Best college football coach in history from each state

South Carolina: Dabo Swinney

Swinney’s accomplishments at Clemson have already topped that of other program legends like Danny Ford, and his legacy will only grow in the coming years barring an unexpected move.

A native of Birmingham, Swinney made the Alabama football team as a walk-on wide receiver in 1990 and won a national championship in his final collegiate season. The Crimson Tide quickly hired Swinney as a graduate assistant, and he was promoted to wide receivers coach just two years later.

After all of Mike DuBose’s staff was fired in 2001, Swinney sat out for three seasons until joining Clemson’s staff, eventually earning the rank of associate head coach in 2007. Despite spending just one season as a coordinator, the Tigers hired Swinney to replace Tommy Bowden prior to 2009.

The move paid off for Clemson, as Swinney has won at least nine games in all but one season since. Clemson has gone 14-1 with an appearance in the National Final in each of the past two seasons and broke through with its first championship since 1981 under Danny Ford last year.

With a career mark of 89-28 and four major bowl appearances, Swinney has eclipsed program legends like Ford and Frank Howard as one of the elite coaches in the current college football landscape. Spurrier is also in the mix for helping South Carolina to its best stretch ever with three top 10 finishes but was unable to capture a national title with the Gamecocks.