Worth it: Dabo Swinney
Swinney ranks second behind Saban in salary for 2017 and is well worth the expense for Clemson, as the Tigers could soon quickly be approaching dynasty status.
The former Alabama wide receiver won a national championship as a walk-on in 1992 before becoming a position coach in Tuscaloosa from 1996-2000. After Mike DuBose’s entire staff got fired, Swinney sat out a couple years before joining Clemson as a wide receivers coach in 2003.
Clemson decided to keep Swinney, one of the best recruiters in the nation, around as interim coach for the final seven games of the 2008 season following longtime head coach Tommy Bowden’s resignation. Despite having no coordinator or head coaching experience, Swinney was promoted to full-time head coach over the offseason, a move that has worked out beautifully for the Tigers.
After surviving three middling years to begin his tenure, Swinney has broken through with two straight College Football Playoff appearances, and beat mighty Alabama in last year’s title game for Clemson’s first championship in 35 years. Swinney has done a terrific job with his coordinator hires, has brought in a ton of NFL-caliber talent to Clemson, and has done well to turn that into results with a 100-29 record.
While an extension in August raised Swinney’s salary to $8.5 million for 2017, he’s absolutely worth it and could be headed to the College Football Playoff for the third straight year. Rumors will begin to swirl whenever Saban retires, but Clemson is going to do everything it can to keep Swinney as head coach.