Paul Finebaum says Dabo Swinney should leave Clemson: ‘It’s time for him to go’
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
Paul Finebaum sounded off on Dabo Swinney after Clemson fell to Syracuse in Week 4, taking particular umbrage with comments that the longtime Tigers head coach made in the lead-up to the contest.
“My advice to Dabo, and I know he doesn’t like taking advice from people like me, is to get out of there,” Finebaum said on “The Matt Barrie Show.” Be quiet, quit talking, because he has no credibility now with his fan base.”
Swinney has overseen Clemson’s rise to a national power, leading the team to four College Football Playoff national championship games — winning in the 2016 and 2018 seasons.
But the shine’s worn off in recent years. Sure, the Tigers won the ACC and returned to the Playoff in 2024. But that was a season that featured losses to Georgia, Louisville, and rival South Carolina. They then fell to Texas in the first round.
They’re now 1-3 and off to their worst start of the Swinney era.
“He’s become a meme. He’s become a, for a really good coach, and I do believe he’s a really good coach, he’s become somewhat of a laughingstock every time he opens his mouth,” Finebaum said. “And it’s time for him to do one of two things. It’s either consider another school, and I think he is hirable if he quits talking, or just move, get away from football, and become a TV guy.
” …Sometimes it’s very difficult to get it back when you’ve lost it. He lost it, he got it back. Now he’s lost it again, and he’s lost it badly, and it’s time for him to go.”
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
