Ohio State head coach Ryan Day spoke out with strong words about Clemson lead man Dabo Swinney.
It has been a rough season for Dabo Swinney. After the Clemson Tigers began the 2025 season as a top-tier national championship contender, they finished the year with a 7-4 record.
Unfortunately, that isn't good enough to have a chance at sniffing the College Football Playoff.
Instead, Clemson will have to settle for a bowl game. To say that it wasn't the year fans expected would be a massive understatement. In fact, it was a pure disappointment.
Due to the struggles the team endured this season, Swinney has come under fire. Some have suggested that the Tigers should look to move on from him. Others have suggested that he should look to move on from the program to greener pastures.
While the outside noise has grown loud, Swinney and Clemson seem to be committed to each other.
Over the years, Swinney has been one of the best head coaches in college football. That hasn't changed, even as the landscape of the sport has. Swinney has struggled some to adapt, but there is no coach who could replace him that would be an upgrade.
Keeping that in mind, Ohio State head coach Ryan Day recently spoke out with strong words about Swinney. The amount that Day respects the Tigers' head coach was clearly evident.
When asked about who Day would feel comfortable letting his son play for around the nation, Day didn't hesitate when naming Swinney as his choice. He also shared a story about why he feels that way.
“The guy that comes to mind a lot for me is Dabo,” Day said. “When we first played them in ’19 in the Fiesta Bowl, they had a great team, we had a battle. It was Justin vs. Trevor, and we had some really good players."
Day continued on, talking about how Swinney took the time to come up to him and prop him up. Swinney predicted that Day would win a national championship at Ohio State, which is exactly what he was able to do last season.
“He didn’t have to do that,” Day said. “I have been around a lot of coaches that would not even take the time. They posture and their egos get in the way. I will never forget that. We’ve gone on Nike trips before, and he just spends time. Talks about his family, talks about his kids.”
Basically, Swinney is a family man. He's also a caring person. Those qualities are not all that common in today's day and age of college football.
Say what you want about the Tigers' disappointing season. Clemson will always be a program to watch as long as Swinney is leading the way.
All of that being said, it will be good to have Swinney back in 2026. Hopefully, the Tigers are able to turn things back around and be a national championship contender.