Analyst explains why 2026 is so important for Dabo Swinney and Clemson

Dabo Swinney built a powerhouse as head coach of the Clemson Tigers.

From about 2010 to 2020, there was no coach in college football not named Nick Saban better than Swinney. He won two national championships and took Clemson to four.

He was also consistently one of the best recruiters in college football, and he built a program that could compete with any in the country. The Tigers were dynastic, and had it not been for Saban and the Tide and a magical run by Joe Burrow at LSU, Clemson would have been a multi-year dynasty.

And then things changed, all across college football and college sports in general.

The NIL and transfer portal ushered in the type of parity that allowed the Indiana Hoosiers to become national champions. Schools were able to basically buy their recruits and use big money to attract established talent via the transfer portal.

Swinney was still a good recruiter, but he initially was slow to adapt to the portal basically becoming a free-for-all.

Perhaps as a result, Clemson did not make it back to the CFP in the four-team era after losing to LSU in 2019, and though the Tigers were in the first rendition of the 12-team CFP, they got knocked out in the first round. They then missed it altogether in 2025 after going just 7-6.

Clemson and Coach Dabo Swinney are at a crossroads

Both Clemson and Swinney seem to be at a crossroads heading into 2026. He can right the ship and get things back on track, or perhaps another bad season will prove that he hasn't been able to adapt to this era of college football.

According to former Alabama quarterback turned college football analyst Greg McElroy, this season will tell us all we need to know about Swinney.

“This is the year where we find out just how much he’s evolved, McElroy said on ESPN's "Get Up" on Thursday (h/t On3). “Let’s be real here: Dabo has not necessarily resisted the portal, but he has prioritized building from within and making sure that he retained players, recruited players, and relied almost exclusively on high school talent."

Notably, Swinney and the Tigers brought in 11 transfer players this offseason. That's way up from four in 2025 and none in 2024, but it's still nothing compared to the national averages.