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Dabo Swinney has the utmost respect for Bobby Bowden and the Bowden family.
And, since records are meant to be broken, it’s probably fitting Clemson’s football coach has the chance to make Atlantic Coast Conference history Saturday on the field that bears the legendary Florida State coach’s name.
“It is kind of odd, the circumstances, but he’s a lot like Dad,” Tommy Bowden told the Tallahassee Democrat Thursday.
With 173 career wins, Swinney enters the FSU-Clemson showdown at Doak Campbell Stadium tied with Bowden for the conference record for career head coaching victories leading an ACC program.
Bowden has 377 NCAA-recognized wins, and 173 came with the Seminoles in the ACC from when they joined the league in 1992 to Bowden’s retirement in 2009.
The field at Doak Campbell Stadium was named after Bowden in 2004.
Bowden died in August, 2021, at his Killearn Estates home. He was 91.
Clemson coach Dabo Swinney’s respect for Bowden family spans decades
Swinney’s relationship with the Bowden family spans decades.
Tommy Bowden – one of Bowden’s four sons – was Swinney’s first position coach at Alabama in the 1989 season. Hired as Clemson’s head coach in 1999, Tommy Bowden brought Swinney back to the coaching profession with the Tigers in 2003 as recruiting coordinator and receivers coach. And Swinney was named Clemson’s interim head coach in 2008, replacing Tommy Bowden.
“He was one of the first people to call me that night as an interim,” Swinney said of Bobby Bowden postgame to Clemsontigers.com last Saturday after tying Bowden’s mark.
“He became a mentor of mine, a friend of mine. He impacted me greatly both through Tommy and himself. I can’t express enough how much love I have for him and the entire Bowden family… I’ve still got voicemails on my phone from him; he would call me and encourage me long after he was out of…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/dabo-swinney-pays-tribute-bobby-191631025.html
Author : Tallahassee Democrat
Publish date : 2024-10-03 19:16:31
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