Dabo Swinney on Terry Smith’s work as Penn State’s interim HC: ‘An incredibly difficult task’
Before Dabo Swinney became Clemson’s head football coach, he was the Tigers’ interim head coach in 2008.
A Clemson coaching change led to Swinney serving as interim leader for the final six games of that season. The Tigers won four of the seven contests with Swinney running the show.
Swinney was named permanent head coach at Clemson ahead of the 2009 season.
Swinney, whose 7-5 Clemson squad faces 6-6 Penn State in the Dec. 27 Pinstripe Bowl in New York City, has won 187 games and two national titles with the Tigers.
But that interim head coaching job? That was a challenge for Swinney.
Swinney was asked earlier this week about the job Terry Smith has done as PSU’s interim head coach.
The Lions are 3-3 on Smith’s watch with a chance to finish 4-3 before Matt Campbell takes over as Penn State’s permanent head coach.
“I’ve got great respect for anybody who gets put in an interim situation,” Swinney said, referring to Smith.
“I’ve been there, done that. And that is an incredibly difficult task.”
“You know, you’re thrust into a completely different role and to have kind of redefined roles and responsibilities, you wear a lot of different hats.”
You know, you’re thrust into a completely different role and to have kind of redefined roles and responsibilities, you wear a lot of different hats.
After starting out 0-3 as interim head coach, Smith’s Lions won their final three games to qualify for the postseason.
PSU’s three loss? At Iowa by a point, to then-unbeaten Ohio State on the road, and a three-point loss to unbeaten Indiana at home, a game the Lions led late.
“That is not easy,” Swinney said.
“And especially at a place like Penn State where there’s a lot of people who are paying attention to everything that you do. And I just think (Smith has) done an amazing job.”
“They had injuries, but settling (the Lions) down and finding a way to finish the season, just like we have,” Swinney added.
“Both (Clemson and Penn State) had high expectations, but football is football. Football’s hard and it doesn’t always go your way. Most of the time, it gets worse when things go bad.
“But what you see at Penn State is you’ve seen the character of their program, the character of their players, because they’ve continued to battle. Honestly, there’s a couple other games they could have won.
“I think it’s a great reflection of who coach Smith is and the job that he’s done.”
