Clemson Tigers, Dabo Swinney Receive Honest Take on Team Culture

There was a time not too long ago when the Clemson Tigers were the gold standard in college football. They made four National Championship Games between 2015 and 2019 — winning two of them — and Dabo Swinney appeared to be on his way to becoming an all-time great coach.

But things have changed rather significantly since then.

Clemson has not won a playoff game since 2019, and this past season, the Tigers went just 7-6, marking their worst finish since going 6-7 in Swinney's second full year at the helm back in 2010.

So what has happened? Has Clemson lost its luster? Or is it just going through a brief dry period?

Well, if you listen to Tigers linebacker Sammy Brown tell it, the culture at Clemson certainly hasn't been altered. It's still great.

“I feel like the culture of Clemson was one of the biggest things in my decision,” Brown said on the Beyond the Paw podcast. “Every time that I visited Clemson throughout my recruitment, it was just, ‘This is different. Like, this feels different.’ The facility felt different, the game day felt different – it was just always a different feeling for me. So, the coaches and the facility kind of paved the path for the leadership of the players and stuff, and I feel like that kind of played a big role in it.”

Brown arrived at Clemson in 2024 and instantly made an impact, registering 80 tackles, 11.5 tackles for loss and five sacks during his freshman season.

This past year, Brown was even better, racking up 106 tackles, 13.5 tackles for loss, five sacks, an interception and five passes defended, putting himself on the map as a serious NFL Draft prospect for 2027.

"The head guy, Coach Swinney, is by far one of the best coaches in college football, and I feel like he does it the right way," Brown added. "He really is focused more on the people rather than the place. And I feel like that’s what a lot of people, when they make their decision to come to a college, it’s more about the place."

Clearly, Swinney has created a terrific culture that has permeated the program, even if his stubborn nature may get in the way of the team's success at times.

There has been plenty of speculation that Swinney could be on the hot seat heading into 2026, but given everything he has accomplished at the school, he probably deserves at least one more season to get things moving back in the right direction.

Meanwhile, Brown may very well establish himself as one of the top defensive players in the country next fall.

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