What is Dabo Swinney’s real name? When Clemson HC explained the story behind his nickname

Dabo Swinney is one of the top coaches in all of college football and is only one of three active coaches (Kirby Smart, Mack Brown) to win an FBS National Championship. Even with all the success that he has been able to accumulate throughout his coaching career, not many people know how his name came to be.

Dabo is not his birth name, as it is just a nickname. Instead, his full name is William Christopher Swinney. Dabo doesn't even sound in the realm of William Christopher so how did Dabo Swinney get his nickname? Let's take a look at the story.

How did Dabo Swinney get the nickname?

The story begins all the way back to his childhood as he has two older siblings, Tracy and Tripp. His full name William Christopher Swinney was given to him so the family could honor his maternal grandfather with William but still be able to call him "Chris." However, while Tripp was still young, he would refer to the baby as "that boy" which would get jumbled up and become "Dabo".

It reached the point when he would not respond when he heard the name William and was then only called by Dabo.

How will Dabo Swinney and the Clemson Tigers do this season?

The Clemson Tigers are expected to be one of the top teams in all of college football and compete for one of the 12 spots in the College Football Playoff, which is evident by their 14th-ranked program from the preseason AP Poll. With a returning quarterback in Cade Klubnik, they should be in the mix for the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship.

If the Tigers can win the ACC, they are going to be almost locked for the College Football Playoff as the five highest-ranked conference champions automatically get into the tournament. The program has one of the best defenses in the conference and the second half of their schedule is pretty winable and realistically, they should only have one loss during the regular season.

The tough part is that the one loss could be in Week 1 against the Georgia Bulldogs. That said, do not be surprised at all if the Clemson Tigers and Dabo Swinney are in the 12-team College Football Playoff this season.