Dabo Swinney goes ballistic on caller on radio show (watch the teaser titles please...)

Why?

In all due respect, with what specifically?

 

He never said that about the fans. He has said numerous times we are the greatest fans in the world.

It’s your opinion, and I respect your right to voice, but it isn’t based on facts. He wouldn’t have left if he was happy - that part I agree with. He wanted a change and he himself said numerous times 10 years is about enough at one place (another fact). He wanted to see if his style worked in the NFL (fact) and the tipping point was Foley’s lack of support (fact - he said that to my parents friends, never once mentioned ‘the fans’). Do you disagree with any of that? I know that some will never be convinced, mainly because they want to blame it on other fellow fans they disagree with. Do you honestly think he would want to come back if it was the fans that chased him off? It’s ridiculous to think any fan base would change.

 

...oh how we well know around here.

 

No need for the snark, but you apparently didn’t notice that I said it “factored into” him leaving. Nowhere did I say that it is what caused him to leave. However, as others have stated, he indicated that our expectations made the job less enjoyable and it seems as if it took its toll. I am simply posting about what I have read /heard straight from him, so there’s no need to be rude to a random poster.

 

I certainly had no intention of being rude and I am sorry if it seemed that way. I intended to be assertive. Precisely implies that is the main reason, but it wasn’t even a factor. The parts I mentioned are straight from him and from my parents best friends.
Do you really think he would want to come back if it was precisely the fans or even a factor? I mean that as a serious question.

 

The one that came after mine, of course!

 

Exactly.

 

He did say that it was a lot more fun winning when the expectations were low and after 12 years 10 win seasons were sorta expected and just didn't excite the fanbase like they used too. I still don't think that he thought that the Gator fanbase was a reason for him to look elsewhere. I think him being fed up with lack of administrative support during the Dockett fiasco weighed much more heavily in his decision to give that NFL a try. Don't forget he almost went the the Bucs in the mid-90's, so its not like that itch to try his system in the NFL didn't exist until after the 2001 season.

Another thing was making some mention of his contract....if my memory serves, had windows whereby he would notify the Administration that he was leaving and that when he chose to do it was in one of them (I don't know the details). Perhaps he did quit somewhat abruptly, but which coaches that are moving on don't?

 

All I can speak to is the widely publicized quotes about winning not being as much fun as it once was and that winning 10 or so games a year was beginning to not be enough. I don’t remember the exact wording, but I think that’s pretty close. I claim no inside information nor any connection, but it sure appears as if that played a role. You say it didn’t and that’s fine. That is simply my perception of his quotes, which others clearly also share.

 

Clay stated it well above - no need for me to repeat what he said unless you’re unclear about the argument regarding Spurrier. SOS resigned from UF and walked away — THEN he decided to use the opportunity to scratch the NFL itch. Disappointment in our fans was definitely part of his reasoning — the Darnell Dockett criminal offense and Foley not backing up Spurrier was a big factor in his timing as well.

 

Nothing personal my friend, but you’re incorrect. He was definitely unhappy and disillusioned with our once-great fan base

 

Here's a link to his press conference transcript...
https://floridagators.com/news/2002/1/8/3785.aspx

He said a lot of things, but here is the part about higher expectations.

I started feeling late in the season that maybe this would be as good a year to leave, retire, or whatever you want to call it, after 12 years. I mentioned a couple of my favorite games, I don't remember if you recalled it, but both of them we were underdogs. I'd like to be the underdog again. Do you realize how big a favorite we are all the time? It's nobody's fault. It's just the way it is. We are double-digit favorites over everybody. I guess we should be, because we cover most of them or get beaten. One or the other. Anytime we lose, it's us coaches. We screwed up. Look how huge a favorite the team was, and they didn't win. So anyway, that wears on you a little bit. Maybe in a way looking back, it would have been smart not to score so many points. You don't score that many points and you are not big a favorite the next week, and maybe guys… But I don't know. I don't know how basketball is coached or if I have to tell these guys to hold it down or this that and the other. I've just always let the guys play. We put the backups in, but we give them a chance to score. They like to score too. They score quickly a lot. Where as if you look back, what may be a 24-10 win might have been better than a 52-10 win, looking back. But, I don't know. It would be hard for me to hold the guys back from playing."

 

I have no problem with what Swinney says here. It is beyond idiotic to light into a coach for a sub-par season after the run that Clemson has had, given its history before that.

All that said, what do these guys expect now that college football has become little more than a multi-billion dollar business, with big-time coaches getting paid over $10 million a year in guaranteed contracts and easily jumping from one job to another whenever the opportunity presents itself? Where's the appreciation? That appreciation is in those enormous checks you cash every year that make you the highest paid state employee in the state for coaching a football team. That appreciation is in the money you make from all of the endorsement deals that you get due to that same job and the fans that support the university. These guys love to talk about their love for the university, how special it is, and what a family the university is, but that love and family talk gets a lot more muted when it comes time to extend that contract or counter another offer.

Entitlement? All of us deal with idiots at our jobs and put up with people who don't appreciate the work that we put in. I'm not sure why Swinney thinks that he is entitled to not have to hear from whining fans who are unhappy about his job performance when that same job has put him into a position where he could walk from it and never work another day.

 

Fair enough- obviously people have different takes on it. Always respected what you post on here. I just couldn’t disagree more that the fans had anything to do with it and if that was the case, there would be no reason to come back because expectations would be even higher. Plus, our parents friends would have said it was - it was all his itch to see if he style would work in the NFL and Foley with the Dockett issue, but there were others with FSU Steve was pissed about - Dockett was the tipping point because Steve really put his neck out on that.

 

Steve and I still think it’s the best fan base!

 

I remember the dockett incident but I don’t remember spurrier and the administration going back and forth. Was spurrier calling for some form of punishment?

 

Fsu AD hart said something publicly about spanking him and putting him to bed after spurrier made the dockett accusation. I don't recall Foley or florida stepping up and admonishing fsu for dockett or hart for those words. It was very public.

 

Fans aren't perfect. Neither are coaches. However everyone on the internet is.

 

The criticism that he received from that kid is nothing compared to what he will be facing when he takes over the Alabama head coaching position.

 

good for Dabo