Is Dabo a Real Candidate at LSU?

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There was an article that came out in the Greenville News flirting with the idea of Dabo replacing Brian Kelly as head coach at LSU. I want to be very clear with my position on this topic. Dabo Swinney ain’t going to LSU. Let’s just cut straight to the point. The idea that Dabo would leave Clemson is a legitimately crazy one.

Dabo has been the head coach at Clemons since middle of the 2008 season, when he replaced Tommy Bowden who was fired. Since then, he has given the program its most sustained period of success. This has allowed him to bank some patience from the fanbase, boosters, and administration. Even with the downward trend of the program, the seat that Dabo has been sitting on has been relatively cool. This would not be the case at another program where he did not earn grace from the fanbase. We have already seen two schools fire coaches this year that have won a lot of football games. LSU was one of those schools. They are unlikely to have more patience with Dabo then they did with Kelly. This does not even address this week’s events with the governor discussing how ridiculous the Kelly’s buyout was. This may add another wrinkle which Dabo may not even get the terms he would want to coach at LSU.

Dabo has also behaved and acted in a way that would result in many fan bases turning on him. His comments this season that Clemson can get rid of him if they are tired of winning. He also had the infamous Tyler from Spartanburg rant. Tone deaf comments like that are not going to go over well with fan bases like LSU. More especially if you are underperforming like Dabo has the last few seasons.

Dabo’s biggest infraction is going to be his unwillingness to utilize the transfer portal. Now in fairness, one could argue that he took players in the portal this year. I would counter by saying that he only took a few players and only one of them has had any meaningful impact this season. I would further add that based on the performance of the team this year, more players should have taken in the transfer portal. This is also the first year he has taken the transfer portal seriously. I imagine a program like LSU would not have lot of patience for a coach unwilling to use every tool at his disposal to win.

This article is not meant to be critical of Dabo. It is only to highlight that Dabo has a good situation at Clemson. I imagine he knows this and does not need me to inform him. The purpose is to highlight that the idea of him leaving is nonsensical. Dabo finds himself in a situation where he is given the leeway when underperforming to turn it around. That appears to be rare in the current college football climate.

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