Stephen A. Smith Calls Out Swinney For Failure to Adapt to New CFB Landscape

As the Clemson Tigers enter Week Four at 1-2, many fans and media members are critiquing and criticizing them for this season’s struggles.

However, ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith took a different approach to Clemson’s issues and didn’t hesitate to share his opinions on head coach Dabo Swinney and his operation of the program.

“Here’s the reality. [Dabo Swinney] has made a lot of noise about how times have changed and how he’s reluctant to adapt to that,” Smith said. “Yeah, the transfer portal and NIL and stuff like that, that’s something that they’ve had to ingratiate themselves – but they’ve been one of the last ones to the party, and even then, they do it begrudgingly. They don’t want to do it, they don’t like it. He’s one of the most outspoken individuals on that.”

It’s no secret that Swinney and company aren’t the biggest fans of the new landscape of college athletics. For example, Clemson brought in zero transfer additions during the 2023-24 portal cycle, illustrating Swinney’s opposition to the era of NIL and the transfer portal.

Although he believes Swinney may be navigating this new, unprecedented world in the wrong manner, Smith still admires the Clemson head coach and everything he has accomplished during his time with the Tigers.

“I think Dabo Swinney is a phenomenal coach and a great guy to be around. I have been down there, I have spoken to his football team, I have been on campus, we have done a ‘First Take’ on the campus, I love him, and I love their program. And it’s something sensational to behold,” Smith said.

Smith then slightly shifted gears and continued by explaining more on-the-field problems, expressing his discontent with quarterback Cade Klubnik’s lackluster performance thus far.

“But Trevor Lawrence isn’t there anymore. Deshaun Watson isn’t there anymore. This cat, [Cade] Klubnik, is not what he was prescribed to be – him and Arch Manning, okay? Three touchdowns, three interceptions, 59% completion [percentage] on the season, a 1-2 start… he has underperformed,” Smith said. “That is a fact.”

“And if you are a guy like Dabo Swinney, who has made so much noise, and you don’t go out there in the age of NIL and the transfer portal with all that your program has to offer, and with all that you have to offer as coach because of your great personality and your great coaching acumen… you’ve won two national championships, you’ve went to (four) national championships… how in God’s name has this happened?”

Swinney is in his 18th season at the helm as the program’s all-time winningest head coach, and the first head coach to ever lead the Tigers to multiple national championships. He stands as the all-time winningest head coach in ACC history, and also ranks seventh in FBS history for the most wins through the first 20 seasons of a head coaching career (181).

Clemson produced its 13th 10-win season in 14 years and its eighth ACC title in a 10-year span in 2024, which included a dramatic walk-off field goal to defeat SMU in the ACC championship game. The victory propelled the Tigers to their seventh College Football Playoff berth, which marks second all-time.

Evidently, Swinney has been one of the cornerstones of Clemson football during his nearly two-decade tenure with the Tigers. He has had considerable success in his 17 years at Clemson, but ever since the transfer portal and NIL have risen to prominence, it seems like Swinney’s squad hasn’t displayed the same dominance as they showed with stars like Lawrence and Watson.

Smith wrapped up by pointing out that although Swinney may have accumulated an unprecedented amount of accomplishments, fans still hold high expectations and aspire to witness greatness on the field.

And so far this season, Clemson hasn’t lived up to the standard that Tiger fans expect to see, which Smith attributes to one reason in particular.

“People are looking at it from that standpoint, saying, ‘We have expectations for Dabo.’ Dabo is not meeting them because Dabo is against a system.”