A few Clemson-related thoughts and insights on a Monday in late January:

-- Timing was of the essence in Dabo Swinney's defensive coordinator hire.

Yeah, for plenty of fans his search to replace Wes Goodwin seemed interminable.

But Notre Dame's narrow CFP semifinal victory over Penn State allowed him to escalate his courtship of Tom Allen, and the deal was done by the end of that weekend two weeks ago.

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The big news at the moment is Ohio State's Jim Knowles bolting for Big Ten rival Penn State less than a week after the Buckeyes rolled to a national title.