Dabo Swinney’s postgame interview following his team’s win against Alabama Monday night stands in start contrast to what you would typically find from most college coaches.

To put it another way, there’s a phrase we sometimes use when listening to guys like Swinney: Hamming it up.

Plenty of coaches would be excited to capture their first national championship, especially on the heels of barely losing it the year before. Not many of them would start going on and on about “love,” about how the difference in the game would be “love,” about how that word has been his “word all year.”

Most of the time, I would roll my eyes, but then I recalled a conversation I had with Meridian High School trainer Chad Acton, who was a teammate of Swinney’s when the two of them were on Gene Stallings’ Alabama teams in the early 1990s. While covering a Meridian soccer game leading up to last season’s national title game, we discussed Alabama vs. Clemson, part one. Acton of course was impressed with what Saban’s built at Alabama, but he also had good things to say about his former teammate and the job he’s done at Clemson.

Typing in the words “Dabo Swinney goofy” into the Google.com search bar, and the first image that pops up shows him with an old football leather helmet on his head in the Georgia Dome, hands in the air celebrating a win with the cheesiest of grins on his face. Another photo shows him doing the dab, because of course someone with the nickname “Dabo” would do the dab. I can also look up a video of him running “down the hill” at a Clemson home opener and laugh at how ridiculous he looks. (As an aside, that hill players run down at Clemson’s Memorial Stadium is an ACL injury waiting to happen. Sheesh.)

I asked Acton about Swinney’s goofiness, and Acton chuckled in response but made something crystal clear: “He’s always been like that.” This was someone who knew Swinney back when he was a player in college, so to know his eccentric personality has been a staple for a long time makes him endearing in a way — whether he’s hamming it up going on about love or letting his Christian faith shine, there’s nothing phony about the man.

Acton and I also discussed his coaching acumen. Any success a coach has largely has to do with the players he’s attracted, and there’s no doubt Swinney managed to bring top-tier talent to Clemson for this championship run. What makes Swinney such a good recruiter? Acton said it’s because the man literally never forgets a face, recalling the two running into each other years after their playing days were over and Swinney immediately recognizing Acton and calling him by name. That may not seem like much, but considering Swinney has likely met thousands of people in the football world, for him to recall one of his many former Alabama teammates is certainly meaningful.

Then there are his on-field accomplishments. Swinney was a former wide receivers coach for previous Clemson head coach Tommy Bowden, who was let go during the 2008 season. Swinney took over as an interim coach and was later promoted to head coach following the 2008 season. Three years later, Swinney led Clemson to an ACC championship and a 10-win season.

Detractors who question Swinney’s coaching acumen always point to the 2012 Orange Bowl, in which the Tigers were throttled by West Virginia 70-33 to conclude the 2011 season. Instead of simply shrugging that game off, Swinney responded by hiring Brett Venables to be his team’s defensive coordinator. Clemson’s defenses improved, and this season, the Tigers finished eighth in total defense.

Goofy as he may be, Swinney has produced three ACC championships and a College Football Playoff national championship. He’s also won 89 games and lost only 28, good for a 0.761 winning percentage. The man gets results, period. What would be a means for some to mock him if he weren’t successful is instead an endearing trait to a man who is legitimately a good coach. 

It’s difficult not to root for a man like Swinney, who seems like a genuinely good human being who hasn’t tried to change himself in order to try to fit in to the way a college coach is “supposed” to act. In fact, the antics are, to be frank, irrelevant as long as the on-field results are up to par — and his are.

Drew Kerekes is the sports editor at The Meridian Star. He can be reached at dkerekes@themeridianstar.com.