Coaches feeling the heat in Tigertown

Clemson has had an extra week to prepare for today's ACC game against Wake Forest

By: By Dan Collins | JOURNAL REPORTER
Published: October 17, 2009

If it's football season and Clemson is struggling then it goes without saying that there is turmoil in Tigertown.

The difference this year from last is that it's not a veteran coach named Tommy Bowden with nine bowl trips on his resume catching the heat. This time around it's a 39-year-old named Dabo Swinney, whose only experience as a college head coach has come in the 12 games that the Tigers have played since he replaced Bowden at midseason a year ago.

Clemson (2-3, 1-2) has had a week off since a loss at Maryland to prepare for today's home game against Wake Forest (4-2, 2-1). The question being asked around the program is "How much of that time have the Tigers coaches spent at each others' throats?"

Swinney and offensive coordinator Billy Napier stood on the practice field screaming at each other four days after the Maryland loss. No one has denied that. Both passed the episode off as simply something that happens in the super-charged competitive world of athletics.

"It was no big deal," Napier said. "It's an intense sport, and we have to do our job as coaches, and that's motivate players. Coach Swinney obviously has to do his job in not only motivating players but also his staff."

Swinney, who was promoted after 5½ seasons as the receivers' coach, said that there was a method to the apparent madness.

"Sometimes there comes a time you need to motivate your football team, and you need to motivate your coaches, or challenge them," Swinney said. "That's just part of practice. Football practice sometimes isn't for the faint of heart."

Other than turmoil, Clemson football is also known for its talent. In that regard, nothing has changed.

"It's a super-talented football team," Coach Jim Grobe of Wake Forest said. "You won't find better talent in our league.

"Their talent is freaky good."

Two of Grobe's biggest concerns are the ability of his improving offensive line to block Clemson's quick and powerful defensive front, and containing two of the fastest and most explosive offensive players in the conference, C.J. Spiller and Jacoby Ford.

The Tigers are tied for fourth in the ACC with 12 sacks. One starting defensive end, Da'Quan Bowers, has three and the other, Ricky Sapp, has two.

Spiller, being promoted for the Heisman Trophy, is averaging 72 yards a game rushing and 31.4 receiving. Ford has caught 25 passes for 307 yards.

But both may be most dangerous on special teams. Spiller has returned two kickoffs and a punt for touchdowns this season, and for his career has returned five kickoffs all the way. Ford returned a punt 61 yards for a touchdown against Middle Tennessee State.

Grobe said that the two present a quandary for opponents.

"It's hard. It's really hard," Grobe said. "You certainly know where (No.) 28 (Spiller) is and you know where (No.) 6 (Ford) is. Jacoby Ford is just as dangerous as C.J. Spiller.

"With the talent they have on their football team, they have a great supporting cast on their special teams. So they're the kind of guys that keep you up late at night worried about what might happen."

dcollins@wsjournal.com | 727-7323