Swan attended Yorktown High School, where he was a starter at linebacker.
He accepted a football scholarship from the University of Virginia, where he was a four-year starter at linebacker.
[3] Swan was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Dallas Cowboys after the 1986 NFL draft.
[5] After the NFLPA strike was declared on the third week of the season, those contests were canceled (reducing the 16 game season to 15) and the NFL decided that the games would be played with replacement players.
In September, he was re-signed to be a part of the Dallas replacement team that was given the mock name "Rhinestone Cowboys" by the media.