This Week in Coaching: Dabo Swinney is right that 'nothing is wrong' with Clemson; Troy rewards Jon Sumrall

Clemson has missed the College Football Playoff two years in a row and lost three games last season for the first time since 2014, but Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney recently pushed back on any narrative that his program is slipping as he enters Year 16.

In an exclusive interview with ESPN, Swinney said, “People, they need stories and it’s a story if Clemson went to six playoffs in a row and then didn’t make it. What’s wrong with them? There’s nothing wrong with Clemson. There’s nothing wrong with our program. In fact, I would argue, honestly, our program has never been better.”

When pressed for why he feels that way, Dabo Swinney responded, “Our people, the kids on this roster, the talent, our coaches, our support staff, our administration, our infrastructure, our connectivity. I’m better now than I’ve ever been as a head coach. It’s not even close, where I am now to where I was in ’13, when we won our first BCS game. Never been better.”

Hmm. 

Objectively, I can think of two years when Clemson was absolutely better. How about 2016 and 2018 when the Tigers hoisted the National Championship Trophy?

But ignore Swinney’s hyperbole. His overarching sentiment that “there’s nothing wrong with Clemson” is mostly right. 

The Tigers just won the ACC Championship for the seventh time in eight years. They have 12 straight double-digit win seasons. 

In comparison to the rest of college football, the Tigers remain of the preeminent programs in the country. 

But this isn’t ‘little Ole’ Clemson’ anymore. 

After six straight seasons making the CFP, the recent regression was seen as a failure by many Tigers fans. The mood around the program really soured last fall when they lost to South Carolina for the first time in eight years and then got blown out by Tennessee in the Orange Bowl.  

“We weren’t good enough in 21 to go to the Final Four, and there’s no crime in that,” Swinney explained. “Then we come back this year and win our league for the eighth time in 11 years. The more success you have, the more you have to really work to keep perspective because people lose their minds. It’s not that you’re ducking a question or hiding. Sometimes you’re just not good enough.”

Swinney’s “not good enough” line is actually why “there’s nothing wrong with Clemson” in advance of the 2023 season. Because Dabo Swinney went out and addressed what was wrong with his team the last few seasons. 

The veteran head coach admitted that the loss to the Vols was a wake-up call for change. He remains adamant that promoting Brandon Streeter to offensive coordinator before the 2022 season was still the right call, but after another inconsistent season offensively, Clemson needed a fresh voice in the building. 

The Tigers’ stale offensive scheme and staff had slowly become the program’s potential fatal flaw, but Swinney proved he was serious about solving the problem by going outside the Tigers’ family tree and hiring Garrett Riley as his new OC. 

The move was perhaps the splashiest hire of the entire offseason coaching carousel, plucking the reigning Broyles Award winner away from TCU to give Clemson a much-needed reset. 

The Tigers still don’t have their typical room full of 1st Round receivers, and Swinney’s refusal to use the transfer portal to plug some holes along the offensive line remains a program flaw, but the other pieces are in place for the Tigers to potentially return to the CFP this year if Riley connects right with sophomore quarterback Cade Klubnik. 

Dabo Swinney is on record already this spring being encouraged with the early returns of Riley leading a new-look offense if it clicks this fall? Then the Tigers’ alleged demise really will look premature.  

Florida State stands as Clemson’s biggest competition in the ACC this fall, but the Seminoles must travel to Death Valley in Week 4 and the Tigers get Notre Dame and UNC at home, too. 

“This is a team that will have a chance, and that’s all you can ask for,” Swinney told ESPN. 

“I don’t judge our teams by championships. I’ve never done that. That’s a miserable way to go about your life. For me, it’s more about who are they? What’s the commitment? What’s the chemistry? What’s our leadership? I loved last year’s team. We won the league. We got better, but we didn’t quite get where we wanted to go. We’ve worked hard, and I do think this team this year will have shot.”

TROY HANDS JON SUMRALL A CONTRACT EXTENSION

After leading Troy to a 12-2 season and a Sun Belt Championship in Year 1, Jon Sumrall is on the fast-track to become a Power 5 head coach — probably in the SEC. But for now, the former Kentucky co-defensive coordinator remains the head coach of the Trojans and was recently rewarded for his impressive debut season. 

Sumrall agreed to a new four-year contract that runs through 2026, but the school didn’t announce the details so it’s unclear if or how his buyout might’ve changed. 

The Trojans were among the best defensive teams in college football in 2022 and were outstanding in close games with a 7-1 record in one-score affairs.