ESPN personality Paul Finebaum has often been critical of Clemson and head coach Dabo Swinney over the years, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that Finebaum’s outlook for the Tigers in 2026 isn’t very optimistic.
During a recent episode of The Paul Finebaum Show, a caller asked Finebaum for his prognostication on Swinney and Clemson ahead of the upcoming season.
Finebaum cast doubt on Clemson’s ability to win even nine games, coming off a highly disappointing seven-win campaign last year.
“I think he’ll have a winning season. I think another good 8-4 season for Dabo,” Finebaum said.
The caller responded by saying “LSU is going to clean his [Swinney’s] clock” in the 2026 season-opener at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, La.
“Oh yeah. Oh yeah,” Finebaum agreed.
With a very talented team that would later produce nine 2026 NFL Draft picks, Clemson was ranked No. 4 in the AP Poll going into the 2025 season and was widely expected to contend for a national title, only to start 1-3 and end up at 7-6, the second-worst record in Swinney’s tenure behind only the 6-7 season in 2010.
Swinney, 56, is entering his 19th season (and 18th full season) as Clemson’s head coach in 2026. Clemson has won nine ACC Championships under Swinney, who has guided the Tigers to seven College Football Playoff appearances and two national championships. Clemson won six straight conference titles and earned six straight CFP berths from 2015-20, winning national titles in the 2016 and 2018 seasons.
With a 187-53 head coaching record, Swinney is both Clemson’s all-time winningest coach and the winningest coach in ACC history. His four national championship game appearances are more than any other active coach, and Swinney and Georgia’s Kirby Smart are the only active coaches with multiple national titles. In 13 of the last 15 years, Swinney’s Clemson program has won 10-plus games. However, the Tigers have won fewer than 10 in two of the last three years while making the playoff just once in the last five seasons.
Despite Swinney’s overall track record of success, Finebaum stated during an episode of his show in May that “I don’t have any faith or belief in Dabo Swinney anymore.” He made that comment while discussing Clemson’s 2026 season-opener against LSU.
“It’s hard for me to believe that Clemson, with a new quarterback, is going to go into Baton Rouge and win that game,” Finebaum said then.
That game against LSU on Sept. 5 is set for 7:30 p.m. and will be televised on ABC. ESPN’s College GameDay show will broadcast from Baton Rouge for the highly anticipated Week 1 matchup, which will mark Lane Kiffin’s LSU head coaching debut.