30 best college football coaches of all time, ranked

9. Dabo Swinney, Clemson 2008-Present

The aura of Dabo Swinney will be interesting from here. He had his first difficult season in a long time in 2021. He started the season as one of the best-ranked teams in college football. He finished his season at the Cheez-It Bowl against Iowa State. They did have a difficult schedule, starting the season against the eventual national champions in Georgia. They ended up only losing three games, but that’s how good Swinney has been at Clemson. When his teams achieve even slightly below expectations, it blows everyone away.

Swinney started his coaching career at Alabama. He was an assistant under two different coaches in Tuscaloosa. Then, he was fired along with the entire staff in 2001. He left coaching for two years and worked in real estate before Clemson came calling. He took over as wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator, learning two very important skills at once.

He immediately started making changes as interim head coach in 2008. That’s where the “Tiger Walk”, where the players walk down a path to the stadium with hundreds of adorning fans on both sides, was introduced. He also brought them back to bowl eligibility and beat their rival South Carolina.

From there, Clemson took off. He won nine division titles, seven ACC titles, and he’s a two time national champion. Since the introduction of the College Football Playoff in the 2014 season, Clemson has been in the top four six times. Swinney has taken the Clemson program and immediately turned it into one of the premier programs in college football. They constantly get the best recruits, they make a ton of money, and the fans have never been happier. Swinney is on pace to be an all-time great. He’s already a legend for what he’s done over 13 years, but he could eventually fight for the moniker “best coach ever” when it’s all said and done.