(Photo by John Byrum/Icon Sportswire)
It has been the wildest offseason in some time for fans of the Alabama Crimson Tide. With things finally settling down following a coaching search for the first time in 17 years, most Tide fans seem happy with the hiring of Kalen DeBoer.
For years before Nick Saban finally hung it up, one of the more popular names thrown out for the eventual successor was Dabo Swinney.
The Clemson head coach played wide receiver for Alabama under Gene Stallings and helped the team to win a national championship in 1992.
Not only that, but he defeated Nick Saban in the national championship game twice over the last decade.
But after an unsuccessful few seasons for Clemson, one thing that Tide fans seemingly unanimously agreed upon was a lack of desire for Sweeney to take over for Saban, even chanting ‘Anyone but Dabo!’ at the Walk of Champions during the search:
Students chant “anyone but Dabo!” in front of Bryant-Denny Stadium. @WVTM13 pic.twitter.com/3MPGDt7WQ9
— Brittany Decker (@BrittanyWVTM13) January 11, 2024
Of course, Alabama did not even consider Sweeney for the job largely due to his resistance of the changing times in college football and how it has impacted his own program over the last few seasons.
But one reporter, Georgia lead for Atlanta Journal-Constitution Mike Griffith, had a strong take as to why Swinney should have been considered.
During on appearance on The Opening Kickoff, Griffith called it embarrassing for the school that Swinney did not get interviewed.
“I still believe that Dabo Swinney should have gotten an interview,” Griffith said while admitting he was initially skeptical of the DeBoer hire. “I thought it was an embarrassment to the University of Alabama that they didn’t give him an interview. It was disrespectful and it’s not what Alabama stands for. The new administration needs a history lesson and understand who and what Swinney was for the University of Alabama. He deserved at least an interview.
“I’m not saying that Dabo would have been a better hire [than DeBoer], but when someone plays for the university and represents the school and a lot of the things that Alabama stands for the way that he has and the respect that Nick Saban had for him. He beat Nick Saban twice and there’s a very short list of people who have done that…he deserved an interview at least.”
Griffith would go on to admit that he understands the DeBoer era and expressed optimism as to what the former Washington coach will be able to do in Tuscaloosa in what has become a new era of college football.
If you want to hear Griffith’s full take, you can check it out right here along with all of our on-air content at WNSP NOW:
