Dabo Swinney sends direct message to his haters: 'If they're tired of winning they can send me on my way'

Dabo Swinney isn’t about to tuck tail and run after Clemson‘s 1-2 start to the season. On Tuesday, Swinney delivered a strong message to his critics.

“I thrive in the battle, honestly. I have my whole life,” Swinney said. “Perspective is important. If they want me gone, they can send me on my way. If they’re tired of winning, they can send me on my way. I won’t stop. I’m 55. I’ll go somewhere else and win. I ain’t going to the beach.

“We’ve won this league eight of the last 10 years. Is that good? I’ve got a long memory in case y’all don’t know. This is a program that’s built to last. If you don’t believe in us after we lost just two games, you weren’t all in anyway. Hate to disappoint all the haters out there, but I have a long way to go, boys.”

On Saturday, Clemson suffered its second loss of the season, falling 24-21 to Georgia Tech. Swinney came under fire for the loss after the team also suffered an upset loss against LSU in the season-opener.

Clemson entered the 2025 campaign as one of the betting favorites to win the national title. The team returned 16 starters from a team that won the ACC title and reached the College Football Playoff last season.

Most notably, Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik returned for his third season as the team’s starter behind center. Expectations were sky-high for Klubnik following his standout campaign in 2024.

Alas, Klubnik has underwhelmed this season, only completing 59.1% of his passes for 633 yards and three touchdowns, compared to three interceptions. For reference, Klubnik finished last season with 36 touchdowns and six interceptions.

Now, fans are turning on Dabo Swinney, who hasn’t led the Tigers past the first round of the CFP since 2019. Clearly, the longtime head coach doesn’t planning on going anywhere anytime soon.

“I don’t let any of that in,” Swinney said. “That’s a gift that I have because I don’t let it in. I know it’s bad because I’m getting all the text messages, ‘I’m praying for you.’ Everybody’s sending me devotions and ‘You’re going to get through this.’

“… I’ve learned a lot in this job. One of the things that I’ve learned is when you have a lot of success, people want to tear you down. That just comes with it. People want to tear you down, they want to see you fail, for either to make themselves look better or to promote whatever narrative or agenda they have — that’s part of it. So you have to understand that, and I do.”

On Saturday, Clemson will look to bounce back as it squares off against Syracuse at noon ET. The game will air live on ESPN.