Dabo Swinney staying put at Clemson as Alabama football makes its hire

Dabo Swinney is sticking with Clemson football after being connected to the Alabama job following the retirement of legendary coach Nick Saban.

ESPN’s Chris Low reported Friday the Crimson Tide had agreed to a deal with Washington coach Kalen DeBoer, officially eliminating Swinney and others as candidates in a rapid search after Saban’s Wednesday retirement.

The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman and The Action Network’s Brett McMurphy also reported that DeBoer would be Alabama’s next coach after the two sides finalized a contract Friday afternoon.

Earlier Friday, Larry Williams of TigerIllustrated.com and David Hood of TigerNet both reported Alabama had reached out to Swinney about its coaching vacancy Thursday, a day after Saban announced his retirement, but conversations between the two sides did not progress from there. Details surrounding Alabama’s pursuit of Swinney are limited, but Hood’s report said their talks were “brief.”

A team spokesperson told The State on Friday that Swinney wasn’t planning to release a statement regarding being connected to the Alabama job. It’s unclear the next time Swinney will be made available to media, though it’s possible that happens on 2024 national signing day (Wednesday, Feb. 7).

Clemson football had been operating as normal in recent days as classes started back up Wednesday. There was some social media buzz surrounding a Friday team meeting on the Tigers’ schedule, but that had been on the program’s schedule for weeks as the first full team meeting for the 2024 roster.

“It is obvious that everyone just wants to move on,” Hood wrote Friday morning, adding of Swinney: “So no, he’s not going anywhere.”

Swinney had been linked to the Crimson Tide job thanks to his deep ties to the state — he grew up in Pelham, Alabama, played receiver for Alabama and coached there seven years — and his track record at Clemson, where he’s won two national championships and elevated the Tigers to a modern era national brand.

Clemson went 9-4 in 2023, Swinney’s 15th season as full-time coach, and ended the year with a thrilling win over Kentucky at the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville. That win marked a fifth straight for the Tigers after a 4-4 start, adding some offseason optimism to what ended up as Clemson’s worst season in terms of record since 2010.

In their search to replace Saban, who won six national championships with the Crimson Tide, Alabama and athletic director Greg Byrne also reportedly targeted Oregon coach Dan Lanning, Texas coach Steve Sarkisian and Florida State coach Mike Norvell. All three had announced by Friday afternoon they’d be staying at their current programs, with Sarkisian and Norvell both receiving big raises.

DeBoer is 25-3 in two seasons as Washington’s coach and just led the Huskies to the 2023 Pac-12 championship and a spot in the College Football Playoff. Washington, the No. 2 seed, finished 14-1 after beating Texas in the Sugar Bowl and losing to Michigan, 34-13, in the national championship Monday.