Listen, I understand Clemson fans are upset with Dabo Swinney.
From what I have gathered, they seem to be more upset with his rant during his Sept. 16 press conference more than the Tigers’ 1-3 start to the season.
What did Swinney say that has at least half the fan base soured with the 17th-year head coach?
He basically said if Clemson is tired of winning, they can send him away and he’ll go coach at another place. Swinney pointed out that he’s only 55 years old and he is not ready to retire.
“Hey, listen, if Clemson’s tired of winning, they can send me on my way. But I’m going to go somewhere else and coach. I ain’t going to the beach,” he said. “Hell, I’m 55. I’ve got a long way to go. Y’all gonna have to deal with me for a while. I’ve got a long way to go. I’m just getting going. I’m just now good enough to be a head coach. I’m just now figuring it out. So, we’ll be around a while. Let’s hang in there.”
Four days after his latest rant, Clemson was humbled by Syracuse at Memorial Stadium and suffered yet another loss.
The loss to Syracuse, coupled with the Tigers’ 1-3 start, plus Swinney saying he will go elsewhere and win if Clemson fans do not want him, made a good portion of the Clemson fan base irate.
Now, what does that mean?
Some fans are mad. Some fans want Swinney gone.
The latter of the two is a little extreme.
Dabo Swinney does not need to be fired and he never should. You do not fire a coach who has won 181 games. You do not fire a coach whose record is 181-50 (.784) in 17 years.
You do not fire a head coach who has won you two national championships. You do not fire a head coach who has played for the national championship two other times.
You do not fire a head coach that has made it to the College Football Playoff seven times and played in six semifinal games.
You do not fire a head coach who has won nine ACC Championships. You do not fire a coach who has won eight of the last 10 ACC Championships.
You do not fire a coach whose teams have won 10 or more games in a season 13 times, almost double what the program had accomplished prior to him becoming its head coach in 2008.
You do not fire Dabo Swinney, nor should you.
The fact people in my profession are already looking at what Dabo Swinney’s buyout might be is ridiculous.
Clemson is not going to fire Dabo Swinney and money has nothing to do with it. The Tigers’ longtime head coach has earned the right to go out on his own terms.
He has done more for Clemson University than anyone ever associated with the university and the athletic department. He coached the Tigers to heights the program or university has never seen before, and it benefited the athletic department and the university as a whole.
So, let’s stop this mess that Clemson should fire Dabo Swinney. That’s ridiculous.
Are there things Swinney needs to fix? Absolutely there are.
Does he need to reevaluate his program and how it is run? Absolutely he does.
Does he need to possibly make some changes to his coaching staff and support staff? Absolutely he does.
Does he need to change the way he tackles the transfer portal? Absolutely he does.
Does he need to change the way he uses NIL to create his roster? Absolutely he does.
But these are things he has earned the right to fix.
Look, Dabo Swinney is not a perfect coach. He is not the greatest coach of all-time in college football.
But he is a darn good football coach, ones of the best to ever do it, and he truly cares about his players and helping shape them to become better men. He truly cares about his program. And he deserves that respect.