Clemson should move on from Dabo Swinney

Not everyone gets to go out on top. In the sport of college football , there's a bit of a spectrum for how the career comes to an end.

At the bottom, there's ending the career in utter disgrace with a national scandal like Joe Paterno, a regular old firing like what LSU did to Brian Kelly, a quiet retirement like Duke's David Cutcliffe, making one last run and then bowing out like Nick Saban, and then at the very top, winning a National Championship and riding off into the sunset like Jim Harbaugh.

So, how will it end for Dabo Swinney at Clemson? And will it happen this season?

Clemson corner back Ashton Hampton (2) looks as Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney walks by during practice in the at the Allen N. Reeves Sports Complex in Clemson, S.C. Friday, August 7, 2026.

Dabo seems to have lost his fastball. After taking over as the interim head coach in 2008 after Tommy Bowden's firing, Dabo Swinney slowly built Clemson into a national power, winning a BCS Bowl after the 2012 season. But in 2014, when Clemson landed Deshaun Watson, who was the top-ranked quarterback in the country, Clemson's reputation, and Dabo's, changed instantly.

Dabo went from just a goofy "good ole boy" football coach to an incredibly quotable and endlessly entertaining character. Clemson went from being just a good ACC program to a National Championship contender. Nothing exemplifies the arrival of both Dabo and his football team better than the "Bring Your Own Guts" game in 2015, where Clemson beat a top-10 ranked Notre Dame in a driving rainstorm thanks to a late two-point conversion stop.

Over the next six seasons, Clemson would qualify for the 4-team College Football Playoff every season, and win two National Championships. After Watson left for the NFL, Swinney backfilled by recruiting (and winning a Championship with) Trevor Lawrence, another all-time great QB prospect from the state of Georgia.

But ever since Trevor Lawrence left, Clemson hasn't been the same, and frankly, so has Dabo. His endless quotability has worked against him, as he has often been taken out of context and seemingly behind the times on modern political issues, with reporters almost baiting him into saying something that could be viewed in bad taste.

As college football transitioned into the transfer portal and NIL era, Dabo has continued to try to build teams through old school loyalty and high school recruiting. It hasn't worked. Since Trevor Lawrence became a Jacksonville Jaguar, Clemson has won the ACC only once, qualified for only one College Football Playoff (as a 12-seed), won no CFP games, and never finished in the top-10 of the final AP poll.

Clemson's quarterback problem is Dabo's problem

You see the trend, right? Dabo Swinney has been directly tied to his quarterbacks. Good quarterback? National Championship contender. Bad quarterback? Hello, Pinstripe Bowl.

So, the question is, where does Clemson's QB room stand heading into 2026? If you let Dabo tell you, not great. Dabo Swinney has been repeatedly out in press conferences complaining about his roster and not being willing to reveal who his starters are.

That doesn't bode well for a team that is going to be at a vast talent disadvantage on Saturday, as Clemson travels to Death Valley to take on LSU.

So, should Clemson move on from Dabo? That depends – how good is his quarterback? And if the quarterback isn't good this year, how many more opportunities do you give him to find one?

Because that is going to make all the difference in whether he exits like Brian Kelly or like Nick Saban.