Claim Dabo Swinney is better than Nick Saban needs further review

At least one pundit rates Dabo Swinney a better coach than Nick Saban. That call should be under review but give Dabo credit for a thing or two or three in fact.

When Gene Sapakoff’s annual ranking of ACC and SEC head coaches came out two days ago, we took a deep breath. Some would call it a calming breath. Surely the new ranking of Dabo at No. 1 over Nick Saban at No. 2 was only another of many, desperate media attempts to attract attention.

Instead of firing off an immediate rebuttal, we waited for our shock to subside. After our calming period, we can acknowledge Sapakoff’s latest ranking of coaches is a snapshot of ‘now’ rather than an assessment of the careers of the coaches.

His argument is Dabo gets the nod over Nick because,

"Two of the last three national titles, Swinney is younger (49) than Saban (67), he’s a recruiting buzzsaw and that championship game rout of Alabama."

Other than the age cheap shot, Sabakoff has an argument. Two of three, national titles is a strong accomplishment. Does it top five national titles in 10 seasons? Of course not.

In Shakespearian fashion, we have no intention to diminish Dabo. We are content to also praise him. While he is, at least as yet, not the No. 1 coach in college football, he has accomplished much. Not enough credit goes to Dabo for what he has done without top recruiting classes.

In the five signing classes, 2014-2018, Clemson has finished No. 16; 9; 11; 16 and No. 7. Those rankings are from the 247Sports Composite. As we write this, Clemson sits as the No. 1 in team rankings for the 2020 class. Higher ranked signing classes may mean more titles are in Clemson’s future. But recruiting alone is not enough to win national championships.

Something else Dabo deserves considerable credit for is coaching staff continuity. There is a stunning difference in Clemson’s continuity compared to Nick Saban’s revolving door in Tuscaloosa. Dabo is modest in taking credit for his limited turnover in assistant coaches.

"We’ve had great continuity. This is a great place to work, great place to live and raise your family. But that just kind of comes with the territory. I don’t really get too caught up in that stuff. Whatever’s going to happen is going to happen."

Something beyond the two-story slide inside Clemson’s football building is keeping Dabo’s staffs largely intact. The linchpin of Dabo’s staff is Defensive Coordinator, Brent Venables. Venables was the second highest paid assistant in college football last season at $2.2M. Only Dave Aranda at LSU made more – $2.5M.

This season, Dabo’s co-Offensive Coordinators, Tony Elliott and Jeff Scott have been raised to $1M each. $4.2M for coordinators is more money than maybe any other school. It is certainly more than Alabama football will pay Pete Golding and Steve Sarkisian ($2.65M.)

Check out the full ranking of ACC and SEC head coaches by Gene Sapakoff.

1. Dabo Swinney
2. Nick Saban
3. Dan Mullen
4. Kirby Smart
5. Jimbo Fisher
6. Gus Malzahn
7. Dave Clawson (Wake Forest)
8. Dave Doeren ( North Carolina State)
9. Pat Narduzzi (Pittsburgh)
10. David Cutcliffe (Duke)
11. Mark Stoops
12. Dino Babers (Syracuse)
13. Bronco Mendenhall (Virginia)
14. Will Muschamp
15. Barry Odom
16. Ed Orgeron
17. Steve Addazio (Boston College)
18. Joe Moorhead
19. Scott Satterfield (Louisville)
20. Manny Diaz (Miami)
21. Justin Fuente (Virginia Tech)
22. Derek Mason
23. Mack Brown (North Carolina)
24. Jeremy Pruitt
25. Chad Morris
26. Geoff Collins (Georgia Tech)
27. Matt Luke
28. Willie Taggert (Florida State)

Other than discussing the top two, it is pointless to quibble.

There is no argument the future looks brighter, for longer, for Dabo. Better than Nick Saban now is a wild stretch.