During his weekly Tuesday press conference, Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney was asked if he thinks he’ll have a hard time this offseason, as he makes the rounds, convincing the fan base that this disappointing season is just a one-off and that the Tigers will get back to national prominence.

“I don’t have any control over that,” Swinney said. “That’s up to everybody to make up their own minds and all that. All I can say is, again, 11 championships in 14 years – not 20 years ago. Like, the past 14 years. 11. And played for three more. Two more national championships, and another conference championship. So, again, if people don’t believe after all that because of one bad season, I can’t do anything about that.”

Swinney added that he’s “pissed” with how Clemson’s 2025 season (3-5, 2-4 ACC) has gone, “because I’m a fan, too.”

“But it’s also what I do for a living. It’s my calling,” he said. “I don’t blame people for being mad. I’m mad, too. I’m frustrated. But I’m going to fix it.”

Swinney says this season is a part of Clemson’s story, like the 2010 season (6-7), as well as how the Tigers lost five games in a row to South Carolina from 2009-13.

“I don’t know of a coach out there who has had any type of tenure who hasn’t had a bad year somewhere along the way,” Swinney said. “This is not a period. It’s a comma. It’s a part of our story. 2010 is a part of our story. It was awful. We lost five to the Gamecocks. That’s a part of our story. That was awful. But it’s a part of our journey, it’s a part of our story.”

“But you know what’s also a part of our story? National championships,” Swinney added. “Again, if I don’t talk about it, ain’t nobody else going to talk about it. … Somebody’s got to talk about it. Because we’re not a part of the machine at Clemson. We ain’t a part of the machine. We’ve always been an outlier, we’ve always been a disruptor. We always have been. … If people don’t believe after what they’ve seen, then it’s fine. That’s a decision everybody makes. But I know what I believe, and I know what we’ll do. I got no doubt. It’s just a part of the story.”                 

Swinney took the blame for the way this season has unfolded.

“I haven’t gotten it done,” he said. “It’s my fault. It’s nobody’s fault but mine. I haven’t gotten it done. But over 17 years, I think I’ve done a decent job. But I’ve sucked this year, and I’ll be better, and something good will come from it.”