Swinney may not be long for Clemson

He’s paving the way for his exit.

As the bold proclamations begin to fade with each emotionally draining bad play, bad call or bad result, Dabo Swinney has picked up the “woe is me” suggestions in almost routine self-deprecating ways.

Clemson Nation, it won’t be much longer. Following Saturday’s gut-wrenching 46-45 loss to Duke in what used to be known as Death Valley, Swinney even started to say he’d understand if he were fired.

For a lot of fans, very much along the same ungrateful train that rode James Franklin right outta Penn State after a strong decade and change, the concept would be a welcome change.

Reality, ultimately, may prove just the opposite.

May being the operative word.

Swinney, since taking over midway through the 2008 season, has had a run this century in South Carolina’s Upstate to rival any this side of Nick Saban’s at Alabama. He turned a good, but all-too-often underachieving program, into an elite among college football’s elite.

For a long damn time.

Beginning in 2011, the Tigers rattled off double digit-win seasons 12 straight years. Included in that stretch were two national championship squads, including the 2018 edition that became the sport’s first team to go 15-0, and two other national championship game appearances.

But the man, as a head coach, has his flaws, and they’ve shown up more and more the last handful of years.

Oddly enough, it was along the way of the Tigers’ greatest five years, 2015 through 2019, that Swinney and his program started to lose their way. Clemson became all about one position on the field and began dropping the ball with every other – in terms of recruiting, development, and use.

While quarterbacks DeShaun Watson and Trevor Lawrence rose to fame and eventually insane NFL contracts, the offensive lines and defensive lines became an afterthought. The ground game was put to the side. The defense, frankly the backbone of the Tigers’ rise to the top, turned soft.

Even with the troops struggling, Swinney and Co. kept all focus on the QB spot. D.J. Uiagalelei and Cade Klubnik were given the keys and every opportunity – even more so than Watson and Lawrence had been – and the results are, well, they’re not good.

Especially now.

In Klubnik’s three years as the full-time starter, the Tigers have lost 4 games in both 2023 and ’24 and currently have 5 in 2025 – with 4 games left to play, all of them dicey.

Perhaps Swinney is just coming to the realization anymore that his time at “li’l ol’ Clemson” has come to an end … or should.

At 55, fit and feisty, he hardly seems ready to be put out to pasture. But he does have that “needs a change of scenery” vibe enveloping him, and it seems he knows it, even feels it.

So, exit stage right … into another prime-time gig.

Florida, anyone?

COACHING CAROUSEL

Just to keep up with the latest, our updated projections for filling the Power Four HC openings:

LSU – Jon Sumrall.

Florida – It’s gonna be Swinney (not Lane Kiffin, who will remain at Ole Miss).

Penn State – Joe Brady.

Oklahoma State – Brian Hartline.

Virginia Tech – Franklin.

Arkansas – Gus Malzahn.

Stanford – Pat Fitzgerald.

UCLA – Deion Sanders.

Auburn – Jon Gruden.

(Clemson – Tony Elliott. Swinney’s former OC has finally put something together at Virginia, currently 8-1, atop the ACC and ranked 14th in this season’s initial CFP poll. But the pull to return home, where he played and coached, will be too tough to turn down – and thus leave an opening at Uva … which gonna need a little time to figure than one out.)

STRENGTH IN NUMBERS

As noted above, the first CFP poll came out Tuesday and if it signifies where the “power” reigns among Power Four programs, it is obvious what the committee thinks as 9 SEC teams hold spots in the top 25, including 6 among the top 12 – No. 3 Texas A&M, No. 4 Alabama, No. 5 Georgia, No. 6 Ole Miss, No. 11 Texas, No. 12 Oklahoma.

The Big Ten is next with 7 and tops the rankings with No. 1 Ohio State and No. 2 Indiana, both highly deserving. Oregon is a legit No. 9, too. But Southern Cal (19), Iowa (20), Michigan (21) and Washington (23) seem to be reaches, if not individually, then collectively.

The always over-maligned ACC is next with 5 (Virginia, Louisville at 15, Georgia Tech at 17, Miami at 18 and Pitt at 24), ahead of the more-respected Big 12 with 3 (BYU at 7, Texas Tech at 8 and Utah at 13).

Independent Notre Dame rounds out the mix, coming in at No. 10.

It’s the first CFP poll, which started in 2014, that did not include a Group of 5 program … and, truth be told, 8-1 Memphis, out of the American, probably should be in there before one of those ACC or Big Ten teams.

STILL SLINGIN’ IT … SAFELY

UConn seemingly forever senior Joe Fagnano is the LONE full-time starting QB to have NOT thrown an INT this season. The seventh-year player, in his third season with the Huskies after four with FCS Maine, has thrown his fair share of TDs, though.

With 22 of those, along with 2,529 yards on a 68.8-percent completion clip, in part courtesy of a 267-yard, 4-TD effort Saturday in a win against Alabama-Birmingham, Fagnano has UConn bowl-eligible at 6-3 for the second year in a row and should pass 10K in career yardage through the air in his next game or two. He also has an outside shot at 100 career passing TDs. Currently, he has 9,799 yards and 87 TDs.

Considering his size (6-4, 230) and production at the FBS level since arriving, he could get some NFL looks.

UNI WATCH

For all the hype surrounding Nebraska’s “all black” attire to go with its Blackout while hosting Southern Cal on Saturday night, a couple things should be pointed out:

-“All black” means, well, all things are black – the pants, the jerseys AND the helmets. The helmets were white. Not an “all black,” Nebraska. Sorry.

-For heaven’s sake, can we ditch the idiotic, plain-as-rain, sans-serif Helvetica-font “N” on the helmets – at least when the Cornhuskers go with an alternate getup? It’s not even the school’s official logo OR its official “N.” The official “N” is serif and outlined, plus the school has a cool “Huskers” script as a secondary logo. Use one of those.

Lame logo aside, Saturday's overall look gets a thumbs up. (Actually better with the white helmets than it would have been with black ones. Much better.)

HEISMAN WATCH

The weekend’s top performers:

Ohio State QB Julian Sayin – 20-for-23, 316 yards, 4 TDs in a 38-14 blowout of Penn State.

Georgia Tech QB Haynes King – 25-for-35, 408 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT, 20 carries, 103 yards, 2 TDs in a 48-36 loss at N.C. State.

Vanderbilt QB Diego Pavia – 27-for-38, 365 yards, 3 TDs, 14 carries, 43 yards, 1 TD in a 34-31 loss at then-No. 20 Texas.

SMU DB Ahmaad Moses – 15 tackles, 2 for losses, 2 INTs in a 26-20 OT win over then-No. 10 Miami.

Notre Dame LB Drayk Bowen – 14 tackles, all solo, 1 sack in a 25-10 win at Boston College.

Oklahoma LB Owen Heinecke – 13 tackles, 1 sack in a 33-27 win at then-No. 14 Tennessee.

Michigan RB Jordan Marshall – 25 carries, 185 yards, 3 TDs, 1 catch, 25 yards in a 21-16 win over Purdue.

West Virginia DB Fred Perry – 13 tackles, 1 sack in a 45-35 upset at then-No. 22 Houston.

North Texas RB Caleb Hawkins – 33 carries, 197 yards, 4 TDs, 3 catches, 9 yards in a 31-17 win over previously unbeaten Navy.