187-Win Coach's Career Predicted to End If He Rejects Modern College Football Trends

One of the most-accomplished head coaches in modern college football history could be on the way out for good unless he comes to terms with where the game is going.

Dabo Swinney has already left his impression on college football after leading Clemson to an early College Football Playoff dynasty, winning two national championships, and stockpiling the NFL with draft picks.

But as the sport embraces certain massive changes, most importantly the complicated NIL system and the perpetual roster reconstruction that takes place through the transfer portal, Swinney appears to find himself in a world he would rather not adapt to.

Clemson’s head coach has been famously reticent to use the portal, instead relying on his high school recruiting operation to fine-tune his rosters, an approach that has been met with mixed reaction, mostly negative.

That inability or unwillingness to change in an era full of it could ultimately spell the end of Swinney’s relevance in college football, or even his very career, according to veteran analyst Ari Wasserman.

“I think that he would rather develop men his way and lose on the field, although developing men his way and winning was once possible, than conform to the new world of college football that is more transactional and financially motivated than it ever was, than to switch,” Wasserman said to On3 Sports.

He added: “And I think that’s gonna eventually lead to his demise.”

“And that’s okay, because he still has his place in history and he still did things the right way and I think he would rather die doing it his way than sell his soul and adapt to the new world and some coaches aren’t built for that. I’m on high alert for him.”

Swinney won double-digit games every season from 2011 to 2022, including a stretch from 2015-19 where he went 69-5 with those two national titles.

Among that run was a 44-16 beatdown of Alabama that remains the worst loss in Saban’s career in the 2018 championship game.

But after a loss to LSU’s dream team for the 2019 title, Clemson hasn’t been ranked in the top 10 since, went 9-4 in 2023, and dipped to 7-6 this past season with a loss in the Pinstripe Bowl.

Clemson has made the College Football Playoff just once in the last six seasons, and the one appearance was forgettable, losing by two touchdowns against Texas in the first round in 2024.

The race is on for Dabo Swinney and Clemson to either play catch-up with modern college football or prove they can win without giving in to the new situation.

Maybe they can, but so far, the trends don’t show them doing either.

(On3)

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