What Clemson AD Graham Neff said about Dabo Swinney's future
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Clemson football athletic director Graham Neff is showing support to coach Dabo Swinney despite the Tigers having their second-worst season in his 17 seasons.
“Coach’s ability just to connect with our players and to continue to lead and be an incredible leader and developer of men in college football going forward is unmatched, without question, and just an incredible fit here at Clemson,” said Neff, who made his first formal media availability this season on Dec. 9 during Pinstripe Bowl press conference.
“That’s been shown for two decades that coach has been at Clemson, and I expect that to continue for many, many years ahead.”
Clemson (7-5) lost its most games under Swinney since 2010 and finished with a losing record at home for the first time since 1998, despite the Tigers entering 2025 as ACC favorites and a national championship contender. Clemson returned the most production of any Division I program this season, including quarterback Cade Klubnik, but the Tigers fell short of both after starting the season 1-3.
Other college programs fired their respective coaches after poor starts, including Power Four programs like Virginia Tech, Florida, LSU and Penn State. However, Neff did not waver from Swinney, who has won two national championships and nine ACC titles in his Clemson tenure.
Clemson avoided complete disaster, reaching bowl eligibility for the 21st year in a row after ending the season on a four-game win streak. The Tigers will face Penn State (6-6) in the Pinstripe Bowl on Dec. 27 (noon ET, ABC) at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York.
“Without question, (I) had continued in full confidence in his ability to lead us throughout the rest of the season, which we’ve shown winning the state championship and the winning streak, here to the end leading to New York, let alone the excitement and eagerness for the path ahead,” Neff said.
Still, Clemson will play in a non-CFP bowl for the fourth time in five seasons after making the CFP from 2015-20.
With the down season, Swinney is expected to make staff changes in the offseason, similar to what he did after his worst-coaching season in 2010 when Clemson finished 6-7, and be active in the transfer portal to have a better 2026.
Derrian Carter covers Clemson athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at DCarter@usatodayco.com and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DerrianCarter00
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Clemson AD Graham Neff backs Dabo Swinney despite poor 2025 season
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