[8] Facing financial troubles after his parents divorced, Swinney and his mother were temporarily homeless and lived with various friends for a period of time.

[9][7] Swinney worked a number of low wage jobs during the summer of his sophomore year in order to pay for tuition, rent, and other expenses.

[7] That fall, he received a notice that he owed the university $550 that was due the next day or his classes would be dropped and he would be disqualified from the football team.

[7] Swinney was involved in Greek Life during college, and was initiated as a brother of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity.

[14] During his time as an undergraduate at Alabama, Swinney was twice named an Academic All-SEC and SEC Scholar Athlete Honor Roll member.

His former strength coach at Alabama, Rich Wingo, had become president of Birmingham-based AIG Baker Real Estate and offered him a job.

[28] Swinney's first actions as interim head coach were to fire offensive coordinator Rob Spence and introduce a new tradition, the "Tiger Walk", where all players and coaches walk through the parking lot outside Memorial Stadium about two hours before a game as they head inside for final game preparations.

[30] On November 1, 2008, Swinney claimed his first victory as the Tigers' head coach by defeating Boston College, breaking Clemson's six-game losing streak against the Eagles.

After a vote of confidence from athletic director Terry Don Phillips, Swinney was formally named as Clemson's 27th head coach on December 1, 2008.

[32] As a result, Clemson was one of only 10 schools to be ranked in the top 20 of recruiting five years in a row (along with LSU, Alabama, Texas, USC, Florida, Georgia, Florida State, Ohio State, and Oklahoma), and as of 2014 Swinney was one of only four active head coaches at the time to accomplish the feat (along with Nick Saban, Les Miles, and Bob Stoops).

[43][44] After the conclusion of the regular season, many fans called for the firing of both Swinney and athletic director Terry Don Phillips.

[49] Despite a disappointing 6–7 record, the 2010 team featured one of the nation's top defenses and the Bronko Nagurski and Ted Hendricks award winner, Da'Quan Bowers.

[53] During a pre-game ESPN interview prior to the 2012 Orange Bowl, Swinney said, "Hopefully when this thing is over, people are going to be talking about the Clemson defense.

[58] The award is named for Bobby Dodd, longtime head football coach of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.

[67] Clemson's two regular season losses were to top 10 opponents, national champion Florida State and South Carolina.

[citation needed] The Tigers started the season ranked #16 but suffered early setbacks with losses to #13 Georgia and #1 Florida State.

[80] The regular season was highlighted with the finale against South Carolina in which Clemson broke a five-game losing streak to the Gamecocks to win 35–17 in Death Valley.

Led by Clemson's #1 ranked defense in the nation,[82] the Tigers routed the Sooners 40–6, holding Oklahoma to 275 total yards and forcing five turnovers.

[88][89] Clemson defeated #4 Oklahoma 37–17 in the College Football Playoff Semifinals at the Orange Bowl to face off in the National Championship.

[106] Following Clemson's ACC Championship win over #19 Virginia Tech, the Tigers secured the #2 seed in the College Football Playoff.

[111] Coming off of the national championship season from the year before, Clemson and Swinney looked to fill big shoes with the loss of many offensive starters, including standout quarterback Deshaun Watson who entered the NFL Draft.

[117] Later in the season, Swinney earned his 97th career win at Clemson, vaulting him past Danny Ford to become the second-winningest coach in school history.

[137] In the College Football Playoff Semifinals, the Tigers faced off against undefeated #3 Notre Dame in the Cotton Bowl and won 30–3.

[145][146] Swinney's 2019 Tigers picked up where the previous year's team left off, running the table, including wins over Southeastern Conference opponents Texas A&M and South Carolina.

[147][148] The one close call came in Clemson's fifth game, a 21–20 road win over Mack Brown's North Carolina Tar Heels.

On November 7, Clemson lost to #4 Notre Dame on the road in double overtime without Trevor Lawrence, who missed the game due to COVID-19 protocols.

[163] The season ended with a loss in the 2021 Sugar Bowl, the College Football Playoff Semifinal, to the Ohio State by a score of 49–28.

[166] In the 2021 season, Swinney led the Tigers to a 10–3 record that culminated with a 20–13 victory over Iowa State in the Cheez-It Bowl and a final ranking of #14.

[182] For Swinney, the 2022 season marked Clemson's 12th consecutive campaign with at least ten wins, joining Bobby Bowden and Nick Saban as the only coaches to accomplish the feat.

[185] Clemson won their next two games over Charleston Southern and FAU before dropping a 31–24 overtime result to #4 Florida State.