As Alabama looks for a new head coach after Nick Saban announced his retirement, Dabo Swinney’s Crimson Tide-specific clause in his contract could become more relevant than ever.
The Clemson head coach agreed to a 10-year contract worth $115 million in Sep. 2022. According to Sahil Kurup of the Tuscaloosa News, he would have to pay 150 percent of his buyout in a given year if he chooses to coach at Alabama over another school.
At the time he signed the extension, Swinney would have had to pay $9 million if he chose to return to Alabama compared to $6 million for any other program in the country.
The 54-year-old was a wide receiver for the Crimson Tide back in his playing days, participating in three seasons from 1990 through 1992. He then transitioned into coaching, starting off as a graduate assistant under former head coach Gene Stallings in 1993. He then served as Alabama’s wide receivers coach up until 2000 before starting his lengthy career with Clemson in 2003.
Although he’s won two national championships with the Tigers, the team’s lack of success in recent years could cause Swinney to consider returning to Tuscaloosa. After recording just five total losses from 2015 through 2019, Clemson has suffered 12 defeats in the past four seasons. The Tigers have failed to make the College Football Playoff in each of the previous three years.
Swinney has spoken about coaching the Crimson Tide in the past, telling ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit that he would be “humbled” to be considered a candidate in a Sep. 2017 interview.
“I’m humbled by that and certainly appreciate that anybody would even think that way, that they would want me to be a candidate for a job like Alabama,” he said (h/t Creg Stephenson of AL.com).
“I’ve always said ‘you never say never,’ because you have no idea what the dynamics are going to be,” he added. “Ten years from now, Alabama may call me and want me to come to Alabama, and the Clemson people may hate me at that point. I don’t know.”
If Swinney decides to pursue the Crimson Tide’s head coaching vacancy, he’ll likely be prepared to pay more in a contract buyout compared to another school.
