Nick Saban sends blunt message to Dabo Swinney amid Clemson struggles
By Jacob Moss
Published:
The Clemson Tigers haven’t had the start to their 2025 season that anybody thought they would, stumbling out of the gate to their first 1-2 start since 2014 behind a sputtering offensive attack.
The shockingly poor start has naturally led many to direct criticism and frustration towards the Tigers’ long-time head coach, Dabo Swinney, for his unwillingness to adjust to the changing landscape of the sport.
If there’s one person who knows Swinney better than just about anybody else, it’s former Alabama head coach Nick Saban. And Saturday morning on ESPN’s College GameDay, Saban extended some blunt advice to his former coaching foe.
“He created the success, very similar to the way we created a standard and an expectation at Alabama,” Saban said per ClemsonWire’s Steve Holley. “But then you’ve got to keep climbing that mountain because people expect you to live up to it. Dabo needs to look at what he needs to do in his program to make his program continually be successful. Do you have to change the portal (approach)? Do you have to change name, image, and likeness (approach)?”
One of Saban’s many strengths during his legendary career was his ability to adjust his strategy and the way he approached the game whenever it was necessary to do so to keep winning, and now he’s telling Swinney he has to do the same if he doesn’t want to be left behind.
“The game has changed, and you need to change with it,” Saban stated. “Otherwise, you’re not going to put yourself in the same position other people are in with having the chance to be successful.”
Saban isn’t the first person to tell Swinney this, and he more than likely won’t be the last either. At the end of the day, only Dabo can decide whether or not Dabo adjusts to keep winning. If he is unwilling to do so, then the Tigers might end up having to make a very difficult decision in the near future.
