Dabo Swinney says he’s always lived his life “with optimism,” and he ’s doing the same in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic.
The head football coach for Clemson University said during a recent interview on ESPN’s “First Take” that he is confident God will “be glorified” by this current health crisis and that college football will be played this fall.
“I just have always lived my life with optimism,” said Swinney. “I think that God is bigger than this [pandemic]. I think He’s gonna be glorified and shine through this in a mighty way. … He has the ability to stamp this thing out as quick as it rose up.”
“If it doesn’t work out that way, then you adjust,” he added. “But my plan is to get back at it and hope for the best.”
For Swinney, though, it’s not a blind optimism. His outlook is based on his 50 years of life and his deep faith in Jesus, he explained.
“Over 2,000 years ago this weekend, the world was in a crisis,” he said. “And I’m sure a lot of smart people didn’t think that Jesus could come back to life. But He did. And this Sunday, we’re gonna celebrate that.”
Ultimately, the coach said, “my optimism is simply from nothing else other than my faith.”
Speaking to reporters in 2018, Swinney opened up about his faith, telling journalists he became a Christian when he was 16 years old.
“I grew up in a family where I was taught there was a God, but I didn’t really have a relationship with Christ until I was 16,” he reflected. “That was a game-changer for me, it has really become a foundation in my life.”
He said at the time he doesn’t know how people survive without faith “because life is hard, and we’re all gonna experience death, failure, setbacks, disappointment, cancer — it’s a really difficult world.”
“For me,” Swinney said, “my relationship with Christ has given me hope and peace.”