Where Shane Beamer, Dabo Swinney stand in CBS Sports’ 2026 hot seat rankings

Both of South Carolina’s top college football coaches are feeling more heat entering the 2026 season. CBS Sports’ annual hot seat rankings put Gamecocks coach Shane Beamer and Clemson coach Dabo Swinney in significantly warmer categories than a year ago.

Here are key takeaways:

• Shane Beamer received a hot seat rating of 4.3 out of 5 entering the 2026 season, placing him in the “start improving now” category — the fourth-highest mark among 138 coaches and the only SEC coach in the Top 10, CBS Sports said in its yearly rankings.
• Dabo Swinney jumped three categories to the “pressure is mounting” grouping after his average ranking rose from 0.22 to 3.1 out of 5 among 10 CBS Sports voters.
• Beamer’s rating is a sharp reversal from last year’s 1.1 “safe and secure” mark, following a 4-8 finish in 2025 after South Carolina’s 9-4 season in 2024. In five years, Beamer has compiled a 33-30 record, including two seasons with no bowl games.
• Swinney’s 7-6 finish was his worst record since going 6-7 in 2010, with Clemson going 4-4 in the ACC and posting its first losing home record since 1998 after entering the year ranked preseason No. 4.
• CBS Sports’ Shehan Jeyarajah noted that retaining quarterback LaNorris Sellers and defensive end Dylan Stewart helps the Gamecocks, but said South Carolina is “the biggest losers of the new nine-game SEC schedule,” making the road ahead especially difficult.
• At 187-53, Swinney remains the winningest coach in Clemson and ACC history with two national titles, and athletic director Graham Neff expressed “full confidence” in his leadership in December, saying he expects that to continue “for many, many years ahead.”

The summary points above were compiled with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists. The source reporting referenced above was written and edited entirely by journalists.