Paul Finebaum Names National Championship Coach Who's 'Done'

Arguably the biggest game of Week 1 of the 2026 college football season will take place in Baton Rouge, La., as the LSU Tigers take on the Clemson Tigers.

Clemson vs. LSU Highlights Week 1 of the 2026 College Football Season

These two teams come into this game under different microscopes. LSU is entering the Lane Kiffin era. He joined the Tigers after a successful six-year stint with the Ole Miss Rebels. He went 55-19 in those six seasons and led the Rebels to a College Football Playoff last season.

As for Clemson, there is pressure on them to bounce back after the worst season in nearly 20 years. The Tigers went 7-6 last year after starting the year ranked No. 4 in the preseason AP Poll. Clemson entered that season with legit national championship hopes. But ended the year with many wondering whether head coach Dabo Swinney still has what it takes to make them a legit contender.

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney encourages his players stretching during practice. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Paul Finebaum Takes Shot at Dabo Swinney Ahead of Clemson-LSU

ESPN's Paul Finebaum took a jab at Swinney while on "The Paul Finebaum Show." He said that Kiffin doesn't need to focus on this game because Swinney is done as Clemson's head coach.

"Lane Kiffin knows Dabo Swinney is done; he knows Clemson is inept, and he is spending whatever time he's not dealing with you and me and Pat McAfee and Stephen A. Smith, he's working on the Ole Miss game," Finebaum said.

Clemson Enters 2026 Under Major Pressure

Finebaum's prediction is particularly notable because Swinney remains one of the most accomplished coaches in the sport. He has won two national championships and nine ACC titles during his Clemson tenure, but the program's recent trajectory has created questions about whether it can still compete with the nation's elite.

Clemson's 7-6 finish last season was a dramatic step backward from the expectations surrounding the program entering the year. The Tigers were viewed as legitimate national championship contenders in the preseason, only to finish outside the national picture. Now, Swinney has to prove that 2025 was an aberration rather than the beginning of a larger decline.

Heading into the game against LSU, a loss will only increase the pressure on Swinney. But Clemson has an opportunity to make Finebaum's prediction look premature by showing that last year's record was a setback rather than a new reality. For Swinney, that makes the season opener about far more than getting off to a good start; it could be the first step toward determining whether Clemson's next chapter still includes him.

Add us as a preferred source on Google