Texas Longhorns' Steve Sarkisian 'Goes Way Back' With Clemson Tigers' Dabo Swinney

Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian described how he knows Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney from their assistant coaching days, and how he has grown the culture for the Tigers.

Dec 7, 2024; Charlotte, NC, USA; ACC commissioner James Phillips presents Clemson Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney with the trophy after the Tigers won the 2024 ACC Championship game against the Southern Methodist Mustangs at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images / Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

The College Football Playoff Committee announced on Sunday that No. 5-seeded Texas was going to play No. 12-seeded Clemson in the first round of the national playoffs. While transfer safety Andrew Mukuba may already be familiar with Clemson, the rest of his teammates and the Texas football program itself will take on a completely new opponent, as the Longhorns will play the Tigers for the first time in history.

However, Mukuba won't be the only one who knows a thing or two about who stands at the helm for Clemson: head coach Dabo Swinney. During Sunday's media teleconference to discuss the fresh 12-team bracket, Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian said that him and Swinney know each other from a past life.

"I know Dabo pretty well. You know, we go way, way back," Sarkisian said. "We originally met at a high school basketball game in Alabama, when we were both assistants. I was an assistant at USC, and he was actually an assistant at that time at Clemson."

Swinney served as the wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator for the Tigers from 2003-2007 before taking over as the interim head coach. At the same time, Sarkisian worked as the quarterbacks coach for USC in 2003 before leaving to work for the Oakland Raiders in the NFL a year later.

Although Sarkisian mentioned that their introduction felt like an eternity ago, he remembers how Swinney changed the culture at Clemson for the better when he was brought on as the full-time head coach starting in 2009.

"I think that he modernized a lot of the coaching philosophies that a lot of us use today. You know, the old school model of coaching was basically coach out of fear," Sarkisian said. "I think Dabo has been one of the guys that changed that philosophy early on, and he created an environment there and a culture there at Clemson that was, in my opinion, full of love and support and [that] it's okay to have fun. He's got a slide in the middle of their facility."

Sarkisian has reiterated throughout the season that he has similarly implemented and fostered an environment that allows for his players to truly care for each other like a brotherhood. He said he admires Swinney for his ability to harbor that type of culture for an extended amount of time, and it has ultimately proven successful, as Clemson has won two national and nine ACC championships under Swinney.

"It's withstood the test of time. You're not at one place for 17 years without doing some things right," Sarkisian said. "And it's not only what they're doing off the field, it's what they've been doing on the field. And so again, you know, [I] just definitely kind of admire him for a lot of things that he does there."

The two now-head coaches will reunite on Dec. 21 in Austin for the first round of College Football Playoffs in a game that will surely be not only a competition of execution, but also of culture.

Join the Community:

Subscribe to our YouTube Page HERE

You can follow us for future coverage by subscribing to our newsletter here. Also, be sure to like us on Facebook @LonghornsCountryOnSI & follow us on Twitter at @LonghornsSI

Other Texas Longhorns News:

MORE: Five Takeaways From The Texas Longhorns SEC Championship Heartbreaker

MORE: Texas Longhorns Drop SEC Championship in Overtime to Georgia Bulldogs

MORE: Texas Longhorns WR DeAndre Moore Jr. Scores 41-Yard TD vs. Georgia Bulldogs

MORE: Georgia Bulldogs QB Carson Beck Out for Rest of SEC Championship vs. Texas

MORE: Texas Longhorns' Steve Sarkisian Calls Out Officiating in SEC Championship