Clemson coach Dabo Swinney had a lot to focus on as he prepared to face No. 4 Texas in the College Football Playoff, with tasks like practice plans, film breakdowns, and travel bookings.
Despite his busy schedule, Swinney made time to follow the news that Super Bowl-winning coach Bill Belichick had joined the Atlantic Coast Conference as the new head coach of North Carolina.
“It’s incredible,” Swinney said on Monday, smiling broadly.
Swinney, who has won nine ACC titles and two national championships in his 16 full seasons with Clemson, admires Belichick, who has 302 wins and six Super Bowl titles as the head coach of the New England Patriots.
Many expected the 72-year-old Belichick, whose time with New England ended after last season, to return to the NFL. However, he surprised everyone by accepting the job at North Carolina last week. He has already started building a program that he hopes will compete with Clemson for dominance in the ACC.
“It’s pretty cool,” Swinney said. “It’s going to be something seeing him walk into ACC meetings or things like that.”
Swinney is currently busy preparing for Friday’s game against the fifth-seeded Texas Longhorns (11-2). The 13th-ranked Tigers (10-3) earned a spot in the College Football Playoff with a 34-31 win over SMU on Dec. 7, thanks to a dramatic, 56-yard field goal by freshman Nolan Hauser as time ran out. The Tigers will travel to Texas on Thursday.
Despite his busy schedule, Swinney took time to remember his only meeting with Belichick, which took place at one of Clemson’s pro days during the Tigers’ run of six consecutive CFP appearances from 2015 to 2020. Both coaches had kind words for each other during their visit.
Swinney had also attended two Super Bowls with the New England Patriots, both when Clemson tight end Dwayne Allen was on the team. The first was in Atlanta in February 2017 when New England made a comeback to beat the Falcons 34-28 in overtime. The second was in Minneapolis the following year, when the Patriots lost to Philadelphia 41-33.
Wes Goodwin, Clemson’s defensive coordinator, has long studied Belichick’s defensive strategies and believes that Belichick will improve the Tar Heels’ defense, which will then help the entire ACC.
“I think it’s going to be huge for this league,” Goodwin said, “in getting that type of coaching and leadership.”
Swinney has already proven he can succeed against the best, winning two national titles over Alabama and Nick Saban in 2016 and 2018. He also won all three matchups in six seasons against Belichick’s predecessor at North Carolina, Mack Brown, who won a national championship with Texas.
Swinney believes Belichick will quickly have a positive effect on North Carolina. The Tigers will play in North Carolina next season, although the exact date has not been set.
“It’s great for college football,” Swinney said. “There are a lot of great coaches in this league. And again, for him to want to come into that, I think, says a lot.”
When asked if Belichick would rival Swinney’s long news conferences, where he answers nearly every question, Swinney laughed and said, “Don’t know if he’s going to give you any depth chart answer.”
But he added, “You can count on a ‘We’re on to Pittsburgh’ response,” referring to Belichick’s famous line from his time with the Patriots.
Swinney believes that Belichick will increase the ACC’s profile as long as he remains on North Carolina’s sidelines.
“There is nothing in his past, zero, that says he won’t be successful (in college),” Swinney said.
