Paul Finebaum: Dabo Swinney has 'lost control of the program' at Clemson

On Saturday, Clemson suffered a 35-24 loss to SMU, falling to 3-4 on the season. During an appearance on First Take on Monday, ESPN’s Paul Finebaum weighed in on Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney‘s future with the program.

“What happened last year, when he had a pretty average season but managed to sneak into the playoffs by beating SMU on the final play of the game in the ACC Championship, was the outlier. The trend lines have been there.” Finebaum said. “He has really lost control of the program. Many people thought he had it back. A lot of people picked Clemson to win the title. He had [Cade] Klubnik, who was thought to be maybe the No. 1 draft choice. They lost that LSU game. It’s been straight downhill ever since.

“Dabo Swinney has gone to the well one too many times, trying to convince his fan base, ‘Hey, we played for four national championships. I have two. I can still do it again. ‘There’s nobody that believes Dabo Swinney is ever going to win a national championship again at Clemson. This was his last shot.”

Swinney rejuvenated the fanbase last season after leading Clemson to its first appearance in the College Football Playoff since 2020. While the Tigers were eliminated in the first round of the CFP, their postseason showing gave fans hope for the future under Swinney.

Fans weren’t the only ones buying into Swinney’s vision for the program. Clemson entered this season ranked No. 4 in the AP Top 25. Alas, the Tigers immediately suffered a setback, falling 17-10 to LSU in their season-opener.

After defeating Troy in Week 2, Clemson suffered back-to-back losses and have been unstable since. Paul Finebaum believes it’s time for Dabo Swinney to move on from Clemson.

“I, frankly, think it’s time for him to go,” Finebaum said. “I’m not suggesting they fire him, but he needs to find an exit strategy, because Dabo, your time is up. You are not going to turn it around and quit trying to sell the people of that great university a bill of goods.”

Swinney certainly doesn’t seem interested in leaving the school. After Clemson’s latest loss, he reasoned with fans, reminding them of the success the program has had during his tenure. Alas, if Swinney doesn’t recapture that success soon, fans may grow tired of hearing about the past.

Clemson has a bye this week and will resume play with a showdown against Duke on Nov. 1 at noon ET. The game will air live on the ACC Network.