Dan Wolken Exposes Shocking Truth Behind Dabo Swinney’s Coaching Standards—Is Clemson Losing Its Edge?

Well, here we are — watching Clemson’s once-mighty roar fade into an unsettling whisper. Dabo Swinney, the architect behind one of college football’s dazzling dynasties, now finds himself tangled in a narrative he clearly didn’t script. Instead of marching shoulder-to-shoulder with legends like Nick Saban, Swinney seems to be settling for roadkill on the highway to mediocrity. Clemson’s three losses already feel like a beacon of decline, with tough games looming on the horizon — SMU, Florida State, Louisville, South Carolina — and yet, Swinney’s message is strangely complacent, even defensive. After a bruising 34-21 defeat at home to Syracuse, he questioned the very expectations that once defined his program’s identity — the College Football Playoff was no longer a given, it seemed. Critics like Yahoo Sports’ Dan Wolken haven’t held back, slicing through Swinney’s postgame rhetoric, wondering aloud why the coach who built a “Best is the Standard” legacy now appears content with “just enough.” And while Swinney remains untouchable in the Palmetto State, the clock is ticking. If he continues to overlook the seismic shifts in college football — the transfer portal frenzy, the NIL money race — Clemson might just be left behind in the dust, haunted by what once was. LEARN MORE

Things went very wrong for Clemson Tigers football coach Dabo Swinney somewhere along the way. And it’s distorting his own image of his program, and drawing scorn from media figures for his audacity.

Instead of seeing his program as comparable to Nick Saban’s legendary Alabama Crimson Tide teams of the late aughts, 2010s, and early 2020s, Swinney is accepting mediocrity. His latest postgame rant proves that fact in record time.

Clemson is at three losses already and stares down the barrel of a losing season with the SMU Mustangs, Florida State Seminoles, Louisville Cardinals, and South Carolina Gamecocks remaining on the schedule.

That’s okay with Swinney, who whined after a 34-21 home loss to the Syracuse Orange on Saturday and rhetorically asked why the Tigers have a College Football Playoff expectation every season.

Yahoo Sports’ Dan Wolken ripped Swinney for comparing himself to mid-tier college football teams after setting the expectations high with his two national championships in the 2010s.

“In his infamous press conference last week, Swinney’s defiance was not rooted in selling a plan to fix what’s broken or vowing to make the kinds of philosophical changes that would get Clemson back to where it was from 2015-2020,” Wolken wrote.

“Instead, what he offered fans was the energy of a college student who can’t stop talking about that time they were the high school valedictorian while they’re putting a whole bunch of C’s on the report card.

“It’s amazing that he refuses to acknowledge why that’s the case.

“Dabo, you created the standard. In fact, you had a catchphrase for it that’s painted all over the walls in Clemson’s building: ‘Best is the Standard.’

“Why would anybody — especially you as the head coach — expect to hold the second-best program of the 2010s to the same standard as NC State or Ole Miss? And why wouldn’t you expect it to be a source of frustration when you haven’t lived up to that standard for five years?”

Swinney is essentially untouchable in Upstate South Carolina this season. He isn’t getting fired anytime soon, and is as safe as coaches get in this sport.

However, father time comes for everyone. Especially those unwilling to adapt to change.

Swinney won’t be safe if he continues to make it clear that he doesn’t see the transfer portal as worth his time and doesn’t get a firmer grasp on NIL spending. Clemson’s contemporaries are passing them by as Swinney continues with his antiquated ways.