Clemson HC Dabo Swinney Puts Coach on Notice, Offense 'Disturbing'

The Clemson Tigers are set to do a lot of soul-searching on Sunday, the kind of deep reflection to fix glaring issues that many prognosticators around college football thought would happen this fall. 

Swinney made two critical decisions this offseason that backfired. He opted not to go into the transfer portal for an elite quarterback, a choice that he admitted this summer would have him raked over the coals if Clemson failed to have a good season. Swinney also chose to bring back Chad Morris to coach his quarterback, after the offensive coordinator hadn't called plays in six years before returning to the Tigers. 

After a 20–16 loss to Virginia Tech at home on Saturday night, Swinney is ready to face up to the issues surrounding his program after dropping a third game this season.

Per Chapel Fowler of The State, Swinney said it was "disturbing" that the Tigers didn't do the routine things well. He added that he was frustrated with the coaching staff as a whole.  He put Morris on notice, saying he'd have "a lot of conversations" before Monday about how Clemson can fix the offense.

Clemson had 288 total yards of offense. Quarterback Tait Reynolds went 20 of 26 passing for 153 yards. He added another 63 yards and a touchdown on the ground.

Saturday night's loss was deflating for Clemson for a few reasons. For one, it pretty much knocks the Tigers out of the College Football Playoff, putting the nail in the coffin for an at-large bid. The Tigers don't control their destiny to make the ACC championship.

Secondly, they lost to a Virginia Tech program under first-year head coach James Franklin. Clemson should be spades ahead of the Hokies. The loss was a wake-up call for Swinney, and he's owning it. 

Swinney was disappointed the Tigers lost another home game. Clemson was blown out by Miami 41–13 to start the month of October.

Clemson will next travel to play a 3–4 Florida State program. The Tigers can't look past the Noles, and how the offense responds could be critical for the makeup of the staff next season.

Swinney told reporters he didn't think about putting in Christopher Vizzina for Reynolds. The head coach believes Reynolds will be a good player. That might be the case, but his development has turned the season into more of a rebuild.

And there are questions to answer about how to build it.