Clemson hoping for a Steele Curtain

By Robert Rousseau  |   Wednesday, January 14, 2009  |  Comments( 2 )

Clemson Tigers
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Head coach Dabo Swinney seems to have landed the Clemson Tigers an excellent defensive coordinator in Kevin Steele.

Steele possesses plenty of experience, having coached linebackers -- something he will do at Clemson in addition to coordinator duties -- for the likes of Tennessee, New Mexico State, Oklahoma State, Nebraska, Florida State and Alabama. Beyond that, he served as executive head coach for Florida State and coached linebackers for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League.

Steele has worked under coaches like Johnny Majors, Bobby Bowden, Tom Osborne and Dom Capers. Doesn’t get much better than that in terms of experience.

But the real proof is in performance. Over the past two seasons, Steele served as defensive coordinator at Alabama under Nick Saban. In 2008, Steele’s Tide stop unit ranked third in the nation in total defense on its way to an undefeated regular season.

Then of course is recruiting, which Steele has clearly excelled at. What’s more, he has recruited the South Carolina area extensively.

“Kevin Steele is one of the most respected coaches in the nation," said Swinney. "He has served under Hall of Fame head coaches who have won national championships and also has experience in the NFL. He has also been ranked as the No. 1 recruiter in the nation and has coached in eight BCS-level bowl games. He has recruited this state for many years and is respected by the high school coaches of South Carolina. He is a perfect fit for this staff."

Swinney may have found another pearl, so to speak. One thing you have to say is that Swinney is doing a very good job of picking his staff. And that’s a must if you want to win at the highest level of modern college football.

Bottom line: Hiring Steele was a very sound decision.
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About Robert Rousseau

Robert Rousseau is a sports writer that has been published in a variety of print and online venues. He’s been writing for RealFootball365.com for almost three years now. When Rousseau isn’t writing about college football he tends to be penning mixed martial arts pieces for MMAFighting.com or...
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