It must be a weird week for Clemson Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney. His team was upset by the Syracuse Orange, which is the bad. Then, however, he was a part of the Alabama Crimson Tide's celebration of its 1992 national championship on Saturday.

Bittersweet or something.

Dabo Swinney, who began his career as a walk-on for Alabama in 1989, received an incredibly warm reception by Alabama fans during the ceremony.

https://twitter.com/mollycathwalsh/status/919337894753513472

This entire year has been weird for both Clemson and Swinney.

Swinney, probably to the ire of Tigers fans, has a habit of never ruling out a return to Alabama.

Here he is just a few weeks ago on a podcast, transcribed by TigerNet.com, talking about this very subject.

They [Clemson] may run me out of here, they’ve [schools] fired Bobby Bowden and Joe Paterno and you name it, so I don’t think about it,” Swinney said. “I just love what I do, whether or not I retire here or not, I have a long way to go. You can retire a lot worse places than Clemson, SC; this place is special. I love it. Who knows what God’s got in store for me down the road. I just kinda take it one day at a time, one year at a time. Hopefully, we can be about the right things and the right way. Who knows what God has planned for me 10-15 years down the road will be.”

Herbstreit pressed him on the issue if he would one day coach at Alabama after Nick Saban hangs it up.

“We just beat them [Alabama] for the National Championship I think,” Swinney joked. “First of all…anybody that would suggest that or say that I am humbled by that and certainly appreciate anybody that would even think that way that they would want me be a candidate for a job like Alabama or whatever. But that’s just kinda the fandom. You know people just naturally make connections and think things like that and they never really consider all factors. I’ve always said you never say never because you never know what the dynamics will be. Ten years from now, Alabama may call me and want me to come to Alabama and Clemson people may hate me at that point. I may have a terrible president or AD. There are dynamics that change. I have always focused on being great at where I’m at and blooming where I’m planted. All I know is there is nothing we can’t do here at Clemson. I don’t have to go somewhere else to win at the highest level.”

Hopefully somebody at Clemson made sure the coach didn't stay in Alabama after the game.