Dabo Swinney Has No One To Blame But Himself

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Dabo Swinney likes to talk a lot, but right now, the Clemson Tigers head coach should probably be pretty quiet.

Clemson started the 2024 college football season with a game against No. 1 Georgia. The Tigers were blown out, 34-3, by the Bulldogs.

The game was close for a bit, before Kirby Smart’s team steamrolled its way to a blowout victory in the second half. Swinney and the Tigers were completely outmatched in every phase of the game.

But this shouldn’t be about Clemson’s players. Instead, it’s all about the program’s head coach.

MIAMI GARDENS, FL – OCTOBER 21: Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney walks onto the field before the college football game between the Clemson Tigers and the University of Miami Hurricanes on October 21, 2023 at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, FL. (Photo by Doug Murray/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Icon Sportswire/Getty Images

Dabo Swinney is one of the most-successful head coaches in recent college football history. He’s won two national championships. He built Clemson into one of the country’s elite programs, mentioned with Alabama, Georgia and Ohio State.

But the Tigers have since fallen from that grouping. And it’s pretty much all Dabo’s fault.

Clemson’s head coach has refused to adapt to the new college football world of transfers. The Tigers have landed exactly zero players from the NCAA’s transfer portal. You simply can’t compete on a national stage with the country’s elite programs by handicapping your roster like that.

“Dabo desperately needs a football guy minister who can explain to him that even Jesus himself used a transfer portal,” PFT Commenter joked.

Dabo desperately needs a football guy minister who can explain to him that even Jesus himself used a transfer portal pic.twitter.com/yXzNHcYr57

— PFT Commenter (@PFTCommenter) August 31, 2024

Perhaps Dabo, who makes more than $10 million per season, just doesn’t care at this point. He’s won his national championships and maybe believes he’s entitled to do things his own way, even if it results in some lackluster results for the Tigers.

But at some point, something has to give here. Clemson is still a program capable of competing on the national stage. And maybe Swinney is still the coach that can take them there.

But right now, Clemson’s program is being failed – miserably – by its head coach.