Brent Venables impressed by Dabo Swinney's enthusiasm, upbeat attitude, 'innocence'

Awaiting top-ranked Oklahoma’s prime-time, mid-September date with Florida State in Tallahassee, Brent Venables had time on his hands to check out some TV football.

Venables had no special interest in Clemson’s noon, nationally-televised game against Auburn, but stopped nonetheless as he witnessed an extraordinary post-game scene.

As Clemson’s orange-clad throng poured onto the field at Memorial Stadium at the conclusion of the game, Venables watched as Dabo Swinney was interviewed by an ABC sideline reporter.

Swinney took advantage of his moment in the spotlight and delivered an exuberant, impassioned, joyous monologue, declaring there to be no better place than “Death Valley, South Carolina” for the defending national champion’s 17-game winning streak to come to an end.

“Our team believes, our team has heart, our team has greatness in it,” Swinney raved, his voice rising to a near-scream.

What he witnessed made a strongly positive impression, Venables said last week.

“Watching that post-game was pretty cool,” said Venables. “You could really sense the passion of somebody who cared. There was an innocence that was attached to it that, to me, is lost in college athletics across the board.”

When Venables learned that Clemson was looking for a new defensive coordinator, he reached out immediately to inquire about the position. How much what he witnessed from Swinney in those televised moments four months earlier had to do with him ultimately coming to work at Clemson is impossible to know.

But Venables clearly sensed a kindred spirit.

“That was very attractive to me,” said Venables. “Unfortunately, sometimes winning isn’t enough. For a coach who’s very passionate, who’s ‘all-in,’ all the time, winning should be enough. Because winning is hard. I don’t care who you are or who you’re playing, it’s hard.

“To see that embraced in what way, with that innocence to it, was pretty cool. And I felt that way even before anything had even opened up here.”

The personal connection between Swinney and the newest member of his coaching staff is just one of the reasons by Venables looks to be a perfect fit for the Tigers.

His X’s and O’s mesh with Swinney’s vision of what he wants from his defense, just as Chad Morris’ offensive ideas meshed with Swinney’s last winter.

He’s an outstanding recruiter, accustomed to working in Clemson’s ‘team recruiting’ style.

And perhaps no defensive coordinator in the country has as much experience, or success, in defending the various spread-attack, mobile quarterback, ‘Air Raid’ style offenses which have set the pace in the Big 12, and which are becoming increasingly popular in the ACC.

Those offenses gave Kevin Steele’s defenses fits, and the Tigers’ former coordinator did little to hide his preference for pro-style football – on both sides of the line of scrimmage.

Like it or not, Venables has learned to live with the spread. His job has been to get in its way, slow it, sometimes stop it, and adjust on the fly. And he doesn’t seem to be bothered in the least by the fact that Clemson runs its own fast-paced, quick-striking spread, which means more time on the field for his defense.

Throw in a bit of experience against the option, and Venables brings to the table what Clemson’s defense needs to hold up its end of the bargain.

In the end, however, most important was the connection he felt with Swinney after their first telephone conversation – a connection that didn’t surprise him at all, given what he witnessed back in September.

“After three hours, I hung up at 2 o’clock in the morning, well past my bedtime, and I felt infused and energized, and felt like we’d been on the phone for about 20 minutes,” Venables said. “He shares a lot of the same things that I do in regard to values. He has great infectious energy and is very inspiring and up-beat and positive. And he’s got the vision that I share.”