Clemson Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney was once at the top of the college football world, winning two national championships.
But in recent years, Clemson has fallen off.
The Tigers are no longer a truly elite program, competing with the likes of Ohio State, Georgia, etc. Instead, Clemson has battled for College Football Playoff contention, at the top of the ACC.
© Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images
ESPN college football analyst Paul Finebaum hasn't held back on Swinney and Clemson's struggles in recent years.
As we head into the 2026 college football season, Finebaum is taunting Clemson, accusing the program's head coach of being "stuck" in the past.
Finebaum taunts Swinney before kickoff on Sunday
“Somebody should dunk (Swinney) in that Raising Cane’s sauce because I am getting so, just exasperated listening to Dabo tell us how great he used to be,” Paul Finebaum said on Friday’s episode of Get Up, per Awful Announcing.
“They’re not great anymore. You don’t hear Brady talking about his Super Bowls or LeBron or any of the great— I mean, Dabo is just stuck on stupid right now trying to convince us that his program is still legitimate. It’s not.
“It’s slipping and sliding away. It’s good. Maybe they’ll win 9 games this year. Maybe they won’t. But they lost 6 games last year with the Heisman favorite. That is downright embarrassing.”
Clemson will open the 2026 college football season in a big way, taking on Lane Kiffin and the LSU Tigers.
Perhaps Swinney's Tigers will begin to change the narrative. A big win against LSU would go a long way toward major success this fall.
