Dabo Swinney shoots down potential staff changes: ‘It’s not time for that’

The Clemson Tigers have seen their season quickly come off the tracks, opening 1-3. Now, head coach Dabo Swinney is left to look for answers to fix things before 2025 becomes a complete disaster for the Tigers.

There has been some thought that Clemson should make some kind of staff changes. That type of shakeup would then, hopefully, spark the team. However, for the time being, Swinney shot down that idea, explaining that it isn’t the right time to make those kinds of moves.

“No,” Dabo Swinney said. “We’ve just got to be better. It’s not time for that. We’ve got good people. We’ve not done a good job, but we’ve got good people.”

The reality for Clemson amid its 1-3 start is that the team hasn’t played up to expectations in any phase. That’s part of why some have been calling for changes to the coaching staff. The talent on the roster was expected to perform better than this. So, fans and analysts alike are looking for somewhere to place the blame.

Notably, this isn’t the first time in his career that Dabo Swinney has faced criticism for his staffing choices. In the past, there has been criticism that Swinney is too loyal to his longtime assistants. That reputation for loyalty remains within the Clemson program, but staffing concerns are not a new challenge for Swinney to navigate.

“It’s a result business. Again, when you’re in the out house, everything stinks. When you’re in the penthouse, you still have a pile of crap on the floor,” Swinney said. “But you just don’t notice it. It’s on us. That’s our job. It’s what we get paid to do is to bring out the best in our players. And we haven’t done that. And again, that’s pointing the thumb at me. I make the decision on who runs the rooms, but we’ve got good people and we’ve got good coaches. We just haven’t gotten the job done at this point and time of the season.”

Teams often choose to make those staff changes going into a bye week to give themselves more time to adjust to those changes. Clemson just finished one of their byes, and they did it without any notable staff changes. Instead, Swinney and company are now turning their attention to the North Carolina Tar Heels.

Paul Finebaum clarifies his stance on Dabo Swinney’s job status

For some, it’s not that Clemson needs assistant coaching changes, it’s that Dabo Swinney is the one who needs to be changed out. Among those to suggest that was Paul Finebaum. Recently, he clarified that it’s not that he thinks Swinney should be fired, but that he should move on.

“I wasn’t suggesting he get fired,” Finebaum said. “I was suggesting he do one of two things… he goes to another school while he still can or go into TV, which I think he would be very good at. But I don’t like his future at Clemson. The one thing I don’t want to happen here, because of Dabo’s greatness [he’s won two National Championships and played for the title multiple times], I don’t wanna see Dabo Swinney end his career five years from now looking like Mike Gundy did. Being pushed out the door after an amazing career. That’s really my major point here.”

Few coaches ever win a national championship. Even fewer go on to win multiple. Dabo Swinney is among them and, with that, has earned the right to take time and figure out how to reset at Clemson. Still, as criticism of Swinney continues to grow in the modern era, these questions and comments about the program won’t go away.