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Asst Coach [745]
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Thankful for Tommy Bowden years ...
Mar 2, 2018, 7:41 AM
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and for the people who made the decision to let a head coach go in the middle of the season ... With the uncertainty of that season, and the available replacement options, it must have been quite a decision to make ... That decision set in motion the events that lead us to become an elite program ...
TB mistook me for some he knew but couldn’t remember that persons name ... I ran in to him half a dozen times and he would say things like “Hey!...buddy, how are you ? How is school ? Been coming to the games ?”.... Every time ... Nice guy but I was not impressed.
We are coming to the 10 year mark for Dabo Swinney and I hope we get at least 10 more before we put him “out to pasture” ??
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110%er [9942]
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Agreed***
Mar 2, 2018, 7:55 AM
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Orange Blooded [2203]
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Re: Thankful for Tommy Bowden years ...
Mar 2, 2018, 9:33 AM
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I remember the talking heads whining about how Bowden was successful and should not have been fired. My response was we had not won an ACC championship in 10 years and for a school like Clemson, that was not acceptable. Bowden was giving a chance and he did some good things. But it was time.
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CU Medallion [51524]
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Well it was just 10 months before TB was fired that
Mar 2, 2018, 12:08 PM
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Aaron Kelly dropped a ball that would have sent us to the ACCCG.
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110%er [6692]
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110%er [5572]
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Re: Thankful for Tommy Bowden years ...
Mar 2, 2018, 9:40 AM
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Could not agree more. I emphatically supported letting him go mid-season. But, not in a million years did I think Dabo Swinney would be the guy to bring us back to glory. TDP deserves a ton of credit for having stellar vision.
I remember thinking that we were never going to win championships with TB, and we were a perennial 7-9 win football team (at best) with him as HC. There were tons of Bowden apologists on T-net back then, it was a real epidemic. Back then you were a bad-fan if you didn't support Tommy's mediocrity and excuses...incredibly lame. I still remember thinking that as long as Clemson fans' put up with mediocre that's all we'd ever be. A large portion of our fan-base thought 8-4 win seasons was just fine (as long as we beat South Carolina). And, since when did beating South Carolina mean anything.....ever??? Exactly, NEVER. That's a terrible barometer unless failure and ineptitude are your stated goals.
I'm just thankful for TDP's vision, and that all the people who wanted to keep Tommy Bowden around didn't have a say when Tommy was ultimately fired. Hiring Dabo turned out to be a stroke genius. Of course, I'm also thankful that I didn't get my wish with a Gary Patterson hire...TDP is the man. We're lucky to have us some Dabo.
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Orange Blooded [2939]
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FWIW, TB told TDP he felt he needed to resign. The
Mar 2, 2018, 10:19 AM
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team needed new direction. However I do believe TB saw the writing on the wall but TDP encouraged him to finish out the season and see where the program was at that point. When TB offered evidence he felt like the program needed a change right then TDP asked TB who he thought would be the best man presently on staff to take over the job. TB told him Dabo was more than capable of finishing out the season and deserved a chance. Furthermore Dabo might be a good choice as the next head coach but TB knew if he didn't get a chance to show what he could do as an interim he would almost certainly not be a serious candidate in December.
It's obvious you knew most if not all this but TDP was not planning to fire Coach Bowden at that point but did let him know unless we turned it around big time TB was done.
"Well why don't we just make a change now?" Coach Bowden responded. TDP was possibly ready to make a change in December but not now so he was surprised by the suggestion. It was not considered a ridiculous option in Phillip's eyes. Dabo had recruited 38 of the 85 players on the roster at that time.
The source for this is partially from IF THESE WALLS COULD TALK in the chapter The Swinney Era by Sam Blackman and Tim Bourret.
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110%er [5572]
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Re: FWIW, TB told TDP he felt he needed to resign. The
Mar 3, 2018, 9:02 AM
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That was enlightening. TB was a good man, and he got us headed in the right direction and I'll always appreciate that.
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Legend [15730]
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Yes, I’m always amused by people who mock TB
Mar 3, 2018, 9:39 AM
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as if we naturally deserve to be in the national championship game every year, if we only have a coach that isn’t a moron. It’s like people think we’re the Globetrotters and we’ve been sing to the Senators for too long.
The truth is that there are about fifty programs out there scratching, clawing and spending to get to the top. No doubt we all know that Clemson has a number of great qualities to make it special, but we also (at the time) recruited against SEC teams while being in a less-respected conference. We are one of two D1 programs in a pretty small state. We won the NC 30 years ago and went through some darned lean years.
Being where we are now is amazing, but it’s not a Clemson birthright. Bowden couldn’t get us here but he came darned close and made significant improvements in the program while keeping it very clean. And he left when it was time to leave and he directed our AD to a position coach as his interim replacement. I’m not naming my kid “Tommy” but I’m sure as heck not knocking the guy.
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CU Guru [1088]
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Re: Makes the Current Success that Much Sweeter!
Mar 2, 2018, 10:18 AM
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but don't be fooled, or forget - there were many, MANY on this board defending him adamantly during the post-2004 debacle, 2005/6/7 muddled years... until the end.
Truth.
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MVP [541]
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It was time for Bowden to go, BUT........
Mar 2, 2018, 11:02 AM
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He DID stop the tail spin we were in after Ford left. That said, he had done all he could do.
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CU Medallion [51524]
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Rob Spence was his problem.
Mar 2, 2018, 12:07 PM
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He should have been let go after the 2007 season.
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Legend [15501]
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Re: Thankful for Tommy Bowden years ...
Mar 2, 2018, 5:56 PM
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He (TB) was a nice guy who came into a program that had started to dig out of the pit Hatfield buried us in prior to his departure. TB took over the program and had some success, but he took us as far as he was, either willing to take us, or was capable of taking us, and then we got a guy in Dabo who was hungry and who could sell, not only Clemson, but also the dream and then deliver it. I wouldn't trade Dabo for any coach in the country. We are BLESSED at Clemson. That's all I have to say.
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Legend [19883]
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Re: Thankful for Tommy Bowden years ...
Mar 3, 2018, 10:08 AM
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There are still some people out there with their heads so far up their behinds they can’t see the light of day, but THE TRUTH is TB laid the foundation for our current success at Clemson and this University owes him a huge debt of gratitude (the $$$ part he already received).
From recruiting to facilities & academics, TB made significant improvements across the board, but his foresight of bringing Dabo onto our coaching staff BECAUSE OF HIS CHARACTER & PERSONALITY was the real beginning of “the culture” in our FB Program.
TB couldn’t get us to The Promised Land but he sure put us on the right path and headed us in the right direction.
As long as I live, I’ll be one of the first to stand up and say THANK YOU TB for doing the necessary groundwork so that we could thrive under the leadership of DABO Swinney!
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