With Clemson starting the season 3-2 and losing both of its games against ranked opponents in lopsided fashion, Dabo Swinney’s buyout has once again become a hot topic of conversation.

ESPN’s Pete Thamel recently dove into six college football buyouts that will determine the coaching carousel, and Swinney, along with his $57 million buyout, came in at No. 2 on his list, behind USC’s Lincoln Riley ($70M).

“Clemson is not firing Swinney. Let’s start there,” Thamel wrote. “The success has been too great. The roots are too deep. The buyout is too big. Clemson is also 3-2 and probably will be favored in the rest of its games.”

After getting demolished 51-10 on the road at LSU to start the season, the Tigers rebounded with consecutive wins over Georgia Southern, North Carolina and Cal, before fourth-ranked Miami came into Death Valley and thumped Swinney’s team 41-13.

The latest loss has once again triggered discussions on Swinney’s future. Here is what else Thamel had to say.

“Clemson has struggled to regain the heights that Swinney brought them to, one of the great runs at the top of the sport between 2015 and 2020 that included six straight appearances in the College Football Playoffs and two national titles,” Thamel also wrote.

“Clemson’s dip has come with the seismic changes in the sport this current decade. And Swinney’s skill set, which was elite for the previous era, hasn’t translated at the same level in this new one.

“So the question moving forward is one Clemson has been juggling with for years — how does Clemson evolve to align Swinney’s strengths? Those are connection, culture building and development, but they come in an era in which there’s more focus on transaction.

“There has been some evolution. Clemson took in 10 defensive transfers last year. It only took one on offense. Is it reasonable that there could be continued evolution there as the program slowly modernizes?

“Swinney’s talking points about Clemson’s ACC dominance remain, as the school has won eight ACC titles in the past 11 years. But there’s a clear-cut new bell cow in the league in Miami, which beat Clemson by four touchdowns on Clemson’s own field last week.

“So what’s next here? Does Clemson ride with the same staff and hope for improvement? Do they stick with freshman quarterback Tait Reynolds or do what Clemson has yet to do in the portal era — go spend top-of-market money for a portal quarterback, which would be at least $5 million? Are there front office adjustments coming to continue to modernize personnel acquisition?

“Clemson could end up with another solid season in 2026, but there remains a vexing gap to close to catch up to the sport’s elite.”

The Tigers have an open date this weekend before returning to action on Oct. 17 at home against Charleston Southern. Kickoff is at noon and the game will be televised on ACC Network.

– Photo courtesy of Bart Boatwright/The Clemson Insider