Clemson Coach Dabo Swinney spent five minutes attacking a man named Tyler from Spartansburg who called into Swinney’s weekly “Tiger Calls” radio show on Monday. Here’s what you need to know:
- Swinney’s rant came after Tyler spent several minutes talking about the Tigers’ performance this year, including questioning why Clemson is paying Swinney $10.8 million “to go 4-4.”
- The 53-year-old Clemson coach told the caller that he “started out as the lowest paid coach in the damn business” and that he “wouldn’t let a smart kid pick up that phone and create this kind of thing. … I work for the board, the president and the AD and if they get tired of me running this program, all they have to do is let me know. I will go somewhere else where there will be appreciation.
- THE Tigers have already lost more games in 2023 than in any season since 2011, Swinney’s third year in Death Valley.
What do you think of this rant?
Phew. Swinney has had some epic rants in the past, but this one was Mount Rushmore worthy. Tyler responded to his question, criticizing Swinney for hiring his “friends” internally, calling the Tigers head coach “a lot of arrogance” after the 2018 national championship and directly asking Swinney: “Why are we paying you- We?” $11.5 million to go 4-4?
But after about two minutes, Swinney had enough and fired back, telling Tyler, “I’ve listened to you enough.”
In a five-minute scorched-earth tangent, Swinney said fans like Tyler were part of the problem, reminded him that Clemson hadn’t “sniffed a national championship in 35 years” before getting there and reaching his breaking point near the end of the rant when he passionately blurted out, “There’s not a thing in my life that I’ve ever failed at, TYLER.” Never. Never.’
Swinney should know better by now than to go at it with a fan, and he’ll definitely take some heat for (another) emotional reaction that quickly went viral. But… he wasn’t wrong.
Clemson did not have a 10-win season between 1991 and 2010. The Tigers then had one every year from 2011 to 2022, including six straight College Football Playoff appearances from 2015 to 2020 and two national titles.
Swinney’s supporters will rally behind him and love this outburst. His detractors will blame him for his inability to control his emotions. But his numbers were correct. And even given Clemson’s current season, it’s hard to argue with the last decade of Tigers football. — Grace Raynor, college football writer
What all Swinney said
Swinney began his response by telling the caller “I don’t care how old you are” and adding that he really doesn’t care, before going on to say that fans like the caller are “part of the issue”.
“But let me tell you something, we won 11 games last year and you’re part of the problem, to be honest with you, because that’s part of the problem,” Swinney said, later adding: It’s people like you who all you do is — the appreciation, the expectation is greater than the appreciation. And that’s the problem.
The coach reflected on his decade of success with Clemson, saying before his 12-season streak of 10-plus wins: “Clemson hasn’t sniffed a national championship in 35 years.”
“We’ve won two in seven years,” he said. “And there are only two other teams that can say that: Georgia And Alabama. ALL RIGHT? Is it a bad year? Yeah. And that’s my responsibility. I take 100 percent responsibility for this. But all this bullshit you think, all these stories you read, listen man, you can have your opinion all you want and you can apply for the job and good luck to you, okay?
After touting the success of his program, which includes recruiting the second-highest number of players and graduating 98 percent of his players, Swinney took his frustration out on the topic of appreciation while defending his decisions to hiring.
“But part of the problem is appreciation – I used to tell people that all the time. They were like, “What’s the difference at Clemson? Let me tell you. In some places there is an expectation, but at Clemson there is an appreciation. But what happened at Clemson is we won so much that even when we used to say “the fun is in winning,” now even when you win, people like you complain. And criticize the coaches. And question everything. People like you. When I hired Tony Elliott as offensive coordinator who never called a play in his life, I’m sure you were critical then. And he took us to two national championships. People like you who love to destroy people with your comments, I’m sure you’ve never made bad decisions. I’m sure you’ve lived a perfect life. I’m sure you’ve led a group of people.
“I started out as the lowest paid coach in the damn business. And I am where I am because I worked hard – every day. And I’m not going to let some smart kid use this phone and create this thing. So if that’s a problem for you, I don’t care. I work for the board, the president and the AD. And if they’re tired of me running this show, all they have to do is let me know. I will go elsewhere – where there is appreciation. It’s not just about winning, it’s about how to win.
Swinney’s tone grew increasingly agitated as his response continued, ending his rant by defending his character and his track record of success.
“Am I perfect? No. I’m far from it. And I’m a man of faith, absolutely. I’m 53 years old and there is nothing in my life – I have experienced failure several times – but there’s nothing in my life where I’ve failed, Tyler. Never. Ever. I wanted to get an education, I got two degrees. I wanted to be the first college graduate in my family. I got it did. I wanted to play football at Alabama. I got a scholarship, went for three years, worked my butt off and won a national championship. I wanted to get into coaching. I worked to become a head coach. And when I got that job and I’m sure you didn’t want me to get that job and 15 years later I’m still here and I would say the results are what they are and I respect them. So you will never need reminding. I wanted to get married. I have been married for 30 years. I wanted to be a father. I raised three excellent sons. If you don’t like not the way I run the program, don’t be a fan. I do not care. But I’m the head coach and I’m going to do what I believe is good for the long term of this program, what’s best for the players and what I think is best for the moment. If this is a problem for you, it’s not a big deal. But I’m not going to stand here and let you call. I don’t care how much money I make. You’re not going to talk to me like I’m 12. You are (must) be kidding me.
What the caller said
“I appreciate everything you said, Coach Swinney. That sounded a lot like Tommy Bowden and I’ll tell you one thing: Tommy Bowden didn’t make as much money as you did. You make $11.5 million a year. That’s the second-highest in college football, if I’m not mistaken. I’m curious why this salary led to a 4-4 (record)? And I know we’re going to talk about being just a few games away from being undefeated and all that and I know you’re a man of religion. I’m a big fan, coach. Before you categorized me as part of the 1.5 percent, I went to Clemson games and my whole family, for generations, went to Clemson games when you were in commercial real estate.
“So I’m not going to accept being part of that 1.5 percent and I respect the fact that you’re a man of faith. I’m curious if you’ve ever read Proverbs 16:18 which talks about pride before a fall. I was in the military and I was overseas for the big race and so I couldn’t watch every game, I did my best, but I always watched your press conferences just to life advice and I appreciated it all. Something changed after 2018. You’re humble, you’re hungry and everything and I always tell people, “Dude, Dabo, just listen to his press conferences.” But after that 2018 national title, something changed. And there seems to be a lot of arrogance, there was a lot of friends and family – I mean, three of the ten football coaches on the field are external, experienced recruits. All others were internal recruits who had no previous experience or were former players or friends. So I’m curious, why are we paying you $11.5 million to go 4-4?
Required reading
(Photo: Megan Briggs/Getty Images)
