After spending three years in his father’s shadow, Drew Swinney decided it was time to carve out his own identity. When John Green took over as head coach of the Samford Bulldogs, he saw an opportunity to bring in Dabo Swinney’s son to help oversee the wide receivers. And true to form, Dabo didn’t hesitate. Instead of sulking, the two-time national championship coach fully supported the move and gave Drew his blessing to take the next step on his own.

“I’m happy for Drew. I know he’s my son, but he’s a stud. He’s ready,” Swinney said on Drew leaving the program.

It’s one of those rare moments when a father feels proud of seeing his son walk his own path. Drew Swinney suited up in 40 career games for Clemson from 2018 to 2022, serving as a wide receiver and the team’s primary holder on placekicks. Over that stretch, he caught 14 passes for 96 yards, averaging 6.9 yards per catch. He never found the end zone as a receiver, but he did score his lone career points on a two-point conversion run off a fake extra point in the 2022 ACC Championship Game.

Once his playing days ended, Swinney stayed with the program as a graduate assistant in 2023. His role grew quickly. In July 2024, Clemson promoted him to an on-field role as the assistant wide receivers coach and offensive player development coach. During the 2024 season, he helped Clemson become one of just six teams in the country to produce four different receivers with at least 500 receiving yards. He has put forward a significant contribution to his former program, and now he is ready to move on.

On top of that, Swinney’s support speaks volumes. He’s intentionally built a true “family” atmosphere within the Clemson football program. And he produced an environment where his sons grew up and were fully embraced.

“Our culture is family, creating a family atmosphere,” said Swinney. “So how do you do that? You don’t just say, ‘Alright, we got a family atmosphere.’ No, you’ve gotta be intentional about that. Intentional about who you hire. Do they value family? Be intentional about being inclusive — our wives, our kids, they’re here all the time.”

So with Drew Swinney moving on, the Tigers’ offense takes a hit. But in the bigger picture, it’s a relatively minor one. That departure pales in comparison to the ongoing tension between head coach Dabo Swinney and offensive coordinator Garrett Riley.

Chaos between the Clemson offensive gurus

The tension between Dabo Swinney and Garrett Riley at Clemson is rooted in a simple reality. When Riley arrived from TCU, he had a Broyles Award pedigree. So it automatically sold the pairing with Swinney as the move that would reboot Clemson’s offense and turn Cade Klubnik into a Heisman-caliber quarterback. Instead, three years in, Clemson slogged to a 7–6 season. They opened 1–3, and finished with an offense that ranked just 10th in the ACC and around 60th nationally.

It’s a brutal fall for a program that entered 2025 at No. 3 in the preseason polls. The strain deepened as Riley became a name in the coaching carousel. Reports linked him to head-coaching openings at places like North Texas and Coastal Carolina. On top of that, there was one outlet noting that he was even willing to take a pay cut to run his own program with the Chanticleers. But Tiger Illustrated reported that erroneous rumors that Swinney had already decided to fire Riley complicated those talks at Coastal.

At the same time, Clemson Insider and other local reports indicated that some players had privately said they would not return if Riley continued calling plays. It was a striking signal that the offensive malaise was affecting the locker room. The situation is further complicated by a contract that pays Riley about 1.7 million dollars annually and guarantees him 100 percent of his remaining base salary if Clemson fires him without cause.

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