“Absolute coaching failure”

After publishing last night's piece, I took a step back today to simply listen. Dabo Swinney met with the media for his regularly scheduled Tuesday press conference, and this time, there was no sidestepping or sugarcoating. One comment, in particular, stood out among the rest: what Swinney bluntly described as an “absolute coaching failure.”

Swinney fully embraced the fire—no deflections, no misdirection. The Clemson head coach owned the state of the program with full transparency. However, he made it equally clear that the accountability doesn’t stop at the coaches' offices.

“They're not just on scholarship anymore,” Swinney said, referring to his players. It's a line that resonates. It's also a statement many around the program have quietly believed but hadn’t often heard verbalized from the head man himself.

Swinney emphasized that player performance is ultimately a reflection of coaching—an assessment that’s difficult to argue. But at the same time, he didn’t offer his players an escape hatch. Effort, this must be non-negotiable. That goes both ways. Players must bring it, and coaches—many of whom earn substantial salaries—must demand it and ensure it's delivered.

Speaking of those salaries, Larry Williams recently posted a breakdown of Clemson football’s payroll. The figures, unsurprisingly, lit a firestorm among the fanbase. In the aftermath, I reached out overnight to a trusted source close to the Clemson program to verify the numbers. To the best of my knowledge, they are accurate.

Despite the noise, Swinney confirmed there have been no staff changes to date. At this point, I don’t expect any major moves until the conclusion of the season—barring a catastrophic collapse. And let me be clear: I am not advocating for, predicting, or endorsing any coach or staffer losing their job. That’s not my role.

Still, Swinney’s admission—that the 2025 campaign to this point has been a complete coaching failure—naturally invites the question: What does he intend to do about it?

Regardless of what Swinney tells the media now, it would be naïve to assume that every position in that building is secure. And if certain coaches weren’t giving “110%” before, it’s safe to assume they are now.