Clemson has been arguably the most disappointing team in college football this season, and Nick Saban offered some advice for Dabo Swinney ahead of the Tigers’ latest loss.
After entering the season ranked in the top five nationally, Clemson has started out 1-3 in 2025. Their latest loss was a 34-21 home defeat at the hands of Syracuse on Saturday.
During Saturday morning’s edition of “College GameDay” on ESPN, Saban had some tough comments about Swinney. The seven-time national champion said Swinney needs to find a way to adapt now that college football has changed so much.
“Dabo needs to look at what he needs to do in his program to be continually successful … the game has changed — you need to change with it,” Saban said.
Former Alabama coach Nick Saban talking about Clemson's Dabo Swinney comments on ESPN College GameDay: "Dabo needs to look at what he needs to do in his program to be continually successful … the game has changed — you need to change with it"
— Chapel Fowler (@chapelfowler) September 20, 2025
Saban was almost certainly referring to the way the landscape of college football has changed in the name, image and likeness era. Saban and Swinney both had powerhouse programs before NIL took over, with Alabama and Clemson meeting in the national championship game three times between 2015-2018. The Tigers won two of those games.
While Saban insisted he did not retire as the head coach of Alabama because of NIL rules, he later admitted it was a factor. Saban was 72 at the time and had grown tired of the new era of college football. He may feel that the 55-year-old Swinney has not done a good enough job of overcoming the obstacles that chased Saban away from the game.
Clemson was ranked No. 4 in the country when they lost a close 17-10 game to No. 9 LSU in their season opener. They then squeaked by Troy 27-16 and have since lost to Georgia Tech and Syracuse.
Swinney looked like he was on the verge of tears following Clemson’s loss to Syracuse on Saturday. He later delivered a sobering message when he met with the media.
