Top 118 Quotes & Sayings by Dabo Swinney
Explore popular quotes and sayings by an American coach Dabo Swinney.
Last updated on September 17, 2024.
My vision is for other schools to be like Clemson. My vision is to build a model program.
No, we don't control who our parents are. We don't control what color we are. We don't control what home we are born into. But we control our attitude. We control our work ethic. We control our drive and our commitment.
My dad was the biggest Alabama fan ever, and I was brainwashed.
A lot of these things in this world were only a dream for Martin Luther King. Not a one-term, but a two-term African-American president. And this is a terrible country? That was a dream for Martin Luther King.
There's a lot of 'oops' from us in life as people. I always say that God never says 'oops.' That's just kind of how I've always lived my life, but we're so imperfect that there's a lot of times that we say, 'Oops, my bad.'
Continue to do common things in an uncommon way. Continue to be 'all in.' Continue to apply 'best is the standard.' Continue to be a person of excellence in everything you do.
It's the journey to get there. It's that moment in that locker room when you're with a group of people that have gotten it done. There's nothing like it. If you could bottle that up and take that out in the world, you'd dominate.
You may not have any interest in Clemson whatsoever, but if Clemson calls, and they want to pay for you to come, and feed you and put you in a hotel, well, who doesn't want to go do that? Sign me up. Let's go, man.
I think we have a sin problem in the world. It's so easy to say we have a race problem, but we got a sin problem.
I've never really hired anybody that people thought I should hire.
You got to be a champion on the inside.
There's a lot of good police officers. There's thousands of perfect traffic stops. Lot of good men. Lot of good women. But those don't get the stories.
I ain't never going to apologize for a 21-point win over a state rival, ever.
I don't think it's good to be a distraction to your team.
I go to a church that's an interracial church.
In Alabama, when you come out of the hospital, they have to stamp your birth certificate with either Alabama or Auburn, or you don't leave.
When you win by three touchdowns in a state championship and you've got people who can't appreciate that? That's really sad.
If my coach told me to go run them bleachers, you didn't ask no questions. I turned around and started running until he said stop.
If you grow up with traditions in your family, it's always nice to be able to get home and have those moments.
My driving force in this business is to create and build great men, and to do that, you have to have great relationships.
I just think there is a right way to do things, and I don't think two wrongs make a right.
When a guy comes unofficially, then he, to me, is sending you a message that, 'You know what? Hey, I'm interested in Clemson.' Now, he may hate it when he gets here. But at least he came on his own. That's just my personal philosophy.
I always told people Alabama was the smartest state because it has four As and a B.
The key to coaching is love. It's not knowledge; it's not discipline. If you love 'em, you can discipline them. If you love 'em, you can yell at them and laugh about it later.
For me personally, joy comes from focusing on Jesus, others, and yourself.
I'm not perfect. I don't claim to be perfect. So, when people point out I'm imperfect, so what? That's just who I am.
I'm counting every silver lining I can get.
I'm thankful for the experience and to be able to coach other young people on their journey through college football. It's a privilege.
When you lose a parent, it's a strange feeling. It's a hard thing to get used to.
I want guys that are sincerely interested in coming to Clemson. I don't need any practice recruiting, and I don't like wasting time. I want to be transparent, and I want prospects to be transparent, and if they're really interested in Clemson, then they're going to come here unofficially on their own.
Trust me, people that know me know I ain't perfect, but I do try to live my life in a way that hopefully can be pleasing to my maker because I know I'm going to meet Him one day, and He's not going to pat me on the back and talk about how many wins I had or how many Coach of the Year trophies we got or how much money I made.
Everybody runs, but only one wins first prize. So, run your race in such a way as to win.
All I know is, there's nothing we can't do at Clemson. I don't have to go somewhere else to win at the highest level, to recruit great players, to have great support - I really don't. I'm just really fortunate.
I'm always just focused on being great where I'm at and blooming where I'm planted.
You better have an anchor in life. It doesn't matter if you're a Division I head football coach or Joe Schmo from Okemoh. Bad things happen. If you're not anchored, you're going to be washed away.
Colin Cowherd? I never met him; I don't know him.
I had a lot of time as a kid to dream. There wasn't much else left to do.
When you get a young group of people that believe, are passionate... and committed to a single purpose, you better look out. Great things can happen.
Everybody sees me now, and I'm the head coach at Clemson and this and that, but my life hasn't always been this way.
We're all going to experience death and failure and setbacks and disappointments and cancer and, you know, it's a really difficult world. And for me, God has always - in my relationship with Christ - He's given me hope and peace.
Let's not be miserable when we win. There's definitely people in places that, even when they win, they're not happy. That's sad.
I'm not trying to be like everybody else. I want to be Clemson, and Clemson's not for everybody.
There's nobody tougher on the players than me. Nobody.
No matter what's behind us in the rearview mirror, it's always about what's next.
God creates us to compete. He creates us to win. It matters. But you've got no chance if you don't do your best.
I'm a wimp. I'm from Alabama. I don't like the cold.
It's hard for me to come up with a plan and hold my players accountable until I self-evaluate and hold myself accountable.
I thought, 'If I ever get a new football building, I want a slide.' Now I go down it every day.
You don't have to sacrifice your family to be a great coach.
I'm a big believer in the student-athlete part. I value the education and what it provides for you. Football is a vocation. Only 1.67 percent of these athletes go on to the NFL. An education provides you an opportunity for a career. A lot of people just don't get that. To say they aren't getting anything is misinformed.
For me, and I've been on record saying it, let's create two leagues: one for players who want the college football experience, and another for those that want to get paid, have the NFL help fund it, whatever. Guys who don't want to go to school to get an education, let them go to work.
I think God has got a sense of humor. I really do.
I have an MBA, but my Ph.D. is in people. Everything I do is about relationships.
Everyone will be judged one day, but it's not up to me to judge somebody.
I've never failed at anything in my life.
Always remember, the goals that we have achieved pale in comparison to the daily commitments it took to get there.
There's some criminals that wear badges. Guess what? There's some criminals that work in the media. There's some criminals that are football coaches. There's some criminals that are politicians. There are criminals that work in churches.
I'm kind of a bottom-of-the-barrel guy.
I didn't get into coaching to make money. I got into this for the coaching and teaching part.
That's just my - I think that I made a decision when I was 16 - I grew up in a family that I was taught there was a God and all that, but I didn't really have a relationship with Christ until I was 16. And that was a game changer for me. That's really become the foundation of my life.
Related Authors
Alex Ferguson Quotes
Scottish
Coach
Arsene Wenger Quotes
French
Coach
Bear Bryant Quotes
American
Coach
Bobby Knight Quotes
American
Coach
Buck Brannaman Quotes
American
Coach
Harry Redknapp Quotes
English
Coach
John Calipari Quotes
American
Coach
John Wooden Quotes
American
Coach
Jose Mourinho Quotes
Portuguese
Coach
Lou Holtz Quotes
American
Coach
Mike Krzyzewski Quotes
American
Coach
Nick Saban Quotes
American
Coach
Pat Summitt Quotes
American
Coach
Pep Guardiola Quotes
Spanish
Coach
Tony Dungy Quotes
American
Coach
Vince Lombardi Quotes
American
Coach