30 years ago singer Johnny Kemp told us what happens when he got paid on a Friday night. Three decades later Dabo Swinney must be singing the same song because it’s Friday and he just got paid, way more than Kemp could ever have imagined.
Today it was announced that Clemson signed their championship winning coach to a new eight year contract that will pay him $6.75 million per year.
“I want to thank President Clements, Dan Radakovich and his team, the Board of Trustees, and the entire Clemson family,” Swinney said. “My family and I have been extremely blessed to be part of such an incredible university and community for the past 14 years. This contract makes a strong statement. It is a mutual commitment reflective of the program we have built and continue to build at Clemson. The Clemson family does so much to support our program and I couldn’t be more proud to be your head coach.”
Swinney took over the program in 2008 and has proceeded to build the school into a championship caliber program. And by recruiting players such as Deshaun Watson, Ben Boulware, Sammy Watkins and many other NFL bound players, Swinney was able to continue growing the program until they finally won their fist NCAA Championship last year. He has a record of 89-28 in his nine seasons at the school and has been in postseason bowl games every year. He has a record of 70-13 over the past six season and, more importantly, his success has extended past the gridiron and into the classroom. 157 of 162 senior lettermen have earned degrees and, according to the team’s site “His teams have finished among the nation’s Top 10 in the NCAA’s Academic Progress Report five of the past six years, and a school-record 58 football student-athletes posted a grade point average of 3.0 or above during the 2017 spring semester.”
“Dabos impact on our football program, our university and our community is immeasurable and goes well beyond the on-field successes and national championship, said Director of Athletics Dan Radakovich. “This new agreement demonstrates our strong commitment to Dabo and our confidence in his leadership nowand in the futureand his long-term commitment to Clemson. We are thrilled that he and his family will be a part of the Clemson Family for years to come.
Sounds to us that Dabo more than deserved his payday. Wonder what he’s doing tonight….
