From Tyler in Spartanburg to Georgia Tech: Five years of Dabo Swinney's same old song after losses

Dabo Swinney's status as the greatest coach in Clemson history is unassailable, as he has more wins (180), a higher winning percentage (79.3), more conference titles (9) and more national titles (two) than any other Tigers coach. 

If you didn't know his record at Clemson, all you have to do is wait for the Tigers to suffer an upset loss and wait for Swinney to remind the fan base of what he's done for the program. After Clemson fell to 1-2 on the 2025 season with a 24-21 loss in Atlanta to Georgia Tech, Swinney responded to the criticism of the program slipping with a familiar refrain, reminding everyone of all he's accomplished and daring the administration to fire him (which it won't, because he's still Dabo Swinney and has a buyout upwards of $60 million). 

"If they want me gone, they're tired of winning, they can send me on the way," Swinney said. 

Clemson has bamboozled us again, but there are 60 million reasons why Dabo Swinney won't feel any real heat

John Talty

It's a form of what's become the stock response from Swinney to Clemson losses and frustration from the fan base, as he's become fairly predictable in how he'll react to criticism of the program. Over the past five years, Clemson has slipped from its perch as a perennial national title contender to a tier below, still holding firm as an ACC title contender, but pretty clearly a step behind the strongest programs they once went toe-to-toe with. 

From 2012 to 2020, Clemson lost more than two games in a season once (2014), but have now lost three or more in four consecutive seasons -- and look destined to make it five after a 1-2 start. As Swinney will quickly remind you, many programs would kill for 10-3 or 9-4 years, but when you build a program that was once on the level of Nick Saban's Alabama, the expectations outgrow those of most programs. 

2021: Dabo feels like he's got "the plague"

After a 4-3 start to the 2021 season, marking the first three-loss season in seven years, Swinney noted he was getting a very different response from around town, saying it's "like I've got the plague." 

"It's like you got a stink on you and nobody wants to be around you," Swinney said. "We are going to be fine, I promise you."

Losses to Pitt and NC State will do that, and given this was the first early-season adversity Clemson and Swinney had faced since establishing themselves as a dominant program, the coach was a bit less combative and a bit more accepting of the criticism. 

"With the way we've performed, you're going to get criticism," Swinney said after their loss to NC State. "That comes with the territory because the expectation and the standard at Clemson, who we are, we're not meeting that. There's nothing we can say because we're not getting it done right now.

"We've been an offense that's been really, really good for a long, long time," Swinney added of a struggling offense. "The criticism is warranted because that's where we are right now. That's what we displayed."

At this point, Swinney had plenty of goodwill with the fan base that he could accept being the one to shoulder the burden and not fight back all that defiantly. His call to preach patience was rewarded with six straight wins to finish the year 10-3 and keep their streak of 10-win seasons alive, beating Brock Purdy's Iowa State Cyclones in the Cheez-it Bowl. However, the heat he felt after the slow start in 2021 laid the foundation for the coach to get more defensive and grow a bit more antagonistic with fans who demanded Clemson reach that standard he touted them having established.  

2022: A defiant Swinney backs his coordinator hires

After a 31-30 loss to rival South Carolina to drop to 10-2 on the season after an 8-0 start, Swinney took a caller on his radio show asking if it's "decision time" regarding offensive coordinator Brandon Streeter, with the caller saying "Because two years without a passing game just don't seem right." Swinney, naturally, went to the well of past success and dared Clemson to make a coaching change if they don't like it. 

"Well, that's what I get paid to do," Swinney said. "All I can tell you is I'm gonna do my job. And if it comes a time where people don't like how I do my job, then they can hire somebody else. But until then I ain't ever gonna make decisions based on what other people want me to do. I can tell you that. If I did that, I wouldn't be sitting here talking to you tonight.

... 

"I get it. I know what my job is, and I'm going to do it. There's nobody that works harder to represent Clemson and cares more about Clemson and the brand of Clemson than me. I promise you that. Because I know where we've come from. And I know when we won that championship in 2011 it hadn't happened in 20 years. We hadn't won 10 games in 20 years.

"Now we win 10 games and it's like nobody cares. You go to the ACC championship, nobody cares. That's not true. A lot of vocal minority people don't care. But I ain't ever listened to them people. And I ain't ever gonna listen to those people. So I hear ya, but I'm gonna keep doing my job. And again, I've got bosses. And if they don't like how I do my job then they can send me out to pasture. But I'm gonna show up every day and keep giving it everything I've got, every single day, as long as I've got breath in my body, and I'm going to surround myself with people that I believe in, because that's what we've got here." 

Clemson won the ACC title game the next week, benching DJ Uiagalelei for Cade Klubnik in that game, before losing in the Orange Bowl to Tennessee. Streeter was let go after the season and Garrett Riley was hired in his place. 

2023: Tyler from Spartanburg

The 2023 season was particularly rough for the Tigers, as they went 9-4 with all four losses coming in conference play and failed to have a winning record in the ACC for the first time since 2010. After early losses to Duke and Florida State, pressure was mounting on Swinney and he ruffled some feathers within the fan base in mid-October by saying they might need to "lighten the bandwagon" with some losses. 

"We're at a point where If you don't go undefeated - you are losers, you're terrible... and that is just such a terrible mindset," Swinney said. "And honestly, maybe we need to lose a few games and lighten up the bandwagon. Sometimes the bandwagon can get a little too full. ... That is the one good thing about going through a little so-called adversity - you really find out who is with you and who is not."

Swinney's Tigers lost their next two games to Miami and NC State, which led to the all-time coach's radio show moment when Tyler from Spartanburg etched his name in college football lore by ripping Swinney and eliciting Dabo's longest, fiercest rebuttal to date. 

"Let me tell you something, we won 11 games last year. And you're part of the problem, to be honest with you. Because that is part of the problem. It's people like you that, all you do — the expectation is greater than the appreciation. And that's part of the problem. We've won 12 10+ win seasons in a row. That's happened three times in 150 years. So if you wanna know why, Clemson ain't sniffed a national championship in 35 years. We've won two in seven years. And there's only two other teams that can say that — Georgia and Alabama. Ok, is this a bad year? Yeah, and it's my responsibility. I take 100% responsibility for it. But all this bullcrap you're thinkin and all the narratives you read, listen man you can have your opinion all you want. And you can apply for the job. And good luck to you, alright. 

...

"People like you, who love to destroy people with your comments, I'm sure you've never made any bad decisions. I'm sure you've lived a perfect life. I'm sure you've led a bunch of people. So to answer your question. I started as the lowest paid coach in this business, and I'm where I am because I work my ass off every single day. And I ain't gonna let some smart-ass kid get on this phone and create this stuff. So if you got a problem with that, I don't care. I work for the board of trustees, the president and the AD, and if they're tired of me leading this program, all they gotta do is let me know. I'll go somewhere else where there is an appreciation. It's not just winning, it's how you win. And this is a tough year, but we've had 12 — Twelve — 10+ win seasons in a row. Twelve. We lost to Tennessee last year, they won 11 games for the first time in like 20 years. We've had 8 11-win seasons in 11 years or whatever." 

Clemson beat Notre Dame the following week and didn't lose again for the rest of the season. 

2024: Swinney defends his approach

As one of the last holdouts against using the transfer portal, every loss Clemson had became a referendum on Swinney's outdated approach to team building. In their opener against Georgia in 2024, Clemson got blasted 34-3 and it was apparent they were simply not on the same level as the Dawgs. At that point, Swinney didn't have a boastful retort, but continued his refrain that he would do what he believed "was best for Clemson." 

"People are gonna say whatever they wanna say," Swinney said. "It doesn't matter what I say, people are gonna say whatever they want to say. But we do what's best for Clemson year in and year out. And when you lose like this, (people have) got every right to say whatever they wanna say. So say whatever you wanna say, write whatever you wanna write. That comes with it. It's just part of it."

Clemson would right the ship and win another ACC title as a 10-2 team, beating SMU in a thriller, but had to travel to Austin to face Texas in the first round of the expanded College Football Playoff. Facing questions about whether his team could contend with the top programs, Swinney referenced his history once again. 

"I've been taking shots since I got this job. What's changed?" Swinney said prior to facing Texas. "I've been taking shots for 16 years, and we just keep winning."

The Tigers fell behind 28-10 at the half, and while they made it a one-score game in the fourth, went on to lose 38-14. 

2025: Swinney dares Clemson to "send me on my way" if they're "tired of winning"

After losing to Georgia Tech and falling to 1-2, Swinney once again faced questions about the state of the Clemson program. It was supposed to be a year Clemson got back into the national title picture, but instead they find themselves facing mid-September obituaries about their chances to make the Playoff. Swinney, once again, dared Clemson to fire him if things were truly that bad, offering an update to his response to Tyler from Spartanburg. 

"Perspective is important," Swinney said as part of his answer. "If they want me gone, they're tired of winning, they can send me on the way, because that's all we've done is win. So if they're tired of winning ... we've won this league eight out of the last 10 years. Is that not good? I'm just asking, 'Is that good?' I don't know if that's good or not, to win your league eight out of 10 years, to go to the playoff seven out of 10 years, to be in four national championships, win it twice.

...

"Hey, listen, if Clemson's tired of winning, they can send me on my way, but I'm going somewhere else to go somewhere else and coach," Swinney added. "I ain't going to the beach. Hell, I'm 55. I got a long way to go. Y'all going to have to deal with me for a while. I 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."

History tells us Swinney will get the Tigers back on track and they'll be in the 10-2 or 9-3 range once again, but Clemson fans are likely growing tired of hearing the same refrain after losses -- a proud fanbase does not particularly care what you've done in the past if what you're doing right now isn't up to the standard that you created. 

There is certainly something to be said for a coach that can consistently win, and Swinney is a victim of his own success to a degree. There was a time where Clemson was appreciative of just being in the conversation, but that decade of excellence Swinney loves to tout means it's more than fair for the expectations to get raised. 

Loss to Georgia Tech confirms harsh new reality for Clemson -- nobody fears the Tigers anymore

Chip Patterson

It's hard to envision Clemson without Swinney at the helm, and as he defiantly put it this week, he's not planning on hanging up the headset any time soon. It would take legitimate sustained struggles for Swinney's seat to truly heat up from the administration (the thought of 42-year-old Graham Neff AD firing the legendary Swinney is almost hilarious), but it's now been five years since Clemson felt like a true threat as a national title contender and this was supposed to be the season they got back to that spot, as evidenced by a preseason ranking of No. 4 in the country. 

It's hard to blame fans for being frustrated when that all comes crashing down three weeks into the season. As defiant as Swinney wants to be about his success, deep down he has to know that -- right?