Paul Finebaum Puts Clemson Football Fans on Blast

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The Clemson Tigers fan base suffered during the 2025 campaign, with many fans even turning on head coach Dabo Swinney amid a 7-6 season.

ESPN college football analyst Paul Finebaum has been a loud critic of Swinney's for several years, believing the two-time national championship-winning head coach is still stuck nearly a decade in the past when players weren't being paid or leaving in the transfer portal.

During the SEC Media Days this week in Tampa, Florida, Brooks Austin asked Finebaum who the most annoying fan base was to deal with in the country. Finebaum named Clemson as the worst, calling them "absurd."

"Clemson fans really are just absurd because they think they're relevant," Finebaum said. "And I get asked a couple times a year 'What do you think about Dabo Swinney or not?'

"My answer is the same, and they all start tweeting, 'Oh man, Dabo Swinney living rent-free,' and Dabo Swinney's not living rent-free in any… I mean, Shane Beamer's beating this guy. Yeah, so they're one."

Finebaum also added Michigan fans and Alabama fans to his list, so Clemson is in good company.

During a recent appearance on ESPN's "Get Up", Finebaum went into greater detail about what he meant by Clemson and Swinney living in the past.

“I am getting so, just exasperated, listening to Dabo tell us how great he used to be. They’re not great anymore. You don’t hear [Tom] Brady talking about his Super Bowls or LeBron [James] or any of the greats," Finebaum said. 

"Dabo is just stuck on stupid right now, trying to convince us that his program is still legitimate; it’s not. It’s slipping and sliding away. It’s good; maybe they’ll win nine games this year, maybe they won’t, but they lost six games last year with the Heisman favorite. That is downright embarrassing.”

In fairness to many Clemson fans, many are frustrated with the direction Swinney has taken in the past few years. Whether their voices are loud enough to spur any action on behalf of the athletic department or in the coaching office remains to be seen.

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