Paul Finebaum questions Dabo Swinney’s relevance ahead of 2026 season
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Paul Finebaum was back at it earlier this week hammering away at Dabo Swinney in the aftermath of the Clemson head coach’s appearance at ACC Kickoff last Thursday in Charlotte.
Just a few days after an appearance on ESPN’s Get Up when he said that “Dabo is just stuck on stupid right now trying to convince us that his program is still legitimate,” the network’s longtime college football analyst spoke with The State at SEC Media Days on Monday about Swinney.
This time though, Finebaum took aim at Swinney’s relevance as the 2026 season approaches, especially after last year’s 7-6 flop to go with the fact that Swinney has lost at least 3 games in every season since 2021. Finebaum blended his bashing of Swinney with The State‘s question posed to him about which head coach in the state of South Carolina is facing more pressure this season — is it Swinney or is it South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer, who met with reporters on Tuesday at SEC Media Days in Tampa.
“I think Dabo should have more pressure because at least Beamer’s shown some signs of life lately,” Finebaum told The State on Monday. “The only time Dabo is relevant is when he’s talking about the past, and that’s all he does.”
The past has been pretty kind to Swinney, who led Clemson to national titles in 2016 and 2018. Swinney also has 9 ACC championships to show for his tenure at Clemson, which began in 2009. But Finebaum’s point was that those accolades were firmly in the past, and that Swinney talks about the past like it’s the present.
Of course, Beamer has his own work cut out for him in 2026, trying to revive South Carolina after a very disappointing 4-8 campaign in 2025.
Swinney and Beamer will both be battling for state bragging rights yet again in 2026 but also for relevancy in the College Football Playoff discussion. Here is what the Kalshi market is currently saying about the odds for South Carolina, Clemson and the rest of the sport’s powerhouses as they pursue Playoff spots in December:
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
