Copyright Charleston Post and Courier
CLEMSON – Clemson’s Dabo Swinney has had plenty of opportunity to reflect. Every loss, he said, forces a head coach to reassess what they’re doing right and what they’re doing wrong. And the Tigers are 3-5, so there’s been plenty of wrong. But the faults that everyone else finds in Swinney’s program — his resistance to overhauling a roster in the transfer portal, his steadfast belief in education and personal development first and foremost — are not what he’s found himself questioning. “If I evaluated myself, I've probably gotten away, a little bit away, from my instincts and not trusting some of my instincts,” Swinney said. “That's one of my things I've got to get back to. And some people say I'm stubborn, but I think I have conviction. There's a difference.” Swinney has been under fire more than ever, because Clemson just lost a sixth straight game at home to a power conference opponent. His athletic director, Graham Neff, sat in on Swinney’s postgame press conference after a 46-45 loss to Duke, eliciting some dark humor from the coach about potentially getting fired. But a few days later, on Nov. 4, Swinney was back to proclaiming that the house of Clemson football is built on “rock.” There are no “cracks” in the foundation, according to a coach who has spent 17 years in his post. “Now, we got some people that ain't put their best stuff in it,” Swinney said. “But we gotta be better. And I gotta make sure we get the right people in the house. In all aspects of it. But this thing's built right. It's built to last.” Swinney didn’t want to get overly specific about what he meant by “instincts” and how he can get back to embracing them. He wasn’t going to say he shouldn’t have hired a specific coach or recruited a certain player. But his reference to “instincts” was a statement about Swinney’s continued belief in himself, while also admitting he might have to some rectify past mistakes this offseason. “I think sometimes you can listen to too much, listen to too many people,” Swinney said, “and you can get away from what you're truly convicted of.” The 55-year-old coach volunteered recruiting was referring to recruiting, in part, because Swinney was asked a question about DeAndre Hopkins, who is being inducted into the Clemson Athletic Hall of Fame this weekend. Many programs passed on a future NFL wideout because he seemed like a basketball player moonlighting on the football field. Clemson almost didn’t recruit him, but Swinney noticed how competitive Hopkins was. “Relentless belief in himself. That's what I love about him,” Swinney said. “It’s a reminder, again, instincts … some of the instincts is recruiting. Because, again, we were a little different deal back in (2010). “But we made some decisions on some guys, that we went and beat the best of the best with. We beat the best. That's one thing nobody can ever take away: We beat the best of the best at their best.” Early in Swinney’s tenure, he was able to reel in five-star recruits like C.J. Spiller and Sammy Watkins but he also brought in a no-star defensive tackle Grady Jarrett. He recalled a linebacker, Jonathan “Tig” Willard, who wasn’t the most highly recruited. Clemson hoarded four- and five-star talents in the late 2010s and early 2020s, but it hasn’t translated into more wins. The Tigers lost just one game in 2019, then two in 2020, then three apiece in 2021 and 2022, then four apiece in 2023 and 2024. Swinney’s program is destined to have five or more defeats in 2025, but the two-time national title-winning coach finds himself reminding everyone how many ACC titles he’s won. Because, he said, if he didn’t bring it up, “Nobody else will.” “I haven’t gotten it done. It’s my fault. It’s nobody’s fault but mine,” Swinney said. “But over 17 years, I think I’ve done a decent job. But I’ve sucked this year. And I’ll be better.” Swinney has had some time to reflect on what he can do better, and perhaps what moves he might have to make at season’s end. But isn’t laying all of those cards on the table. Clemson has a game with Florida State this weekend, which requires his full attention. “You spend every moment postgame, trying to reflect on what you got to do better, and what went wrong, and on and on and on — and then you reset,” Swinney said. “I'm not wasting much time looking at next year. I'm focused on a Tuesday practice today.”
