Clemson Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney. Ken Ruinard - Imagn Images

Dabo Swinney seems triggered when reacting to criticism after Clemson's ugly loss

By Andrew Kulha | Last updated Sep 3, 2024 10:10 PM ET

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney has heard the criticism before.

Sure, it wasn't all that loud or even existent when he had the Tigers on top of the college football world, but times have changed.

After a run that saw Clemson make the College Football Playoff in four out of five seasons — winning national championships in 2016 and 2018 — Clemson hasn't been back to the CFP since.

That's still a legendary run, and Swinney has put together three double-digit win seasons since then. But the Tigers were only 9-4 last season and they started 2024 by looking completely outmatched by No. 1 Georgia.

The Tigers came into the matchup ranked No. 14, but they didn't even look like a Top 25 program against the dominant Bulldogs, as they lost 34-3.

Swinney has justifiably faced criticism since the loss, but whether it's good press or bad press, one gets the sense that it's all the same to him.

“Y’all gonna write cr-p, y’all gonna write terrible stuff...and when we do great, y’all gonna write great stuff. That’s OK," Swinney said at a news conference on Tuesday, according to Fox Carolina's Carmine Gemei.

"Everybody's got jobs to do. I don't take it personal. I don't read it or listen to it," he continued. "This doesn't affect me. I love my job, I love what I do. I love all of it. Y'all can't change that. Nothing you write, nothing you say can change that."

For someone who says he doesn't take any bad press personally, or even listen to it, Swinney sure does seem triggered during the news conference. Why is he getting all steamed up with reporters if he doesn't pay attention to anything they say or write? How would he even know there has been criticism if he's not paying attention?

The truth of the matter is that Swinney is absolutely under pressure at Clemson. He may not want to admit it, but these are the high standards that he set himself, and the Tigers were far from living up to them this past weekend against Georgia.

Ultimately, Swinney wants this to be a lesson for his team on handling both success and failure.

"You're going to have both in life, and that's a great part of what football teaches," he said.

Andrew Kulha

Andrew Kulha is probably the only sports writer you know who also doubles as a mortician. Spooky! @KulhaSports

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