WHERE DO THE TIGERS GO FROM HERE
Clemson sits at 3-4, and for many around the program, it feels as though the sky has fallen. The Tigers have dropped yet another game at home, and the staggering reality is this: they haven’t notched a Power Four victory in Death Valley in over a calendar year.
So now, the pressing question looms — how does Dabo Swinney rally the troops from here?
1. Finish Strong
Let’s be honest. Clemson likely won’t be playing for anything significant the rest of the way in terms of postseason glory. The College Football Playoff is out of the question. But that doesn’t mean there’s nothing left on the table. There’s still pride, a rivalry with South Carolina, and the opportunity to close the season with a bowl win.
Weeks ago, Dabo asserted that the culture within his program remains strong. Well, that belief is about to face its most strenuous test yet. True culture isn’t measured when the wins are rolling in and the energy is high — it reveals itself when the wheels begin to wobble, and perhaps fall off.
And make no mistake: this is a low point for the Tigers.
Now, it falls on the leadership within the locker room to decide whether this team fights to give everything it has each Saturday — or fades into resignation.
Players have stepped forward in recent weeks, speaking about playing with pride, about honoring the “Clemson” across their chests. Yet those sentiments seem to have fallen flat with a frustrated fanbase — a fanbase that has grown increasingly vocal in its displeasure with what they’ve witnessed on the field.
But two things can be true at once. Fans have every right to be disappointed — even angry — with the product they’re seeing. But they must also come to terms with the fact that the answers won’t be found simply by swapping out a coach.
Clemson’s problems run deeper than that. And they’re going to require time — and uncomfortable introspection — to truly fix.
Dabo knows this. He’s seen firsthand that plugging in new coaches and shuffling the deck won’t magically cure what’s ailing the program. Staff changes have come in recent years, and still, the issues remain.
So the question becomes: Has Dabo run out of gas? Is this how it ends for a coach who built something extraordinary and is a surefire Hall of Famer when he does decide to walk away? Id bet it’s not.
It’s hard to say what’s going through Swinney’s mind right now. But one thing is certain — if he wants to resurrect what he built, the changes required will be foundational. Not just tweaks in staffing (though those evaluations are undoubtedly happening), but a ground-up reevaluation of what Clemson football has become.
Something is broken. And the only way to fix it is to leave no stone unturned.
Dabo may still believe that the culture isn’t fractured — and maybe, in some ways, it isn’t. But he knows. Deep down, he knows something is off at Clemson.
And now, the hard part begins.