After LSU exposed the Tigers in Week 1, Miami did it again, crushing Dabo Swinney’s team 41-13 behind Mario Cristobal. Now the criticism has shifted directly toward Swinney and his future. NFL Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe appears displeased with how Dabo Swinney has handled the Clemson Tigers in the NIL era.
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“Dabo has let has let his pride get in the way,” he said.
Sharpe pointed to Swinney’s reluctance to embrace the transfer portal and his struggles with the changing NIL landscape, suggesting that his old-school approach has become a major problem for the Tigers in recent years.
“Dabo said…when the players get started getting paid, it be time. Hey, he’s packing it up. It’s time to go…… You ain’t gone. You need to be gone cuz I don’t know. When you fall off, like Clemson is falling off. I don’t know how you get it back,” said Sharpe on Nightcap.
These comments came after the Miami Hurricanes completely dismantled the Clemson Tigers, defeating them 41-13 and leaving nearly a 30-point gap between the two teams.
Dabo Swinney’s Clemson Tigers were once a dominant and unquestioned force in ACC football, winning eight conference titles between 2015 and 2024, along with two national championships in 2016 and 2018.
However, when the transfer portal and NIL era arrived, everything changed for the team. While other big-name programs quickly embraced the new reality of college football, Dabo Swinney remained committed to his traditional approach.
Miami, on the other hand, capitalized on this new era, making sure to poach as much high-value talent as possible. There are few teams that have been as aggressive as the Miami Hurricanes in the transfer portal and NIL space.
Since taking over in 2021, Mario Cristobal has built Miami into a transfer-portal powerhouse, landing top-10 portal classes in four straight years.
Meanwhile, Dabo Swinney has never fully capitalized on it over the years. He has famously been one of the longest holdouts against the transfer portal, refusing to use it altogether early on and remaining slow to fully embrace it.
Back in 2022, before the season started, Swinney made a rather compelling statement against NIL, saying that the entire system was a mess.
“There’s no rules, no guidance, no nothing. It’s out of control. It’s not sustainable. It’s an absolute mess and a train wreck, and the kids are going to be the ones who suffer in the end. There are going to be a lot of kids who end up with no degrees and make decisions based on the wrong things,” said Swinney.
The traditional approach was once Swinney’s superpower, but over time, it has become his biggest weakness. College football rewards adaptability and smart roster management, yet Swinney remains reluctant to embrace that reality.
Clemson’s old-school management formula might sound good and just, but the field demands results, and Clemson simply isn’t getting them.