Where Swinney Landed in ACC Coach Ranking
By: Gavin Oliver June 4, 2026

Athlon Sports ranked the ACC’s football coaches entering the 2026 season, and Clemson’s Dabo Swinney is no longer leading the way.

Swinney slid down one spot to No. 2 in Athlon’s ranking, behind Miami’s Mario Cristobal at No. 1.

Here’s what Athlon’s Steven Lassan wrote about Swinney, who is entering his 19th season (and 18th full season) as Clemson’s head coach in 2026, coming off a 7-6 campaign in 2025 that marked the second-worst record in Swinney’s tenure:

Swinney is still among college football’s top coaches with a 187-53 overall record with the Tigers. However, the program has slipped just a bit and is coming off a disappointing 7-6 season after seemingly having the pieces in place for another deep run in the playoff. After recording six consecutive top-five finishes from 2015-20, Clemson has not finished higher than No. 13 in the final rankings over the last five years. Swinney is one of four active coaches with a national championship ring, winning two (2016 and ‘18) with the Tigers.

Virginia Tech’s James Franklin, Louisville’s Jeff Brohm and SMU’s Rhett Lashlee round out the top five in Athlon’s ACC coach rankings. Former Clemson assistant and current Virginia head coach Tony Elliott just cracked the top 10, landing at No. 10. First-year Stanford head coach Tavita Pritchard is ranked last among the 17 coaches in the league.

Swinney is Clemson’s all-time winningest coach, the winningest coach in ACC history and the first coach to lead the Tigers to multiple national championships. The Tigers have won nine ACC titles under Swinney, including eight in the last 11 seasons, while he has guided Clemson to seven College Football Playoff appearances.

Swinney’s 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 following a remarkable run of six straight playoff appearances from 2015-20.

CBS Sports recently ranked the top Power 4 coaches ahead of the 2026 season, and Swinney dropped outside the top 10, coming in at No. 11.

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney during pregame of the Tigers’ game against North Carolina on October 3, 2025 at Keenan Stadium in Chapel Hill, N.C. (Bart Boatwright/The Clemson Insider)