Clemson
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59
Atlantic Coast Conference 2009
Legend
Danny Ford is a country gentleman, always has been. Despite the focused, sometimes angry countenance he displayed on the sidelines most Saturdays (and during practices, of course), the former University of Alabama lineman from Gadsden, Ala., who played for Paul Bryant from 1966-69, is downright affable.
Danny Ford is Still Synonymous with Clemson
T
Wri t t e n By
Ca r l D a n b u r y
he man standing next to me in the lunch line at
Dyar’s Diner looked like any other hard-working farmer: dirty blue jeans, a soiled white T-shirt and a baseball cap hiding his whitened hair. There was something different about this farmer, however, who towered over most of the others as his plate was being loaded up with fried fish, hush puppies, green beans and cabbage. “You want fried or grill?” The pleasant lady attending the line asked me. “I’d like what he’s having,” I answered a bit sheepishly being on unfamiliar turf. Some of the farmer’s cohorts sat at a table that seated six comfortably. Introductions followed and the conversation strayed to the topic of farming, specifically: When a man is building a pond on his property, after excavating the ground, would he plant Japanese millet or corn first? Each of the five, except for me of course, had an answer. I was hoping for a lively discussion about Clemson football, but none was forthcoming for another 30 minutes or so.
Pendleton, S.C., is a tiny farming community just outside of Clemson. The pleasant man I had come to visit raises beef cattle there, lends a hands to neighbors regularly, attends church on Sunday, enjoys spending time with his four grandkids — and like most everyone else in the area — loves Clemson football. He comes by that adoration a bit more easily than some, having been an assistant coach there under Charley Pell, before being named head coach at the tender age of 30 after Pell bolted for the University of Florida in 1978. Danny Ford is a country gentleman, always has been. Despite the focused, sometimes angry countenance he displayed on the sidelines most Saturdays (and during practices, of course), the former University of Alabama lineman from Gadsden, Ala., who played for Paul Bryant from 1966-69, is downright affable. He’s quick to say “Hey” to all who address him and doesn’t mind calling upon his dry humor — often. “I hear we’re all coming to your house for supper on Friday. What time do you eat?” A man inquired.
“We eat at noon. Why don’t y’all come around 2 p.m.?” Ford chuckled. Like a pair of slippers or faded jeans, Ford fits comfortably here just as he did when he was head coach at Clemson for 11 years, leading the Tigers to its only national championship in 1981, a sparkling 96-29-4 record including 6-2 in bowl games. He won six ACC titles at Clemson and would have won another one in 1983 had it not been for the NCAA and ACC sanctions that were imposed. His teams were ranked 19th or higher in the polls seven times during his tenure at Clemson. Since Ford’s final game on Dec. 30, 1989, the Tigers have been ranked in the Top 25 only seven times — a span of 229 games — and have gone 5-10 in bowl games. “I never worked in a program that had all the pieces working together like they were working when I was at Clemson,” said Jack Crowe, current head coach at Jacksonville State and former Ford assistant from 1986-88. “And yet, Danny was a macro-manager in football. All that just didn’t happen by accident. “We won three ACC championships when I was there. We effectively took on the two best coaches that were renowned for their bowl preparation — and we handily beat both of them — Oklahoma with Barry Switzer and Penn State with Joe Paterno,” Crowe said. “I’ve never been to a school that I don’t have a championship ring from, but I have no school where I won three in a row except for Clemson. All the pieces fit together.” Like some of the best coaches in college football history, Ford aligned himself with good foot soldiers.
“He knew how to pick people, players and coaches,” Crowe offered. “I don’t think I ever worked with a staff — and we argued like cats and dogs — that had more ability to focus than that staff did. But look at who was on those danged staffs (Wayne Bolt, Tom Harper, Bill D’Andrea, Woody McCorvey, Larry Van Der Heyden, Bill Oliver, Tommy West and Rick Stockstill). I look at him now differently than I did when I worked for him because I’m the head of a program now and we’re trying to accomplish the same things here as we did at Clemson.” One of the few coaches to have success against Ford’s Tigers was Dick Sheridan. Under Sheridan, N.C. State went 3-1 against Clemson, pinning the Tigers with their only ACC losses from 1986-88. Sheridan said he has the utmost respect for what Ford accomplished at Clemson. “A hallmark of his tenure there was the toughness of those Clemson teams,” Sheridan said. “They were recognized by everyone, including me, as physically and mentally very tough and very hard to beat. I think sometimes teams take on the personality of their coach, and I think that’s Danny, too. Very tough mentally and very committed, and his teams were like that. They were well drilled and well prepared.” That’s high praise from one of the few coaches that had a better career mark than Ford. Sheridan was 121-52-5 at Furman and N.C. State before calling it quits after the 1992 season because of health issues. Ford’s career mark was 120-59-5 at Clemson and Arkansas.
Ford’s success at Clemson can be traced to his ability to make parents and prospective players comfortable during the recruiting process. “His down-home approach was very effective. A lot of times, people don’t recognize how sharp and smart he is, because of his act, I always called it a country bumpkin act,” Sheridan laughed. “It didn’t fool me because of what an intelligent guy Danny is. If you have competed against him, you know how smart he is. “He had the ability to make people feel comfortable and to relate to him. You can’t fake that. It was real.” During one recruiting trip, recalled Crowe, his exboss might have made himself, perhaps a bit too much at home. “He slumps all the time when he sits, and when he