Dabo Swinney after 1-3 Clemson start: ‘I give this place the very best I’ve got’
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Dabo Swinney called Saturday a “very, very low day.”
Swinney’s Clemson program suffered a 34-21 loss to unranked Syracuse at home that dropped the Tigers to 1-3 on the season. The start is Clemson’s worst to begin a season since 2004 — 5 years before Swinney took over as head coach. The 13-point margin was also the largest home defeat to an unranked opponent since 2001.
In the span of 4 weeks, the Tigers have gone from a preseason No. 4 ranking to outside the College Football Playoff entirely.
Clemson could still presumably earn a spot in the CFP if it wins the ACC again, but a 0-2 record to begin league play puts Clemson entirely at the mercy of the rest of the conference. Multiple 3-loss SEC teams were excluded from the 12-team field a year ago, and it seems unlikely a 3-loss ACC team would earn an at-large berth.
Emotions are high in Clemson right now. And Swinney was feeling that pain in the immediate aftermath of the game. He was caught on camera crying during the postgame playing of the alma mater.
Asked about that moment after the game, Swinney said he hurts for the fanbase and the school.
“I mean, I’m human. I’m not a cyborg. This is my life, man. I’ve been here 23 years. I love this place,” Swinney said. “I mean, I give this place the very best I’ve got every single day. There’s never been a day I haven’t given Clemson every ounce of everything I have. So I’m hurt.
“I invested my life here. And when I don’t get the job done, I’m responsible and I feel the pain. And it’s not just my pain, I feel everybody’s pain. But that comes with my job. I don’t run from that at all.”
Clemson has trailed by at least 7 points in all of its games this season. That puts the preseason ACC title favorite in a class of dismay alongside UCLA and Virginia Tech — two programs that have already fired their head coaches.
Earlier this week, Dabo Swinney made headlines when he suggested that he would leave and coach elsewhere “if Clemson’s tired of winning.” Clemson is now 2-6 in its last 8 games dating back to last season.
“I’ve been in these situations many times,” Swinney said Saturday night. “I’ve had a lot of great days and this is a very, very low day. But I also know that we’ll get through it and there will be a lot more great days.”
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
