Paul Finebaum Believes Dabo Swinney 'Looks Bad' in Clemson-Ole Miss Football Feud

Swinney took the podium last week for a tell-all on tampering allegations surrounding Ole Miss, Finebaum now reveals his stance.

Nov 29, 2025; Columbia, South Carolina, USA; Clemson Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney makes his case during a review of a an interception against the South Carolina Gamecocks in the third quarter at Williams-Brice Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Blake-Imagn Images | Jeff Blake-Imagn Images

Clemson Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney took the college football landscape by storm last Friday after taking the podium and accusing the Ole Miss Rebels of "blatant tampering" for linebacker Luke Ferrelli.

Swinney walked reporters through the situation where Ferrelli initially departed the Cal Bears for the NCAA Transfer Portal and signed with Clemson, but then elected to to re-enter the free agent market to sign with Ole Miss.

“There’s tampering, and then there’s blatant tampering,” Swinney said. “Tampering 101 is when you’re talking to kids who aren’t in the portal. Tampering 201 is when you’ve already negotiated the deal with the kids not in the portal.

“Tampering 301 is when you’ve got a kid who’s going in the portal to sign somewhere, move there, going to classes and you’re texting them while they’re in class. That’s like a whole ‘nother level of tampering.”

Now, SEC Network's Paul Finebaum has weighed in on the situation where Swinney has accused Ole Miss and head coach Pete Golding of "blatant tampering" for the coveted linebacker.

Courtesy of Ole Miss Rebels Football.

“There’s Dabo Swinney, who just does the wrong thing at the wrong time,” Finebaum told Greg McElroy and Cole Cubelic. “(He’s) looking more distant, more out of touch, more antiquated than he has ever been.

"And for a guy that just finished an absolutely miserable season, it doesn’t help him, because he is years removed from a legitimate national championship contender. Last year, being in the playoffs was more of an outlier than it was reality.

“Everybody knows Clemson started the season in the top five and ended up nowhere, and I just think it hurts him more than it has in the past. That’s a bad look for a guy that, really, still has support of a fan base, because he has been one of the more remarkable coaches at changing a program’s direction than anyone in modern history.”

Finebaum wasn't done just yet - continuing to chime in on the matter on Swinney and Co.

“Dabo use phrases that, while legitimate in sound, don’t really matter much anymore,” Finebaum continued. “Like, ‘we’re going to turn you in.’ I mean, that used to be the golden phrase, ‘if you do that one more time.’ … And it really doesn’t matter what he says. He just, he still comes off the same way — he comes off whiny and out of touch.”

Now, all focus turns towards the NCAA amid a unique situation unfolding between the Ole Miss and Clemson programs.

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