Clemson's Dabo Swinney Drops Truth Bomb on Potential GM Move

Clemson Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney is in the crosshairs once again following another brutal loss, but this time, it wasn't to a ranked opponent.

This time, the defeat came at the hands of the Virginia Tech Hokies, who rallied in the second half for a 20-16 win over Clemson.

The Tigers' offense continued to labor, as it went yet another week without a passing touchdown, and the team's roster construction is being heavily criticized.

Of course, that falls on the shoulders of Swinney, who has not exactly done the best job of putting this roster together. However, the two-time national-champion feels the problem lies with the coaching staff (including himself) rather than the roster.

Not surprisingly, most people aren't buying that notion, especially seeing how Clemson stacked up against LSU and Miami earlier in the season.

So, should Swinney consider bringing in a general manager to make the primary roster decisions moving forward?

The subject was broached during Swinney's radio show on Monday night, and the 56-year-old made it clear that the Tigers won't be changing anything.

“We believe in what we do here,” Swinney said. “We’ve made a lot of changes over the last several years. Obviously bringing in [Senior Director of Player Personnel, Evaluation & Scouting] Kevin Kelly was a big deal for us. He’s 25 years in the NFL, so all of our player evaluation stuff.

"And then Jordan [Sorrells] has done a good job as our GM. Because there’s contracts and negotiations and all that type of stuff, and I think he does an awesome job of handling all that stuff. So, it’s very thorough.”

Clemson does have other people helping with decision making, as Swinney noted. But Swinney still has final say in every move, and the amount of help that Kelly and Sorrells actually provide seems rather limited.

Swinney took over as Tigers head coach back in 2008, and by 2011, he had Clemson winning double-digit games. In fact, the Tigers posted double-digit win campaigns 12 straight years through 2022.

Clemson won a pair of national championships throughout that span, making it to four National Championship Games between 2015 and 2019.

Times have changed since then, though.

NIL has permanently altered the college football landscape, and because Swinney has generally refused to adapt, the Tigers have been left behind.

On one hand, Swinney's old-school approach is noble and refreshing. He believes in developing talent in house, and that certainly worked for him over his first decade-plus as head coach.

But that style doesn't work anymore, and because Swinney has railed against the modern way, Clemson has had a precipitous drop as a program.

There is still time for Swinney to make a change, but at this point, the damage may have already been done.