Clemson's Swinney coaching for his job?

Interim coach Dabo Swinney and the Clemson Tigers must beat South Carolina to be bowl eligible.

The first question to Clemson's interim football coach Dabo Swinney during his Tuesday press conference got right to the point:

Asked if he was coaching Saturday to keep his job as the Tigers head coach and remove the interim tag, Swinney said, "I have no idea.

"I think you have to try to win every game to do what's best for this program. It's not about me keeping the job. It's about getting this team ready to play."

Swinney is 3-2 since replacing Tommy Bowden as the Tigers' head coach and a victory over South Carolina Saturday in Death Valley would make Clemson bowl eligible. That's a far cry from where the Tigers were in August when they were ranked ninth in the Associated Press pre-season poll but it would salvage something from a seemingly lost season.

Clemson athletics director Terry Don Phillips has said Swinney is a serious candidate for the job but it hasn't stopped him from interviewing Virginia Tech defensive coordinator Bud Foster, former Oakland Raiders coach Lane Kiffin and Oklahoma defensive coordinator Brent Venables, or evaluating other potential candidates.

"I think (Phillips) takes me seriously," Swinney said. "He gave me the opportunity to be the interim head coach. He put me in this position.

"Whether he feels I'm the guy to lead this program is totally his decision."
-- Ron Green Jr.