What Clemson’s Dabo Swinney said about his job security, university support
Amid what’s shaping up as one of the crazier college coaching carousels in recent memory, Clemson coach Dabo Swinney says he feels safe and secure.
He also has a pointed message for the “people” who he says wanted him fired amid Clemson football’s 3-4 start to the 2025 season: Check his record.
“It’s a crazy profession,” Swinney said Monday night on his weekly radio show. “You’ve got a lot of guys that are getting fired because they don’t have a track record of winning championships, and you’ve got a lot of people out there that want me fired despite a track record of winning championships.”
Swinney added: “It’s a hard profession to be an AD, that’s for sure.”
He repeated that mantra at his weekly news conference Tuesday while speaking broadly about a coaching carousel that currently has eight power conference job openings and 12 total job openings before the season even hits November.
“It’s a crazy world, but it’s the world we live in,” Swinney said. “Like a blood sport that loves to see people get fired. There’s a part of society that likes to see that stuff. But it is what it is, man. It’s what we signed up for.”
Clemson and Dabo in context of LSU, Penn State moves
Speaking publicly for the first time since LSU fired coach Brian Kelly on Sunday, the latest in a string of high-profile coach firings, Swinney was asked on his Monday night text-in radio show about “the support that you have here at Clemson.”
LSU’s firing of Kelly and Penn State’s firing of James Franklin — two situations where a school fired a coach who’d won at historic levels but failed to elevate a program to a true championship level — have prompted some speculation about Clemson and Swinney, who, at a glance, appear to be in a similar position.
But Swinney, without naming names, used his radio show to draw a clear distinction between his situation and those other coaches’ situations: He’s won championships, and they haven’t. Swinney also raved about the support he feels from athletic director Graham Neff, university president Jim Clements and other leaders.
Clemson, the preseason No. 4 team, was expected to contend for a national championship this season. But the Tigers got off to a 1-3 start for the first time under Swinney and sit at 3-4 (2-3 ACC) heading into Saturday’s home game vs. Duke.
“I don’t know that there’s ever been a coach that hasn’t had a bad season,” said Swinney, in his 17th full season as coach. “If you fire your coach every time they have a bad season, you’re gonna have a hard time having a program.”
“But the leadership here, they’ve got great perspective. They’ve been incredibly supportive. And they know we’ll finish well, and then we’ll start over, like we do every year, and charge back up the mountain in 2026.”
Amid ‘disappointing’ season, Dabo feels support
Clemson has won 10-plus games in 13 of the last 14 seasons and nine-plus games in 14 consecutive seasons dating back to 2011, something that only three other programs can claim (Nebraska, Florida State, Alabama).
But this year’s Clemson team — which was coming off a College Football Playoff appearance, led the country in returning production and has invested millions into its coaching staff and roster — has been a major disappointment.
Clemson has lost five straight home games to power conference teams for the first time since 1970-71 and enters November needing to 3-2 over its final five games to reach six wins and become bowl-eligible.
“Nobody’s happy when you have a disappointing season, especially with a team that, in my opinion, was built to win and should be better than what we are right now,” Swinney said. “There’s no question about that, and we haven’t gotten it done as coaches. Just as simple as that, starting with me. So that’s disappointing.”
But Swinney, the winningest coach in Clemson history who led the Tigers to the 2016 and 2018 CFP national championships, said he works at a university with “great alignment” and that’s part of why they’ve been able to succeed.
And he’s felt nothing but good vibes from his bosses this season, Swinney indicated. Swinney is making $11.25 million in base salary this season and has one of the largest buyouts in the country ($60 million if he was fired this year).
“They’ve got great perspective,” Swinney said of Clemson leadership. “We’ve won a bunch of games. ... There’s been a lot of joy and a lot of great moments in Clemson over the last 17 years, and there’ll be more to come.”
Swinney doubled down on those comments Tuesday, saying he feels like Clemson university leadership and the school’s fanbase are “very loyal, committed people” and he appreciates the fact “they’ve been patient with me.”
So he’s not worried about being in a tough spot next season if Clemson’s slide continues? After all, he quipped earlier, Clemson could “get rid of me tomorrow.”
“I don’t worry about anything, man,” Swinney said. “I give everything to the good Lord. I don’t spend my time worrying about things that I don’t control. ... When I got fired at Alabama, I knew God had a plan then. And that hasn’t changed.”
Current college football job openings
Open FBS jobs as of Oct. 28; former coach listed in parentheses
- LSU (Brian Kelly)
- Penn State (James Franklin)
- Florida (Billy Napier)
- Arkansas (Sam Pittman)
- UCLA (DeShaun Foster)
- Oklahoma State (Mike Gundy)
- Virginia Tech (Brent Pry)
- Stanford (Troy Taylor)**
- Oregon State (Trent Bray)
- Colorado State (Jay Norvell)
- UAB (Trent Dilfer)
- Kent State (Kenni Burns)**
** Offseason firing
This story was originally published October 27, 2025 at 9:29 PM.
