Clemson’s rough night against LSU has already turned into a much bigger conversation about the future of Dabo Swinney. After the Tigers were blasted 51-20 in Saturday night’s primetime game on ABC, the questions around the program got louder, and CBS Sports said Swinney’s future is officially “in doubt.”
Swinney didn’t soften the blow afterward.
“We got our (butts) kicked,” Swinney said. “We gotta go win next week.
It’s an embarrassing performance, coaching and playing. We’re going to have to own that.
We can’t let that lead to another loss.”
That kind of result only adds to the frustration around a program that, by CBS Sports’ telling, has gone more than five years without putting a legitimate national title contender on the field. The outlet also wrote, “Swinney looks out-matched and unable to succeed in this current era of college football.
The glory days of Clemson football, which included two national championship wins over Alabama, feel like a lifetime ago. Worse, the path back to that level of success feels impossible now under Swinney,” and pointed to his hiring of Chad Morris as offensive coordinator as “the ultimate double-down move from Dabo, the defiance that prevents him from evolving as other top coaches have to succeed in the NIL and transfer portal era.”
If Clemson ever does move on, three names stand out as possible replacements.
Tony Elliott is the first. The former Clemson offensive coordinator is now at Virginia, where he has steadily rebuilt the Cavaliers after rough starts.
Virginia won just three games in both 2022 and 2023, then improved to five wins in 2024 before breaking out in 2025 with an 11-3 season and a Gator Bowl win. At 46, Elliott has Virginia looking like an ACC frontrunner and College Football Playoff contender in 2026, which could make him a difficult coach to pry away if the momentum keeps building.
Rhett Lashlee is another strong candidate. The SMU coach has already guided the Mustangs to the College Football Playoff in 2024, when they went 11-3, and he now has two 11-win seasons on his résumé. Lashlee is 38-16 as a head coach and has ACC experience, which only strengthens his appeal if Clemson decides it needs a new direction.
Then there’s Kalen DeBoer. The Alabama coach has long been tied to Swinney’s name because of Swinney’s connection to the Crimson Tide, though the obvious twist here is that DeBoer could be the one available.
If he falls short in Tuscaloosa and gets let go, he would fit as a replacement at Clemson. Stewart Mandel even floated a wild scenario: “Lane Kiffin leaves LSU after nine games for Alabama, which fires Kalen DeBoer after eight games.
DeBoer then goes to Clemson to take over for Dabo Swinney after he gets too distraught over tampering to continue,” Mandel predicted.
It’s a long shot, but after a loss like this, even long shots start getting attention.
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