Clemson's Potential Divorce With Dabo Swinney Could Get Messy

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Popcorn emojis sprinkled social media feeds last year when Lane Kiffin told Ole Miss that he was taking the head coaching job at LSU before the College Football Playoff.

Kiffin wanted an opportunity to coach the Rebels in the CFP before going full time to his new gig in Baton Rouge. Ole Miss told him that wasn't going to happen.

Things got messy, though the situation could have spiraled worse than it did. 

Clemson Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney is headed toward the hot seat after a 51-10 loss to LSU in Week 1. That opening performance came after Clemson finished with a 7-6 record with a roster that sent nine players to the first five rounds of the 2026 draft. 

During the "Josh Pate's College Football Show" on Thursday, the host argued that Swinney's comments this week make it sound like he knows the direction the program is going in, and this doesn't look good. 

Pate's not sure how a potential divorce between Clemson and Swinney would unfold, because the two-time national champion coach wouldn't volunteer to step down.

"I have no idea how that would unfold," Pate said. "I think in a perfect world, you have a mutual understanding that, all right, it's time. That's not going to happen with him. It's just not going to happen with him. 

"Like if you've never been around Dabo, all you really need to do is listen to him. Because Dabo is pretty much behind the scenes what he is on that microphone. And so like he is still fully convinced. I'm the right guy for this job. We will get this fixed. All the things that he said publicly, he'll tell you privately."

Swinney was adamant this week that Clemson's season won't go into the dumpster after one game. 

But the Tigers could be in the landfill by December. Swinney has a top 10 coaching salary, something that the program can't justify spending to finish fourth in the ACC. 

Swinney can't point to the past, but unless he's willing to make changes needed to embrace the modern era, he and the program will just be a relic.

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