Story by
Dabo Swinney Called ‘National Embarrassment’ After Outburst During Clemson-Syracuse
- Story by
- Dabo Swinney Called ‘National Embarrassment’ After Outburst During Clemson-Syracuse
Memorial Stadium was loud and impatient on Saturday as the Clemson Tigers (1-2) trailed the Syracuse Orange (2-1) 24-14 at the end of the first half.
Clemson entered the day after two devastating single-score losses: first in Week 1 to the LSU Tigers (17-10), then an upset at the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (24-21) on Sept. 13. The Tigers defeated the Troy Trojans 27-16 in Week 2, but failed to cover the 30.5-point spread .
Advertisement
Early in the second quarter on Saturday, Tigers coach Dabo Swinney was seen arguing with an official from the sideline, visibly fuming. Shortly after, NFL draft analyst Anthony Russo reshared the blow-up on X while sharply criticizing Swinney.
"Dabo Swinney has become a national embarrassment. Lectured everyone on how he didn't need the portal. How he's been a winner. Now he's the biggest loser in college football. ... Firing him has to be on the table for Clemson," Russo said.
Russo wasn't the only one quick to criticize Swinney.
Advertisement
"FIRE DABO SWINNEY AND EVERYONE ELSE," said one user .
"Dabo, this isn't even funny anymore. This is the most disappointing team in recent memory," College Football Report commented .
"Can't wait for Dabo to blame the fans in his next press conf," another fan remarked .
"Dabo swinney getting outcoached by Fran brown after talking [expletive] in the media All week is diabolical," said one other commenter .
"Dabo Swinney told me to 'tune in' for simply questioning if his team would be able to stop the run ahead of the LSU opener. Well, maybe he'd prefer we all stop watching," replied Connor O'Gara , senior columnist for Saturday Down South.
Advertisement
"Dabo Swinney if it wasn't for Deshaun Watson and Trevor Lawrence ," another fan commented , attaching a video of a McDonald's employee wrapping up burgers.
Swinney publicly framed Clemson's transfer portal approach in April as prioritizing development and "stability" over a heavy portal shopping strategy, saying the program avoids "the chaos" of trying to outbid other schools and prefers to develop high-school recruits.
Advertisement
"We're just sitting back and watching, watching it all around us," Swinney told ESPN . "It's a crazy time, although I'm not sure a lot of people in our sport should be surprised. I'm just glad we're not a part of it."
That stance, repeated in interviews and press events since, is central to why this rough start has drawn extra scrutiny.
Clemson Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney prepares to run on the field with his team before a game against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.© Brett Davis-Imagn Images
Clemson ranked 83rd in the nation in 247 Sports' 2025 Transfer Portal Football Team Rankings , with just four commits this offseason. In comparison, LSU, their Week 1 foe, led the country with 18 commits, including 12 four-star recruits.
Advertisement
After limited action in the transfer portal, signaling contentment with the players he has, Swinney's Tigers have struggled to generate offense through the first three weeks of the season and are now on the verge of dropping to 1-3.
The last time Swinney had a losing season was 2010; Clemson finished 6-7 .
Related: Joel Klatt Bluntly Calls Out SEC Officials After Controversial Week 3 Game
Related: Deion Sanders Proudly Reacts to Girlfriend Karrueche Tran's Honor
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Sep 20, 2025, where it first appeared in the College section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
