Coaching candidates whom Clemson should not consider

By Marc Hudgens  |   Wednesday, November 26, 2008  |  Comments( 2 )

Clemson Tigers
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Clemson will likely announce a new head coach next week for the first time in forever. While former coach Tommy Bowden never won a title of any kind at Clemson in 10 years, he put the Tigers on a rickety perch, as the program is poised to either win ACC titles now or plummet. It’s a slippery slope that necessitates the best hire athletic director Terry Don Phillips can get.

By the same token, there are a few candidates the school shouldn’t even consider:

1. Dabo Swinney, interim head coach.

Swinney is simply not ready to lead Clemson yet -- or any other major Big Six football school, for that matter. Clemson is at a crossroad -- the program will get over the hump and win titles now or it will swirl back into the abyss in a 1990s redo. This is too critical a time for Phillips and company to go the easy route. Swinney will be under tremendous pressure next season if Clemson fails, so it would be a disservice to him and the program for him to be named the head coach. Besides, how many of you really want a Tommy Bowden remnant heading up the program?

Those in support of Swinney point to former great Clemson coach Danny Ford, whom the program hired despite being unproven. They think that Ford was unproven but succeeded, so Swinney will do the same. However, many conveniently forget the big difference in programs that Ford and Swinney were assistants under. Ford was a coach under the late Charley Pell, who resigned on his own free will in 1978 after taking Clemson to another level (first ACC title in 11 years). Swinney, on the other hand, was an assistant under Bowden, who was essentially fired after a mediocre tenure. In short, Ford was a part of a rising powerhouse under Pell. Swinney, unlike Ford, is a part of an average program going nowhere fast, which isn’t exactly a strong endorsement for Swinney. If Clemson wants to go in a different direction, then go in a different direction and quit figuring out a way not to.

2. Bobby Bentley, Presbyterian College head coach.

This is beyond laughable. A few fans have recommended him, but you’d be hard-pressed to find anybody else thinking Bentley, who is a combined 10-13 at the FCS school, is a qualified candidate. Again, an easy local choice. If he wasn’t quarterback Willy Korn’s head coach at Byrnes High School, would he even be mentioned? Plus, he only has two years of head coaching experience at this small school.

3. Troy Calhoun, Air Force head coach.

Calhoun has done very well since taking over for longtime Falcons legend Fisher DeBerry, garnering a 17-8 in his two seasons at the Academy so far. But he’s only been a head coach for a total of two seasons. Sounds like Bowden before he came to the Tigers, right?

4. Bobby Johnson, Vanderbilt head coach.

Best of the worst candidates. On one hand, Johnson has clearly brought Vanderbilt to a better place than it was before him, and did it in the SEC. Over his seven-year tenure, his teams have beaten Tennessee twice, Georgia, Arkansas, Auburn, South Carolina and Wake Forest. His teams have been competitive against quality SEC foes, something Clemson could not do under Bowden -- who was 1-6 versus SEC teams other than South Carolina.

But with all due respect, he has a 26-55 mark to date in Nashville and no divisional or SEC titles. Although seven years' head coaching experience is great, more winning than losing must be part of the hiring formula. Clemson needs a coach who has some semblance of championship success, not one who plays spoiler at best.

A week from now, we’ll likely know Clemson’s next potentate. Fans should hope it's none of the above.
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About Marc Hudgens

Marc Hudgens has been with RealFootball365 since 2007, covering college football, specifically Clemson and Oregon. He also writes for SouthernPigskin.com covering the ACC. He enjoys the acidic wit of Hunter S. Thompson, is a freelance graphic designer and has written several screenplays. He ...
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