Clemson HC Dabo Swinney Receives Brutal Wake-Up Call for Recent Change

Clemson needed to restart the program at several phases after a complete failure in 2025. 

As evidenced by putting nine players into the 2026 NFL Draft by round five, the Tigers were not lacking in talent last season. The 7-6 effort had a lot to do with coaching, and head coach Dabo Swinney needed to make changes.

Swinney parted ways with offensive coordinator Garrett Riley. By all appearances, that was a solid move, as Riley was unable to get the offense going with Cade Klubnik, expected to be a Day 1 or early Day 2 pick before struggling last fall. 

Riley's replacement is Chad Morris, and not everyone is ready to commend Swinney for being back as the offensive coordinator. Bill Connelly of ESPN thinks it was a "regressive" hire to bring back Morris.

"Swinney is now dealing with one of the biggest resets of his career, with a new offensive coordinator, seven new offensive starters and a defense that lost three top-50 NFL draft picks," he wrote. "Swinney seems to be simultaneously embracing and resisting progress. 

"On one hand, he finally dipped fully into portal life, adding 10 transfers -- still well below the national average but a solid total -- but responding to the need for offensive progress by making a regressive hire. Offensive coordinator Chad Morris is back in town; he helped modernize the Tigers' attack from 2011 through 2014 but hasn't been at the helm of even a decent offense since 2017."

ESPN is projecting the Tigers to win about 7.9 games during the upcoming season, ranking them around 23rd in the nation. Frankly, that kind of finish would be a disappointment for Clemson, used to being at the top of the ACC. 

The ACC now belongs to Miami, a program willing to spend money to get the best players in the transfer portal, including quarterback Darian Mensah.

Clemson didn't spend money at the quarterback position this offseason, and it will likely show up in the loss column this fall. There's only so much Morris can do without top talent, something he had last time his offense worked well for the Tigers.