Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney loses voice, still has plenty to say at Orange Bowl
MIAMI – Dabo Swinney has never been at a loss for words.
Until Thursday.
“I lost my voice,” Swinney said. “Hopefully I’ll find it soon.”
Clemson’s football coach believes he lost his voice while attending the Miami Heat’s basketball game against the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night at FTX Arena, rendering him hoarse for Thursday morning's joint press conference for Orange Bowl coaches.
“We went to the basketball game last night – maybe I lost my voice cheering for the Heat, I don’t know,” Swinney said.
Perhaps his cheering paid off. Miami won 112-98, keeping its perfect record intact with Swinney in the audience.
“I came down for a playoff game last May, so I’m 2-0,” Swinney said. “I let him (Heat coach Erik Spoelstra) know that last night.”
WHAT WE THINK:Clemson football vs. Tennessee: Scouting report and score prediction
EXPANDED ROLE:Clemson grad student QB Hunter Johnson suddenly in bigger role for Orange Bowl
FIRST START:Why Clemson football felt 'time was right' for Cade Klubnik to start in Orange Bowl
The No. 7 Tigers (11-2) will play No. 6 Tennessee (10-2) in the Orange Bowl on Friday (8 p.m., ESPN) at Hard Rock Stadium.
But Wednesday night provided a good opportunity for Swinney to reconnect with Spoelstra.
“He’s a guy that I’ve gotten to know,” said Swinney. “We have a mutual friend who connected us several years ago.”
Spoelstra and Swinney have maintained contact and Spoelstra has visited Swinney at Clemson.
“He reached out four or five years and wanted to come to Clemson,” Swinney said. “It was a really cool thing. He flew in for a day with one of his assistants.
“It doesn’t really matter what the sport is. If you’re in leadership and you’re dealing with people, there’s so much you can learn, especially when you’re in a competitive environment.
“And even though he’s in pro basketball, you’re still dealing with young guys and competitive dynamics, culture, leadership, all those things. That’s how we first got to know each other. And we’ve stayed in touch throughout the years.”
They've shared coaching tips and tactics as well as strategies for player-coach relationships, which has reinforced for Swinney the potential benefits of the collaborative aspect of the coaching profession.
“I think our profession is really unique that way,” Swinney said. “We talk and we meet. We compete, but we collaborate. That’s not the case in most industries; Coke doesn’t sit down with Pepsi at the end the end of the year and say ‘OK boys, what do you think?’ So I like that about our profession.”
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Dabo Swinney: Clemson football coach loses voice at Miami Heat game
