Regardless of what industry you are in, there a few people who are better culture builders than Clemson Tigers head football coach Dabo Swinney. On Wednesday, May 12th Coach Swinney appeared as a guest on The Colin Cowherd Podcast. The topics they covered ranged from his upbringing to their recruiting philosophy to Trevor Lawrence.
But the best part of the conversation centered on the culture he has built at Clemson. You can listen to the full interview by clicking HERE.
The following are 29 Leadership Quotes From Dabo Swinney’s Appearance On The Colin Cowherd Podcast:
- “That second year when we won six games we lost five by six points or less… I’m thankful I had an A.D. who believed in me by the name of Terry Don Phillips.”
- “We’ve had 10 10+ win seasons in a row. Only us and Alabama.”
- “I’m thankful because not everyone has a Terry Don Phillips as an A.D..”
- “I’m always building… The life cycle of anything – The Birth, you’ve got Growth. You’ve got Plateau. You got decline. You got death. The key is to never plateau.”
- “You’ve always got to recommit, refocus, restart, recharge, reinvest, reinstall.”
- “Greatness is always under construction.”
- “If you’re going to be great at anything… you need to do something really, really great for a long time. You want to build consistency.”
- “9 out of the last 10 years (we’ve) been in the Top 10 academically… The last 10 years we’ve been second in the country in wins, second in draft picks since I’ve been a head coach. We’ve built a model of consistency and we’ve done it our way.”
- “It’s like climbing a mountain every year. You don’t get to stay on the mountain. Every year we’re back at the bottom.”
- “If I would be growing up today, I’d be considered an at-risk kid.”
- “I accepted the Lord when I was 16 years old.”
- “You’re either going to be part of the solution or part of the problem. You’re either going to create the change or you’re going to continue have the same.”
- “Within a week of being a G.A. (graduate assistant) I knew God was equipping me to do this job.”
- “Just like I was an at-risk kid, I was an at-risk hire as a coach.”
- “ESPN had me listed as a D+ hire. They said Clemson was crazy. I’m happy for the +.”
- “What I’ve learned in my life is to not let other people determine my worth. I’ve learned to live inside-out, not outside-in.”
- “That quarterback you got committed out of Georgia is the best high school quarterback I’ve ever seen, ever.” – Stanford head coach David Shaw on Trevor Lawrence
- “The game never seemed fast to him (Lawrence) from Day One.”
- “We’ve never accepted transfers or junior college players to this point.”
- “We’ve been a developmental, relationship-driven program.”
- “Our kids graduate. We’re 98% graduation rate since I’ve been the head coach. That’s the #1 thing in our program.”
- “I’ve had a lot of great experiences but walking across that stage at Alabama and getting my degree made me different from everyone else in my family and it gave me opportunities my mom and dad didn’t get in life.”
- “1.7% of college players play in the NFL and it’s a shame we make it all about that.”
- “Don’t avoid red flags (when recruiting).”
- “The philosophy of our program is to serve their heart, not their talent. That starts in the recruiting process.”
- “You don’t go to class here, you ain’t playing… don’t come here.”
- “In the Power 65 teams, we are third in the fewest offers.”
- “Every loss is tough.”
- “Mo hotta, mo better. I like it hot.” – referring to the August and September heat in Death Valley
For more on Coach Swinney, click the following:
- 10 Mantras Dabo Swinney Used To Build A Winning And Positive Culture At Clemson
- 30 Reasons Dabo Swinney Created Such A Successful And Healthy Culture At Clemson University.
Coach Swinney is just a great leader. If you want to read a good book on the culture he has built at Clemson, I recommend Clemson Tough: Guts and Glory Under Dabo Swinney. Click HERE to order. What is one thing you learned from the quotes above which will make you a better leader?
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