A national outlet recently ranked the top 25 coaches in college football ahead of the 2023 season.
This offseason, Sporting News released its top 25 coach rankings entering the upcoming campaign, and Dabo Swinney dropped down a spot from the same rankings a year ago but still remained in the top three.
Clemson’s head coach checked in at No. 3 in the rankings this year after being ranked second by Sporting News heading into the 2022 season.
Alabama’s Nick Saban retained the top spot in the Sporting News coach rankings, while Georgia’s Kirby Smart jumped ahead of Swinney to the No. 2 spot following the Bulldogs’ second straight national title last season.
Here’s what Sporting News’ Bill Bender had to say about Swinney, who is entering his 15th full season as Clemson’s head coach in 2023:
Swinney slander is increasing given the Tigers have missed the College Football Playoff the last two seasons and had their 40-game home winning streak snapped. Clemson did win an ACC championship last season, and the Tigers are 31-8 the last three seasons and 73-7 in ACC play since 2014. Swinney also is a member of the two-time national championship club. The rest of the coaches in the top 10 have combined for one national championship.
During his tenure as the Tigers’ head coach, Swinney has made six College Football Playoff appearances and four appearances in the national championship game while leading Clemson to eight ACC titles.
Swinney has an overall record of 161-39 (.805) in 15 seasons (14 full seasons) at Clemson. That record through 200 career games placed him alongside College Football Hall of Famers Bob Stoops and Robert Neyland for the fifth-most wins through 200 games in FBS history.
Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh and Ohio State’s Ryan Day round out the top five behind Swinney in Sporting News’ rankings.
Other ACC coaches in the top 25 rankings include North Carolina’s Mack Brown (No. 12), Pitt’s Pat Narduzzi (No. 17), NC State’s Dave Doeren (No. 22) and Florida State’s Mike Norvell (No. 24).
We are excited to announce our second annual Dear Old Clemson event for the freshmen football class. Come out on July 22 at 10 AM at the indoor football facility for a meet and greet autograph session with the scholarship freshmen from the 2023 class. Clemson coordinators Garrett Riley and Wes Goodwin will be attendance and speak at the event.
Get your tickets today at Dear Old Clemson.
