Dabo Swinney pays tribute to Bobby Bowden as he looks to pass FSU legend on ACC wins list
Dabo Swinney has the utmost respect for Bobby Bowden and the Bowden family.
And, since records are meant to be broken, it's probably fitting Clemson's football coach has the chance to make Atlantic Coast Conference history Saturday on the field that bears the legendary Florida State coach's name.
"It is kind of odd, the circumstances, but he's a lot like Dad," Tommy Bowden told the Tallahassee Democrat Thursday.
With 173 career wins, Swinney enters the FSU-Clemson showdown at Doak Campbell Stadium tied with Bowden for the conference record for career head coaching victories leading an ACC program.
Bowden has 377 NCAA-recognized wins, and 173 came with the Seminoles in the ACC from when they joined the league in 1992 to Bowden's retirement in 2009.
The field at Doak Campbell Stadium was named after Bowden in 2004.
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Bowden died in August, 2021, at his Killearn Estates home. He was 91.
Clemson coach Dabo Swinney's respect for Bowden family spans decades
Swinney's relationship with the Bowden family spans decades.
Tommy Bowden - one of Bowden's four sons - was Swinney's first position coach at Alabama in the 1989 season. Hired as Clemson's head coach in 1999, Tommy Bowden brought Swinney back to the coaching profession with the Tigers in 2003 as recruiting coordinator and receivers coach. And Swinney was named Clemson’s interim head coach in 2008, replacing Tommy Bowden.
"He was one of the first people to call me that night as an interim," Swinney said of Bobby Bowden postgame to Clemsontigers.com last Saturday after tying Bowden's mark.
"He became a mentor of mine, a friend of mine. He impacted me greatly both through Tommy and himself. I can't express enough how much love I have for him and the entire Bowden family… I've still got voicemails on my phone from him; he would call me and encourage me long after he was out of coaching."
Swinney picked up his first win as interim head coach in 2008 against Boston College, 27-21. The following week, he lost to Bobby Bowden and the Seminoles in Tallahassee, 41-27. The night before the game, the Swinneys and Bowdens saw each other at a Tallahassee restaurant.
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"He was amazing,” Swinney told The Register-Herald. “He was so gracious and just kind. … I have a picture in my office of Will (Dabo’s oldest son) and Bobby Bowden and me. And at that point, I had one career win.”
When thinking of similarities between Swinney and Bobby Bowden, Tommy Bowden immediately pointed to the pair's faith.
"Their faith is especially important to them, and they are vocal and public about it," Tommy said. "I's a big priority in their lives. That makes its special."
Clemson-FSU football rivalry often determines conference winner
While the Clemson-FSU rivalry has often been a decisive one for the driver’s seat in the ACC race, the 1-4 Seminoles enter Saturday as a double-digit underdog. Clemson is attempting to win a fourth consecutive game at Doak Campbell Stadium for the first time in series history.
"Florida State is always a really tough place to play," Swinney said.
"Their fans do a great job, there's always a ton of energy down there. Certainly, it's Clemson-Florida State, a lot of well-documented history with this matchup. It doesn't matter what the records are, none of it matters, there's good players on both sides.
"Florida State's got a bunch of guys that are going to be playing on Sundays, a bunch of 'em, and we need to make sure we need to do to keep improving our team and continue to do some of those things that we're doing at a high level."
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Tommy Bowden has watched the Seminoles from his Florida Panhandle home. FSU's issues this season have been widely reported and debated. The Seminoles can't afford to start slowly against the Tigers either.
Clemson has not surrendered a first-quarter point this season and has outscored opponents 73-0.
"They are really struggling, obviously," Bowden said of the Seminoles. "It's kind of hard to put your finger on it because they have so many issues. He (coach Mike Norvell) has a lot of work to do."
Career football head coaching victories in ACC history
Bobby Bowden 173; Dabo Swinney 173
George Welsh, Virginia 134
Frank Beamer, Virginia Tech 113
Mack Brown, North Carolina 110
Bill Dooley, UNC/Wake Forest 98
Danny Ford, Clemson 96; Frank Howard 96
Note: Only counts seasons in which the programs competed as members of the ACC
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Clemson football's Dabo Swinney can break Bobby Bowden ACC wins record
