The Clemson Tigers opened their 2026 season by getting dismantled by the LSU Tigers on Saturday night, leading college football fans to double down on growing criticism of coach Dabo Swinney.
Clemson was blown off the field by LSU on Saturday, reviving criticism of Swinney after a series of disappointing season. The overwhelming sentiment remained the same: Swinney has failed to adapt to college football’s new era, in which NIL and the transfer portal reign supreme.
Clemson and Dabo Swinney sat around for years while the rest of college football blew right past them.
— Scott Reichel (@ReichelRadio) September 6, 2026
Been pretending to be truly relevant since Trevor Lawrence left. pic.twitter.com/2Jw64D7HtQ
I do not see a world where Dabo Swinney isn’t asked to step down at Clemson. He refuses to adapt to the NIL/transfer portal era in college football and this is the result.
— Sammy Profeta (@profeta_sammy) September 6, 2026
He went into the game with an 18% change of being “out” after the season to 69%. pic.twitter.com/AAB3Gvti7G
When NIL/portal became a thing, old school coaches had a choice: Retire or adapt
— Aaron Torres (@Aaron_Torres) September 6, 2026
* Nick Saban, Coach K, Jay Wright, Roy Williams retired
* John Calipari, Tom Izzo adapted
Dabo Swinney did neither.
And he hit rock bottom tonight pic.twitter.com/4PQioS3VEz
Swinney has notoriously chosen to stick with an approach centered around recruiting and player development while the rest of the sport is moving away from it. Other top schools reinforce their rosters with high-profile veteran transfers, while Swinney tries to keep up by managing the impossible task of keeping a roster together for years on end.
This criticism of Swinney is hardly new. Even Nick Saban has said as much, and he certainly is no fan of the current state of college football. He realizes, however, that if Swinney wants to coach, he has to play the game game the rest of the sport is playing.
Clemson won a pair of national titles and established itself as one of the elite programs in the country roughly a decade ago. They have been on a downward slope since, and went just 7-6 last season despite high expectations prior to the campaign. Based on Saturday’s performance, 2026 looks unlikely to be any better.
