Heather Dinich explains why Clemson's best days aren't behind them

Clemson has won two national titles and reached the College Football Playoff six times under Dabo Swinney. But the Tigers have taken a step back the past couple of years.

Clemson finished 10-3 in 2021 and 11-3 in 2022, missing out on the CFP both seasons.

During First Take on Thursday, ESPN analysts argued if Clemson’s best days are behind them. There were mixed opinions.

“The reason you can’t say Clemson’s best days are behind them is because Dabo Swinney in the offseason made the necessary moves,” ESPN insider Heather Dinich said. “They’ve got a new talented young quarterback in Cade Klubnik. They’ve got a new offensive coordinator in Garrett Riley – Lincoln Riley’s brother. If anybody watched TCU’s offense last year, and oh by the way they played for the national championship, they were pretty darn good with Max Duggan as their quarterback.”

The Clemson offense really struggled in 2020, before improving some in 2021. With that said, it wasn’t enough for former Tigers offensive coordinator Brandon Streeter to keep his job.

Instead, Swinney fired Streeter in January and replaced him with Riley.

Former Clemson QB DJ Uiagalelei was replaced even earlier, losing his job in the ACC Championship game against North Carolina. Klubnik replaced Uiagalelei that game and led the Tigers to the ACC title. He made his first career start in the Orange Bowl against Tennessee to close out the 2022 season but struggled.

“I think time will tell,” Dinich said of how good Clemson will continue to be under Swinney. “The defensive line has always been good. They lost some guys. They should continue to be good up front.”

ESPN reporter Courtney Cronin isn’t as sure that the Tigers can get back to being elite. Cronin respects what Swinney has done at Clemson but believes that he may need to change some of his philosophies for the Tigers to win at a high level moving forward.

“Clemson is a terrific football team. The legacy, what they’ve established under Dabo Swinney is noted. But they’ve lost momentum. They’ve lost steam since the last time they were in the CFP in 2020. They lost Tony Elliott as their offensive coordinator and they really haven’t been able to get back to that level of prominence,” Cronin said.

“I think my biggest issue with all of this is that Dabo Swinney does not like to use the transfer portal. He likes to do things his way. I think that some players on the team value the loyalty aspect with all of that. And whatever you make of that is fine. But that has helped Florida State close the gap in the ACC.”