ESPN analyst Paul Finebaum recently threw more shade at Clemson’s longtime head coach.
On The Paul Finebaum Show, a caller asked Finebaum for his thoughts on Dabo Swinney, with the caller saying she thinks Clemson will never let Swinney go because of his $57 million buyout.
Finebaum took the call as an opportunity to diss Swinney once again, this time remarking that “nobody wants Dabo Swinney” as their coach.
Finebaum questioned Swinney’s contract leverage and says no other major program has ever seriously tried to hire him.
“First of all, these buyouts are absurd. … What program has ever tried to hire Dabo Swinney? Why do you get that type of leverage at the back end of your contract. Dabo’s never gotten an offer,” Finebaum said.
“People can get upset about [Alabama head coach Kalen] DeBoer, but the reason he got the contract [new seven-year, $87.5 million extension] is that they thought he might leave,” Finebaum added. “Nobody wants Dabo Swinney. Alabama, his alma mater, could’ve easily called him. That didn’t even enter their thought process.”
This is just the latest in a line of shots that Finebaum has fired at Swinney, coming off his program’s disappointing 2025 campaign.
In May, Finebaum stated, “I don’t have any faith or belief in Dabo Swinney anymore.” Finebaum added that there’s “literally only one person” he knows who still has Swinney’s back – “Chris from South Carolina” – a frequent caller to The Paul Finebaum Show who is a loyal, die-hard Clemson fan known for his unwavering defense of Swinney.
Earlier this month, Finebaum cast doubt on Clemson’s ability to win even nine games this year, following last year’s seven-win season.
“I think he’ll have a winning season. I think another good 8-4 season for Dabo,” Finebaum said.
Finebaum agreed with a caller who said “LSU is going to clean [Swinney’s] clock” in the 2026 season opener.
Clemson was ranked No. 4 in the preseason AP Poll and had national title aspirations going into the 2025 season, only to end up at 7-6, the second-worst record in Swinney’s tenure.
Following Clemson’s loss to Syracuse on Sept. 20 of last year, which dropped the Tigers to 1-3 for the first time ever under Swinney, Finebaum said he believed “it’s over” for Swinney at Clemson and “it’s time for him to go.” Finebaum suggested that Swinney should either leave Clemson to coach at another school, or become an analyst on TV like former coaches such as Nick Saban and Jimbo Fisher.
“There’s a lot of reasons for this, but my advice to Dabo – and I know he doesn’t like taking advice from people like me – is to get out of there,” Finebaum said at the time. “Be quiet. Quit talking, because he has no credibility now with his fan base. They’ve heard the whines before. He’s become a meme. For a really good coach, and I do believe he’s a really good coach, he’s become somewhat of a laughing stock every time he opens his mouth, and it’s time for him to do one of two things.
“It’s either consider another school, and I think he is hirable if he quits talking. Or just get away from football and become a TV guy. He’s very funny. He’s got more credentials than any other none-TV coach out there. And what I mean by that is Saban’s already got a job. I’m not talking about him. I’m talking about of the people that could leave coaching and go into TV, he would be very coveted. Or find someplace to go. There will be a lot of openings, and when you introduce Dabo Swinney, it’s not a bad look. Jimbo Fisher has done pretty well with leaning on one national championship. Dabo has a much better resume.”
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.
Swinney, 56, will kick off his 19th season (and 18th full season) as Clemson’s head coach in 2026 when his Tigers face the LSU Tigers and new head coach Lane Kiffin at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, La., on Sept. 5 (7:30 p.m., ABC).
Swinney signed a 10-year, $115 million deal with Clemson in September 2022, which runs through the 2031 season.