ESPN's Paul Finebaum thinks Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney was out of line for the way he handled losing a linebacker to Ole Miss.
Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney didn't impress everyone in the college football world after he called out Ole Miss for signing linebacker Luke Ferrelli after he joined the Tigers earlier in January.
Swinney read aloud alleged text messages from Rebels head coach Pete Golding, wanting to know what the buyout to Clemson was so he could snag the transfer from California.
Swinney called the transfer system broken.
“This is a whole other level of tampering," Swinney said. "It's total hypocrisy. ... This is a really sad state of affairs. We have a broken system, and if there are no consequences for tampering, then we have no rules and we have no governance."
On Monday, ESPN analyst Paul Finebaum thought Swinney looked "out of touch" during the news conference. He thinks Swinney looks worse for ranting after a 7-6 season.
"Everybody knows Clemson started the season in the top five and ended up nowhere," Finebaum said during an appearance on "McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning" on Monday. "And I just think it hurts him more than it has in the past.
"And that's a bad look for a guy that really still has support of a fan base because he has been one of the more remarkable coaches in changing a program's direction than anyone in modern history."
Finebaum, who is well known for defending the SEC, didn't think Swinney's allegations will harm Golding at Ole Miss. If anything, the Rebels will appreciate their new head coach doing whatever it takes to put Ole Miss back in the College Football Playoff.
“Really nothing," Finebaum said of what he thinks Golding's backlash will be. "What it really does... is it emboldens Ole Miss people feeling, 'Okay, our guy's working hard, our guy's trying to do whatever it takes, whether it's in theory legal or not.'
"That's where we are in college athletics, as you guys know."
Finebaum does have a point. If Clemson fails to win the ACC or make the CFP, the Tigers fan base will not feel sorry for Swinney because Ole Miss took a transfer linebacker.
The results on the field will always be more important than what happens off of it.