Dabo Swinney responds to media criticism surrounding Clemson Football
After falling to No. 1 Georgia 34-3 on Saturday, Clemson received an overflow of criticism. At a press conference on Tuesday, Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney responded to his critics.
“Y’all gonna write crap, y’all gonna write terrible stuff,” Swinney said to the reporters in attendance. “And when we do great, y’all gonna write great stuff. That’s OK. Everybody’s got a job to do. That’s OK.”
The loss was a disappointing start to the season for Clemson, which suffered its first four-loss season last year since 2011. After the loss, media members criticized Dabo Swinney, particularly for his refusal to heavily utilize the transfer portal.
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“It’s a complete and total failure, Greeny, and I don’t know how you can find it any other way,” Finebaum said during an appearance on Get Up. “When you look up and down college football and at the top teams, many of whom have quarterbacks who have transferred in.
“Texas does, Oregon does, so many other schools do. And for Dabo just to completely say, ‘I’m going to do it my way.’ That’s fine. But this is 2024, everything has changed and you’re living in another world, an antediluvian philosophy, and it’s costing him.”
Since the transfer portal ramped up in 2021, Swinney and Co. have failed to reach the College Football Playoff and have only won one conference title. While other teams may still be satisfied with these results, the standard is extremely high at Clemson.
Before the 2021 season, Clemson had made six straight CFP appearances. Now, the Tigers aren’t even the favorite to win the ACC. Nonetheless, Swinney has stuck to his guns. This offseason, Clemson added zero transfers despite 11 of its players entering the portal.
Swinney claims he’s unaffected by the outside noise regarding his decision-making.
“This doesn’t affect me,” Swinney said. “I love my job. I love what I do. I love all of it. Y’all can’t change that. Nothing you can write, nothing you can say can change that. I love what I do. I love these kids. I love my purpose in life, and my life is on a foundation that doesn’t change. It just doesn’t and hopefully, that’s something that our kids learn as they go through moments like this.
“They can learn how to handle adversity, learn how to handle success, because you’re going to have you’re going to have both in life. And, that’s a great part of what football teaches.”