenue of Champions. Tiger Illustrated has credibility. To my knowledge their report of what happened does not parallel the one you quoted. Unless CDS lied, his overruling of calls has only been 5 or less the whole year. CDS is not going to lie especially in a situation that is easy to check. IRT the MD LB blowing in, the LT at the time was Lambert who has not a clue and could not block your Grandmother. All that has been shown is that Dabo does have yes men working for him. They are allowed dissent. That may be unique to those who are used to the OBC. As far as Dabo being on the hot seat, his boss (and the person who hired him) says that is not so. CDS himself says if things aren’t where they need to be after his first 3 years he needs to be replaced. Unlike a majority of coaches he has no buyout. Apparently in November of last year the communication between Napier and Dabo in calling plays worked well enough to post a 31-14 score on USC.
By CNSYD on October 13th, 2009 at 4:00 pm
I forgot to mention that CJ winning the Heisman is no longer possible as it will be awarded to Obama as Obama has recently watched a college football game on TV.
By CNSYD on October 13th, 2009 at 4:20 pm
Jeffy01, if the same thing every year means beating the lamecocks, I’ll take it.
By Garnet Spy on October 13th, 2009 at 4:50 pm
GREAT! Now I won’t be able to eat OR sleep. This is SO upsetting. I’m distraught, forlorn, …. sorry, can’t continue with a straight face.
By Pat Hendrix on October 13th, 2009 at 5:25 pm
Shhh, the taters are doing awesome. Long live the reign of Dabo.
By Pat Hendrix on October 13th, 2009 at 5:27 pm
Seriously, you wonder how the Tater athletic department could have finally overtaken the Gamecocks in stupidity, then you find out NSYD is a tater. Nuff said.
By smart Kid Grant on October 13th, 2009 at 5:32 pm
There are now around 120 Div 1-A teams, come on Sic, stick with the times
By CNSYD on October 13th, 2009 at 5:59 pm
Pat Hendrix, Don’t know who NSYD is. Perhaps reading and writing were not subjects taught at usc east. If dominance over usc east in football is stupidity then I hope we remain stupid. As Frank Howard said upon hearing of usc east hiring Dietzel, “they have been pouring money down a rat hole in Columbia for years and now they have got themselves a bigger rat”. I guess the rat hole is not full yet.
By countryboy on October 13th, 2009 at 6:13 pm
Please, please Clemson, do not fire Dabo. I want to see the program in such bad shape recruiting in state suffers long term.
By CNSYD on October 13th, 2009 at 7:06 pm
countryboy, usc east has always got the best recruits. Just ask Korncoot. Clemson has to take the leftovers after usc east gets their pick. The mystery is that these dregs that Clemson is stuck with seem to be able to beat the all world players that usc east signs.
By Steve V on October 13th, 2009 at 8:20 pm
Swinney is Napiers “Uncle-Dad”. Family trees up there do not branch.
By CNSYD on October 13th, 2009 at 9:09 pm
Steve V, did you skip math courses at usc east or is that a taught subject?
By OhNoNotAgain on October 13th, 2009 at 11:15 pm
Hey, Clemson fans. Does USC suck? If so, why do you get so happy about beating a team that sucks so badly?
Hey Clemson fans, who besides USC do you routinely beat? In the FBS, that is?
Hey FITS, being unfair when you say Clemson is ranked 102 out of 108 teams, when its ranked 102 out of 120 teams.
Yay! We’re still behind 101 teams, but it’s the eight teams we are ahead of that are significant.
I saw this on the tweets from Sport Talk about Dabo’s press conference. I won’t get into the “tiff.”
But this?
First Swinney says, we are going to change the culture here.
Then he says, Two or three plays and we have a totally different perception of the season.
Gosh, sounds like Tommy Bowden to me.
I hope he keeps changing the culture.
By JR on October 13th, 2009 at 11:22 pm
I am so very upset that Spiller is no longer a viable Heisman candidate. I went and got my poster and everything. How is Clemson supposed to go 10-2 and win its division of the ACC when it is playing like this?
Seriously though, as a Carolina fan I am sick and tired of losing to Clemson and if Steve Spurrier can’t out-coach a failed insurance salesman well then I may have to give up on the Gamecocks forever. How in the world did Terry Don think hiring Dabo the Insurance Salesman as a coach was a good idea?
By Steve V on October 14th, 2009 at 8:14 am
CNSYD, its ok. You guys are the best 2-3 team in the nation!!! Didn’t skip math class. Do they even teach math up there at Pickens Tech? I thought I they taught was how to farm, and how to sexually abuse farm animals without leaving evidence. If the world needed and enema…Clemson would be where they insert the tube.
By CNSYD on October 14th, 2009 at 8:31 am
OhNoNotAgain, Am I satisfied with the performance of Clemson’s football team at this point? No. Why do Clemson fans get happy for beating usc east? Because usc east fans tell us every August how good they are going to be and how much better they are because they play in the SEC. So when it doesn’t happen and Clemson beats them Clemson fans can’t wait to let usc east fans hear about it. The normal procedure is to brag about what you have done. It is not bragging about what you are going to do. Just yesterday I heard a usc east fan who is a frequent caller to upstate sports talk shows say that the Tenn. and Ark. games will be no problem for usc east to win. He said the Ala. game will be close but usc east will win. Apparently the boys in Vegas are not so confident.
JR, your information of “insurance salesman” is not correct. It was actually commercial real estate. IRT failed, he took a pay cut to become an assistant to Bowden. Whether his hiring was the right thing or not will be borne out by the 3 year window he himself set.
By Pat Hendrix on October 14th, 2009 at 9:00 am
“Don’t know who NSYD is. Perhaps reading and writing were not subjects taught at usc east.”
Oh the sweet irony. Fine sentence, tard.
By CNSYD on October 14th, 2009 at 9:05 am
Steve V, you forgot your meds again. There is a huge difference between preception and reality. Always remember not to critize farmers with your mouth full. Usc east is the land of Holderman and Parsons and their ilk. Is that preception or reality?
By Pat Hendrix on October 14th, 2009 at 11:25 am
You’re going back two and half decades to reference Holderman and Parsons? Okay, dude, news flash: Clemson football, Members Only jackets, mullets, John Holderman, Karma Chameleon, Chaka Khan, and Pam Parsons all went out of style in 1984. Try bringing it into this millennium.
By CNSYD on October 14th, 2009 at 3:43 pm
It was a real easy queston Pat Hendrix. You say Clemson means farmers, etc. My comment was asking if the lifestyles of Holderman and Parsons were indicative of usc east since they were in “power” positions.
By JR6784 on October 14th, 2009 at 10:07 pm
I don’t care if Dabo was the garbage man CNYSD, he is in over his head as the head coach of a BCS conference team. If he hadn’t somehow managed to get Spiller back for this year his team would probably have no wins. This doesn’t change the fact that Carolina still can’t beat Clemson and the fact that that infuriates me.
By CNSYD on October 15th, 2009 at 9:53 am
JR6784, Whether he truly is in over his head will become self evident. If he is, that does not reflect directly on him. Dabo did not hire himself. Phillips is who should be under the microscope.