DABO'S WORLD

A formulaic but readable study of a college football coach in action.

Dabo Swinney played at Alabama under the legendary Paul “Bear” Bryant, who once instructed another soon-to-be-legendary coach—Bruce Arians—“Coach them hard and hug them harder later.” Veteran sportswriter Anderson writes appreciatively of Swinney as a sort of Rudy-like character who rode the bench for a long time, convinced that his coaches were ignoring him. One, though, had “noticed the effort he gave in practices, his willingness to get plowed over by a bigger, starting player in the hope of making that player better and more prepared for the upcoming opponent.” Eventually, Swinney was put on the field, and though never a brilliant player, he was stalwart. Moreover, writes the author, he had an unparalleled work ethic and a scholarly approach to dissecting the game. A coaching stint at Alabama followed, one that ended in a scandal that, while not involving Swinney, nearly resulted in the NCAA’s imposing the “death penalty” on the school. Swinney went to work selling retail space in shopping malls, developing already strong salesmanship skills. Lured away to coach Clemson, he amassed a spectacular record, including two national championships—though the Tigers haven’t garnered the kind of national love that Anderson thinks the program deserves. “The Tigers had never seized the country’s imagination the way Alabama, Ohio State, University of Southern California, Texas, or even Nebraska did in their trophy-winning heydays.” Even so, Swinney signed “the biggest contract in college football history,” which features a penalty clause that kicks in only if he returns to his alma mater. The author is appreciative but not uncritical, noting several gaffes that Swinney committed over issues of racial and social justice in the time of Black Lives Matter as well as his opposition to paying college athletes, where the tide has definitely rolled over him.

Fans of Clemson—according to Anderson, there ought to be more—and of college ball will find this a pleasure.