Best is the standard for Clemson football. At least it used to be.
Saturday’s 24-17 loss at N.C. State, that dropped the Tigers to 4-4 and an abysmal 2-4 in ACC play, felt very much like rock bottom. Clemson is 10th in the ACC standings. Let that sink in.
Tenth.
It does not sink much lower than that.
It seems like so long ago now that the Tigers were on the podium, basking in the California sea air, celebrating their second national championship in three seasons. What seems like an eternity was less than four years ago. Time has a way of slowing down when you watch the pillars slowly decay and crumble from underneath the once proud fortress that you thought might stand forever.
Perhaps the notion that Clemson football was immune from such an epic demise was a fool’s folly. Nothing is destined to last forever, but it should have never fallen this far. The cracks in the façade were fixable. Now the temple that was the Tigers’ and Dabo Swinney’s program lie in ruins on the ground.
In many ways, Saturday’s game was a microcosm of everything that has gone wrong this season. Quarterback Cade Klubnik turned the ball over, twice. The offensive line was atrocious, again. Receivers were unable to create consistent separation. And play-calling and clock management were, well, most of you reading this watched that debacle in the final five minutes.
Clemson took possession of the ball with four and a half minutes to play, with all three timeouts in tow, and managed just over 30 yards before running out of timeouts and time. That should be nearly impossible. Yet, here we are.
Dabo Swinney has made a habit out of talking with a proverbial half-full glass. He says the right things, he exudes optimism, and he has tried to sell everyone on the fact this is a good team whose best days are ahead.
Only, nobody is buying that anymore. Nor should they. The Clemson Tigers are what they are, not a good football team. Standing at the podium somewhere inside Carter Finley Stadium, Dabo finally appeared broken. He had no more answers. He was forced to accept the cold, hard truth.
“But we’re a team that’s making too many critical mistakes, and that’s my responsibility,” he lamented. It’s just really tough to watch.”
Dabo Swinney
Yes, Coach Swinney. It is. It should not have taken this long to admit what we have all seen coming for the past three seasons. Clemson football was headed down a torn-up track, it just took a while to get there.
Somewhere along the way, those in charge must accept the blame for the shortcomings of those under them. Admitting there is a problem is the first step in fixing it.
We all get it. Coach Swinney is a man of conviction and moral principles. It is one of the qualities we all most admire about the man. It is admirable. At some point, however, when you are paid $10.5 million dollars a year to uphold a standard that you created, there must be some compromise. You are not selling your soul to win, only adapting to the change happening around you.
It is as simple as that, sadly.
I do not like NIL and the transfer portal any more than Swinney does. But I understand the necessity of embracing the former and using the latter. Neither can be ignored in today’s college football landscape with any expectation of keeping up with your peers.
And nepotism. Let us not forget that much of Clemson’s coaching staff is comprised of former Tiger players or men with deep-rooted ties to Clemson University. Dabo has neglected to look outside of the program for the best coaches at the expense of employing those he believes better fit the Clemson culture. The problem is that the culture no longer works.
Changes must be made. Swinney, I believe, realizes that now. Sometimes you must rest a bit at rock bottom before regaining the strength to climb out of the pit. Let us hope Dabo has found the courage and fortitude to do it.
“Nothing we’re doing is good enough right now,” added Swinney. “We’re not coaching good enough, especially offensively. Nobody is doing anything good enough right now. We’ve been inconsistent. We need to improve in all areas.”
Dabo Swinney
Thank you for admitting it. Now, the work can begin to fix it.
As my preacher likes to caution, please do not hear what I am not saying. I am in no way advocating for Dabo Swinney to be fired. That would be equally foolish. The man obviously did something right enough to win two national championships, make the College Football Playoff six consecutive seasons, win seven of eight ACC championships, and take this program to previously unseen heights.
I am, however, saying unequivocally that a shakedown in the hierarchy needs to happen. At this point, nothing can be done to salvage the season. Once it is over, though, there should not be an assistant coach on staff not named Garrett Riley, Wes Goodwin, or Nick Eason who should not be looking over their shoulder.
Use the transfer portal. Yes, loyalty is a good thing. Dabo wants to be loyal to his players. But are the players who leave Clemson via the portal returning that loyalty in kind? No. It is also incredibly cynical to assume that any player signed via the portal would not be loyal to the Tigers. Some people just need a fresh start and a new home. There are many players who would be thrilled for a chance to play at Clemson, and who would help the Tigers win.
The laundry list is a mile long when it comes to the shortcomings and failures of Clemson football right now. Nobody is under the illusion that the Tigers were going to be in the playoffs or win the national championship every year. There is a very valid expectation, though, that the program should remain among the upper echelon of college football.
That was the status earned by Dabo Swinney and all the great players from the past decade. The players who make up the 2023 Clemson Tigers’ football team are just as talented. But somewhere, someway, there has been a disconnect. A schism has formed, and there needs to be a seismic shift to reclose the gap.
We, as fans, are all frustrated. Most of us are angry. But as cataclysmic as it all seems right now; I am a firm believer also that it can and will get better. There are avenues back to the top of the mountain if Swinney will only heed the road signs.
Whether or not he does, or if stubborn pride and hubris continue to conflagrate the remains of his once proud program, time will tell.
Clemson’s streak of winning 10 or more games in a season will end this year at 12. Said Swinney after the N.C. State game:
“Yea man, let’s start a new one. There’s a reason why there are only three teams in football to do that. I mean, it’s hard to win. But they end somewhere, right? All streaks come to an end somewhere along the way, and you start a new streak.”
Dabo Swinney
If best really is still the standard at Clemson, Swinney will find a way to make that happen.
