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closeCLEMSON -- Fridays at Valley Elementary School in Pelham, Ala., were a measure of team pride three decades ago: Students were encouraged to wear the colors of their favorite college program.
The obvious choices were Alabama or Auburn, and Dabo Swinney wanted to show he was more than a regular Crimson Tide fan.
So, Swinney carried his allegiance a step further, wearing the icon of team paraphernalia: an oversized, crimson foam hand with extended index finger, denoting Alabama as No. 1.
"I was that kid," Swinney said.
Which explains why Swinney, Clemson's receivers coach, is willing to embrace his past as the ninth-ranked Tigers prepare for next week's opener against the 24th-ranked Crimson Tide in Atlanta.
You can take Swinney out of Alabama, but the roots are too deep to take Alabama out of Swinney.
Family members have adopted Swinney's new catch phrase to describe their conflicting interests:
Roll Tigers.
"He said nobody would get a ticket off of him unless they're pulling for Clemson and wearing orange," Swinney's mother, Carol McIntosh, said.
The transient nature of the profession frequently leads coaches to face their alma maters or former employers, but Swinney's connections are extreme even by that measure.
Swinney, 38, earned a scholarship as a walk-on receiver at Alabama and was a member of its 1992 national title team.
After graduation, he coached with the Crimson Tide for eight seasons before Mike DuBose was forced out after the 2000 season.
That only scratches the surface.
At least two generations on both sides of his family were die-hard Alabama fans.
Swinney spent his childhood in Pelham. He attended bowl games and stuck ticket stubs in the frame of his bedroom mirror.
"It's a little different in my case," Swinney said.
The only other close relative who has left the state is brother Tripp, who moved to Atlanta and gave Swinney his nickname.
Swinney's real name is William Christopher Swinney. Tripp, who is 15 months older, could not pronounce it in his infancy, so he tried calling his brother "That boy," which he enunciated as Dabo.
Swinney's mother and father still live in the state. His oldest brother is a Pelham police sergeant. The family of his wife, Kathleen -- a fellow Alabama alumnus he met in first grade -- still resides in the Birmingham area.
Even his closest kin were surprised when Swinney spurned the offer of a lucrative raise to join new coach Nick Saban's staff a week before the February 2007 signing day.
"It was hard because all they could see was that we would be coming home," said Swinney, who has three boys between the ages of 5 and 10. "But it just wasn't a good fit for us. Plus, we really love what we have here."
Swinney declined to cite specific reasons. Saban's reputation as a callous boss is well-established in coaching circles, and Clemson assists often genuinely profess an uncommon loyalty to coach Tommy Bowden. Swinney is also viewed as the heir apparent to offensive coordinator Rob Spence and was given a hefty raise and additional job title that spring.
Feeling burned out from the spectacle of DuBose's demise in 2000, Swinney spent two years working in real estate in Alabama before he received the unexpected Clemson job offer from Bowden -- his Crimson Tide position coach in 1989.
When Swinney returned home for his 20th high school reunion last month, the only thing his former classmates wanted to discuss was the Alabama game.
Several former Crimson Tide teammates chided Swinney in a card game at his home there afterward. Since then, Swinney has received a number of text messages from former teammates and players, including one that warned the Tigers had better be ready for "Dome's Day," a doomsday pun referencing the Georgia Dome, the game's site.
"It's the first time in my life to not be an Alabama fan, and that will be a different experience for me," Swinney said. "It's probably a lot of the same emotions coach Bowden had when he played his father the first time. I spent so much time there in Tuscaloosa and really took a lot of pride in wearing that jersey and coaching there.
"I guess when I hear 'Rammer Jammer' or 'Sweet Home Alabama' that it might have a little twinkle in my ear, but when we kick that game off, it's all about winning."
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