How Virginia Tech's Hiring of James Franklin Affects Clemson, Dabo Swinney

For the second season in a row, the ACC has brought in a big-name head coach to help strengthen a team, and the Clemson Tigers will see that immediately.

On Monday, the Virginia Tech Hokies signed former Penn State head coach James Franklin to be the next coach of their program, taking over for former coach Brent Pry, who was fired in the middle of the season.

The ACC picked up another championship-level head coach, with Franklin leading the Nittany Lions to a College Football Playoff semifinal appearance in the Fiesta Bowl before losing to Notre Dame in a highly contested game. He will join multiple-time Super Bowl-winning head coach Bill Belichick as the next big face to lead a team in the conference.

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney is the last ACC coach to pick up hardware in both the ACC Championship and National Championship in the conference, and shared his thoughts on the hiring, spending time with Franklin every year.

“I mean, he’s a winner. I mean, he’s won everywhere he’s been. He’s a good football coach,” Swinney said on Tuesday. “I’ve known James for a long time, have a good relationship with him, certainly be great for our league, and I think it’s a great fit.”

It won’t be long before the two head coaches will be on the field together, having a home-and-home matchup over the next two seasons. Franklin and the Hokies will travel to Death Valley for the first leg of the matchup in 2026, followed by Swinney and his Tigers going to Blacksburg, Virginia, in 2027 for two potential heavyweight fights in the ACC, if both teams play their cards right.

Swinney thinks that Virginia Tech made a great pickup with its new head coach.

“You know, similar recruiting footprint as far as what he’s been a part of for a long time, and I’m happy for he and Fumi, his wife,” the Clemson head coach said. “I mean, they’re, again, I’ve spent a week with him every February for 15 years, you know, so I’ve known him a long time, but he’s a winner. I mean, I know people, you know, he hadn’t won the championship, he was a play away last year from being in the national championship, but he’s a proven football coach, and I think they made a great hire.”

Clemson has won the last seven games against Virginia Tech, dating back to 2011. In fact, the Hokies have never beaten Swinney since he became head coach at Clemson.

However, with a winner in Franklin, as well as being a strong recruiter, the former Penn State head coach will give Swinney and run for his money with that statistic, with the Tigers seeing the new-look Hokie team immediately next season.

In his head coaching career, the 53-year-old has a record of 128-60 with one College Football Playoff appearance.

Swinney is excited to see more ACC teams grow to be more competitive in seasons to come, and with the first domino falling in the coaching carousel, there could be more coming that could affect Clemson in terms of what its opponents will look like next season.

“I think he’ll do a great job,” he said. “Again, great for the league, great for Virginia Tech, and, you know, good for the kids that he’ll have the opportunity to coach.”