Clemson Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney has landed yet another warning heading into 2026.
The Clemson Tigers were one of the most disappointing teams in college football this past season, going just 7-6 and losing to Penn State in the Pinstripe Bowl in spite of entering the campaign with national championship aspirations.
Clemson has certainly fallen from grace in recent years, and the more the Tigers fade, the warmer Dabo Swinney's seat becomes.
Swinney isn't getting fired tomorrow, but if Clemson has another rough season in 2026, you do have to wonder what will become if the 56-year-old.
On that note, ESPN's Andrea Adelson named the Tigers as the team with the most to prove heading into next season, sending a warning to Swinney in the process.
"There is no sugarcoating the disappointment from 2025, when the Tigers finished 7-6 despite having a veteran team filled with future NFL draft picks," Adelson wrote. "Coach Dabo Swinney went more heavily into the portal this offseason, particularly on defense, and went back to his past to hire Chad Morris as offensive coordinator to try to fix a stagnant offense. But there are major questions across the board with so many veterans gone. Swinney and his players need to show they have the answers."
Clemson Tigers coach Dabo Swinney. Credit: Ken Ruinard / USA Today Network South Carolina / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images.Or else what? Could Swinney get canned?
More and more people seem to believe that Swinney's job could be on the line next fall, although I still feel it's a bit too early for that.
Swinney led Clemson to four straight National Championship Game appearances between 2015 and 2019, winning two of them. You would figure he has built up enough stock to still be in the good graces of the program.
On the other side of the coin, though, Swinney's stubbornness has definitely cost the Tigers in recent years.
Between 2022 and 2025, Clemson landed a grand total of five players in the transfer portal. Yes, the Tigers more than doubled that number this offseason, netting 11, but is it a case of too little, too late for Clemson?
Swinney's archaic recruiting methods have also been the subject of discussion, and it seems pretty clear that top recruits no longer value the Tigers as one of the very top destinations in the country.
We'll see if Clemson is able to bounce back next season and if Swinney is able to potentially save his job in the process.
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