Dabo Swinney sounds off on criticism in fiery rant after Clemson’s 1-2 start
Dabo Swinney says he avoids reading anything about his team when things are going bad and that’s one of his “gifts” as a coach.
But he showed up on Tuesday well aware of the criticism surrounding him and his Clemson football program after a 1-2 start — and he was ready to fire back.
During his weekly news conference ahead of Saturday’s home game vs. Syracuse, Swinney delivered a nearly 15-minute rant that touched on why he’s confident the Tigers can still turn things around; a society that has “normalized nastiness and hate and criticism”; his disappointment with portions of Clemson’s fan base; and his willingness to go coach “somewhere else” if Clemson gets tired of winning.
“Because that’s all we’ve done,” Swinney said.
Clemson was the No. 4 team in the preseason AP poll but has lost two of its first three games to LSU and Georgia Tech. The Tigers dropped from No. 12 to unranked after losing their ACC opener against Tech on a walk-off field goal last Saturday.
Swinney continued to emphasize he thinks Clemson (1-2, 0-1 ACC) is a couple plays away from being undefeated after one-possession losses to now-No. 3 LSU and No. 18 Georgia Tech and “will be a good football team when it’s all said and done.”
But his weekly news conference went far beyond X’s and O’s.
Here are other notable highlights from Swinney’s news conference, which wasn’t quite on par with his famous 2023 radio show rant in response to “Tyler from Spartanburg” but was his fieriest media interview of the 2025 season by far.
‘How many ADs would sign up for that?’
While discussing Clemson’s 1-2 start, Swinney pointed to the fact that Clemson’s had “one bad season” since his first full year as coach in 2009. The Tigers went 6-6 in the regular season in Swinney’s second year in 2010 and lost their bowl game.
Since then, Clemson has won 10-plus games in 13 of the last 14 seasons. The only time the Tigers didn’t was in 2023, when they went 9-4 after a 4-4 start.
“We’re 4-4 and you’ve got Notre Dame,” Swinney said. “Do you quit? No, we fight. We’re a great program because we’ve always responded, and we finished 9-4 — it’s the worst season we’ve had in 14 years. That’s the worst season we’ve had in 14 years. How many ADs (athletic directors) would sign up for that?”
Clemson ‘held to a different standard’
Swinney also cited the fact that Clemson has been to seven of the last 10 College Football Playoffs. The Tigers made six straight four-team CFPs from 2015-20 (appearing in four national championships and winning two).
After a three-year drought, Clemson returned to the 12-team CFP last year by beating SMU in the ACC championship and winning the league’s automatic bid.
“If we stink because we haven’t played for the national championship since January of ‘20, well, I guess we stink,” Swinney said. “Or we haven’t won it since January of ‘19, we haven’t won the national championship. Well, then I guess we stink.”
Swinney continued: “But why are we held to a different standard to all these other teams out there that ain’t won nothing?”
‘I don’t think so’
Swinney’s most passionate moment during the rant came when he said Clemson’s “not perfect” and it’s possible the team could “suck” and finish the 2025 season 6-6.
“But I don’t think so,” Swinney said, raising his voice and leaning forward at the podium. “And I know that’s going to disappoint a lot of people, but I don’t think so.”
Swinney said he thinks Clemson is “the best program in college football because we’ve always battled, we’ve always responded” and the Tigers have a team that has a “consistency and a will to win and a fight” regardless of circumstances.
“Let’s respond like we always have, and let’s let the story be written,” Swinney said. “It’s gonna be OK. It’s gonna be all right.”
Dabo calls fans who aren’t ‘all in’
Swinney’s initial rant lasted about 15 minutes. His presser took another turn when a reporter asked Swinney if he was “feeling the criticism” and things were getting “personal,” considering he’d just given a long defense of his Clemson career.
No, Swinney said.
“I love being at a program where people care,” he said.
But he did have a pointed message for fans.
“I would just say, if you don’t believe in us because we’ve lost two games down to the last play and we’re 1-2? You didn’t believe in us anyways, so it don’t matter,” Swinney said, before borrowing one of his program’s slogans. “You weren’t ‘all in’ anyway. If you’re all in, you burn the ships. There ain’t no exit strategy.”
If Clemson is ‘tired of winning, they can send me on my way’
The most revealing part of Swinney’s rant came when he brought up, unprompted, the idea of him coaching somewhere other than Clemson. Swinney, 55, has never been a head coach for anyone other than the Tigers.
At 181-48, Swinney is the winningest coach in Clemson and ACC history. He’s also one of three active coaches with a national championship (Georgia’s Kirby Smart, Ohio State’s Ryan Day) and one of only two with multiple titles (Smart).
“Hey, listen, if Clemson’s tired of winning, they can send me on my way,” Swinney said. “But I’m gonna go somewhere else and coach. I ain’t going to beach. Hell, I’m 55. I’ve got a long way to go. Y’all are gonna have to deal with me for a while.”
Swinney said that as a devout Christian, “my identity is not a scoreboard.”
“I’ve got a long way to go,” he said. “I’m just getting going. I’m just now good enough to be a head coach. I’m just now figuring it out. So I’ll be around a while. ... I’ve got a long way to go, boys. Hate to disappoint the haters out there.”
This story was originally published September 16, 2025 at 1:52 PM.
