You never know what's in a man's heart, but I'd be surprised if Dabo came back after Saban retires.
He's a God in Clemson, has lifetime job security, enough money that his unborn grandchildren are already set for life, and nowhere near the pressure and headaches that come with the Alabama job.
At Clemson, he is alone as their Wade/Thomas/Bryant/Saban. At Alabama, his top side is being the fifth one in the string....sixth, if you count Stallings in the group. Why do that?
If he did come, the decision would be an emotional one, not logical.
Just my 2 cents if I may butt in -
I'm a big fan of Dabo Swinney as a Human Being. I think he's a great person, and any school would be lucky to have him as their coach because of who he is. I watched him play at UA when I was a grad student, watched him coach here as a GA (if memory serves) and as an assistant, without knowing his life story. Reading about his amazing path to even GET to UA, and since then - frankly, its inspriational.
That said, I've been a harsh critic of his maturity and his lack of control over his emotions. He's getting better at it, but frankly, Spurrier used to REGULARLY make a FOOL of Dabo by baiting him into Ridiculous outbursts. Not really the sort of thing I want in an Alabama HC.
But that said - want him or not - I've been saying for a while that its unlikely we ever have Dabo Swinney as our HC.
Why?
Because he's either going to keep winning at a high level at Clempson or he's not.
So what if he keeps winning at a similar level? Wins the ACC with some frequency, appears in the P_ayoffs more than once or twice. At this point, some 4-8 years from now, Clempson will be firmly established as a National power, and as noted, Dabo will be Clem's "Bryant" - he'll have statues on their campus, and be treated like a living God. AND, Clem would have all the Money in the world to meet and Beat ANY Possible offer Alabama could make. As you note, it would have to be a purely emotional decision - because he would have to Refuse a HIGHER offer from Clempson, AND take the risk of being the next "Ray Perkins" or "Frank Solich" - following a legend is a Tough Gig. Honestly, for every "Roy Williams" out there that Does take the risk, there are probably several who politely decline.
OR - his fortunes may fade and Clempson might sink back a bit. Maybe not to a 7-5 program, but maybe not winning the ACC all that often (and lets not forget - despite the hype, the ACC Is still a fairly Soft conference). So imagine its 6 years down the road. Clempson hasn't been back in the P_ayoffs, or hasn't been back in a few years. How much Hype is there for a guy who won One NC, 7 years prior?
Can't happen? No way Dabo Won't stay on top? Well - No one thought Jean Cheatnik would be unemployed 2 years after $Cum KNEWton. No one thought Barry Switzer would be unemployed after his amazing run at OU. No one thought Bobby Petrino would be fired at Arkansas. I could go on and on, but you get the point - Very FEW Coaches leave on their own terms.
Just my 2 cents.
