For nearly two decades, Dabo Swinney has embodied Clemson football. Two national championships, nine ACC championships, and years of relevance at the top of the food chain. But at one point, the All-Time Winningest Coach in ACC History was praying every day, asking for fulfillment, while working in real estate after being let go by Alabama. And then the call came, but it required a sacrifice.

“We took a big pay cut, a big one, to come to Clemson. Don’t chase the money, chase your passion, chase your happiness,” Swinney said on the Next Up with Adam Breneman show on June 4. “But I loved it. And we packed up two little kids. She was pregnant with our third child. Now, all of our family was mad at us. Everybody was kind of predicting he was going to get fired that year.”

Before his Clemson gig, Alabama was everything that Swinney knew. He arrived at Alabama in 1989 as a walk-on, stayed as a grad assistant, and was promoted to assistant coach in 1996. However, when Mike DuBose was asked to resign as the head coach, Swinney was also relieved of his position.

That led Swinney to explore uncharted waters after his former Alabama strength coach, Rich Wingo, called him about a position at a real estate firm called AIG Baker. The company built shopping centers. Despite being hesitant, the current Clemson head coach gave it a go because the job came with perks: an $80,000 base salary plus bonuses. However, the dream of returning to the sidelines still lingered.

And the sidelines called.

Unexpectedly, Clemson head coach Tommy Bowden called Swinney for a position on his staff. Interestingly, Bowden was an assistant coach at Alabama when Swinney came as a walk-on. And here he was again, giving his former player another opportunity to realize his dream.

However, Swinney hesitated: the pay cut, the third child on the way, and Bowden’s own job security. He could have been easily fired had the Tigers gone through a poor season in 2003. But Swinney knew coaching football was all he wanted to do.

“But I just knew this is what God called me to do. And so those 18 months out of coaching gave me a different perspective, and it gave me confidence and freedom to be a better coach, to be a better leader. All the late nights, the grind, the heat, the two-a-days, the meetings. I couldn’t wait because I missed all of that,” Swinney told Breneman.

And that first season wasn’t without its share of ups and downs. At one point, the Tigers were 3-4, having lost to Georgia, Alabama, Maryland, and Wake Forest. And then they turned it around and ended the season 7-6. The aftermath?

“Coach Bowden gets coach of the year, and they give him a new five-year contract, and I get to move into that house that I’ve been building for two years in two states,” Swinney said.

In the end, it worked out for Swinney, and four years later, he got the ultimate gig.

Dabo Swinney landing the job as Clemson head coach

After the Tigers had a poor start to the 2008 season, the program decided it was time for a change. On October 13, 2008, Clemson AD Terry Don Phillips called the head coach for a meeting to inform him about the decision. The same day, Bowden resigned from his position.

In the same meeting, Phillips also asked Bowden who he thought could take the reins as an interim for the remainder of the season.

And despite having a veteran coaching staff (former South Carolina HC Brad Scott), Bowden identified Swinney as the person who could take a leadership role and who had the players’ respect. But unaware of what was happening behind the scenes, Swinney was preparing the game plan for their next matchup when suddenly the decision was announced.

“We do a devotion every morning. It was actually my day to do the devotion. 7 a.m. staff meeting. And then about 10:30, Andy Johnson walks in and says, ‘Hey, Coach Bowden wants to see y’all in there.’ And he comes in and meets with us and tells us, ‘Hey, there’s going to be a change.’ Terry Don walks in and says, ‘Yeah, you’re the head coach,’ Swinney revealed.

He thought he was put in an awful situation and worried he would get fired by the end of it all. That, however, didn’t happen.