Paul Finebaum isn’t buying Dabo Swinney’s defense of Clemson, and on Friday he made that crystal clear.
Swinney has spent plenty of time reminding people that his résumé speaks for itself. From 2015-2019, he guided Clemson to a 71-5 record and four trips to the national championship game, a stretch matched this century only by Nick Saban’s Alabama.
But the recent results have been far less flattering. Clemson went 7-6 last season after entering the year ranked No. 4 in the preseason AP Poll, and that followed back-to-back four-loss seasons.
That slide has put Swinney in the crosshairs of some fans and media members, even as he has pushed back by pointing to the success he’s already built. Finebaum, though, is tired of hearing that argument.
“I am getting so exasperated listening to Dabo tell us how great he used to be,” Finebaum said on “Get Up”. “They’re not great anymore.
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 nine games this year, maybe they won’t. But they lost six games last year with the Heisman favorite.
That is downright embarrassing.”
Finebaum’s criticism was blunt, and the phrase “stuck on stupid” landed with the kind of force only he can deliver. Still, the larger picture is more complicated than a simple teardown. Swinney has accomplished something very few coaches in the sport can claim, and Clemson’s recent dip doesn’t erase what came before it.
At the same time, college football has a way of changing the conversation fast. One strong regular season can put a team right back in the playoff picture, where anything can happen. So while Swinney may have less room to pound his chest than he once did, the door is far from closed if Clemson finds its old form again.
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The chance to line up with a younger brother is rare enough in college football, and Sammy Brown is already thinking about what it will mean when Max Brown arrives at Clemson in the 2027 recruiting class. The junior linebacker said he is grateful for the opportunity to share the field with Max again after doing so in high school, a family connection that adds another layer to a program that has already become central to both brothers football lives.
Sammy also made clear that Max will have to carve out his own path once he gets to Clemson, rather than simply living in his older brothers shadow. For now, Sammys attention stays on the Tigers 2026 season, with any NFL Draft decision something he plans to sort out after the year, but the idea of another Brown in the locker room is already giving Clemson fans something to watch down the road. [Read more 🡒]
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The talk around Clemson and Dabo Swinney has only grown louder whenever the Tigers hit a rough patch, but one former Tiger who now works for ACC Network is pushing back on the idea that the program is slipping. Eric Mac Lain points to the kind of roster Clemson still has assembled, from elite talent at receiver to offensive line help when healthy, and he frames the Tigers as a team that remains built to contend rather than one fading into the background.
The bigger reason the debate is likely to linger is what Clemson has lined up next, starting with a trip to Baton Rouge for an early measuring-stick game against LSU. The Tigers also enter 2026 with major staff continuity and change working at the same time, including Chad Morris back on offense and an expected Year 2 jump on defense under Tom Allen, which should make the next step in the programs arc a lot clearer once the season gets rolling. [Read more 🡒]