The call came from Spartanburg, S.C., where a Clemson fan named Tyler was ready to speak his mind.
Clemson coach Dabo Swinney’s team is 2-4 in the ACC — a stunning fall for a program that lost a total of nine league games in the previous 11 seasons — and Tyler called the coach’s weekly radio show ready to rumble.
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Tyler from Spartanburg called Swinney out for “a lot of arrogance,” as well as Swinney’s decision to hire his “friends” and “former players” on staff and the head coach’s general stubbornness. What he really wanted to know, though: “Why are we paying ya $11.5 million to go 4-4?”
Two minutes into the question, Swinney cut Tyler off, telling him he’d “listened to enough of you” and that he didn’t know how old Tyler was, but that he didn’t really care, either. He then launched into a five-minute onslaught, blasting Tyler for being someone who “just loves(s) to destroy people with your comments,” and reminding him of Clemson’s success in the last decade: 12 consecutive 10-win seasons and two national titles after Clemson hadn’t “sniffed a national championship for 35 years.”
To answer Tyler’s question about his salary, Swinney said he is “where I am because I’ve worked my ass off.” He called Tyler’s line of thinking, “bullcrap.” Then he called Tyler a “smartass kid.”
“I don’t give a crap how much money I’m making,” Swinney said at the end of his tirade, finally coming up for air. “You ain’t gonna talk to me like I’m 12 years old. You’ve (gotta) be freakin’ kidding me.”
Clemson’s Dabo Swinney went on an epic 5-minute rant tonight after ‘Tyler, from Spartanburg’ asked him about his $11.5 million salary and 4-4 season.
“I’m not gonna sit here and let you, I don’t care how much money I make. You’re not gonna talk to me like I’m 12-years old..” pic.twitter.com/XvjhZDUd2m
— Trey Wallace (@TreyWallace_) October 31, 2023
Tyler’s question was personal in tone and worded in a way that suggested Swinney is no longer fit to run the program. Swinney’s colorful response was actually mostly fair — the future Hall of Famer took Clemson to the Playoff in six consecutive seasons and has won 79.3 percent of his games as a head coach. He completely transformed the program.
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All of that is undeniable. Still, he should show more restraint and refrain from sparring with his own fans.
Whether he simply lost his cool in the moment or pounced on an opportunity to unleash a pre-planned performance to get his team’s attention ahead of a date with Notre Dame on Saturday (a definite possibility we can’t rule out), Monday night was a sign that the Tigers head coach isn’t dealing with adversity well.
“You can apply for the job,” Swinney said to Tyler at one point, as the two traded haymakers. “And good luck to you.”
Swinney, 53, isn’t used to lackluster results. College football fans questioned why he was hired after his stint as the interim head coach in 2008, considering he’d never been a coordinator before, but he quieted the critics by leading Clemson to the ACC Championship Game in Year 1. The 2010 season is still the only losing record (6-7) on his resume. Starting in 2011, the Tigers ripped off a 12-year run of winning at least 10 games per season as he built a juggernaut and recruited at the highest level in program history.
Swinney is inbounds to call out fans for a lack of appreciation, given the state of the program when he took over. But he also has to know that after Monday night the spotlight is about to get even brighter. At best, his exchange with Tyler fired up his players and showed them that he has their back. We can’t criticize college football coaches for boring coachspeak and a lack of transparency and then blast Swinney for his honesty. But at worst, Swinney came off as too emotional, on the verge of a meltdown.
Dabo Swinney has arrived.
He wishes everyone a Happy Halloween. Then asks reporters who they are dressing up as.
Phil Kornblut (@sportstalksc) answers "Tyler from Spartanburg."
Everyone, including Swinney, laughs hard. pic.twitter.com/fxX3MjkKQW
— Jon Blau (@Jon_Blau) October 31, 2023
That’s what makes this juncture of Clemson football — and how Swinney handles it — all the more fascinating.
His detractors will be waiting for his next blunder and ready to pounce. He will be criticized for his eternal optimism and insistence that Clemson is just a few plays (aka turnovers) away from having a winning record and being in the thick of the league race. Will he pop off again? Or will he tone it down?
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Regardless, this is shaping up to be one of the most intriguing months of his career.
How will he deal with the scrutiny? Will his team play tight due to the extra pressure or play free and loose since it has nothing to lose? Most importantly, will the Tigers show progress down the stretch and give Clemson fans hope that this is merely a rough patch and that the program can return to prominence?
All eyes will be on Dabo.
“I work for the Board of Trustees, the president and the AD,” Swinney said. “And if they’re tired of me leading this program, all they’ve got to do is let me know. I’ll go somewhere else — where there is an appreciation.”
(Photo: Megan Briggs / Getty Images)