Paul Finebaum Names Major College Football Coach He Would Fire After Week 1

The 2026 college football season couldn't have started worse for the Clemson Tigers.

The Tigers entered the season under immense pressure after a disappointing 7-6 season last year. Clemson entered that season ranked No. 4, coming off a College Football Playoff appearance. They also returned the most production in college football, and many had them as a legit national championship threat.

Clemson Tigers Suffer Worst Loss in Dabo Swinney Era

So, this season, Dabo Swinney's team was hoping to prove that last year was a fluke. However, Saturday night is one they will soon want to forget. Clemson was beaten 51-10 by the LSU Tigers in Lane Kiffin's debut. This marked the worst loss in the Swinney era.

The Tigers struggled on both sides of the ball. Clemson allowed 644 yards of total offense and was held to just 145 yards of total offense. The Tigers played two quarterbacks, both of whom struggled. Christopher Vizzina started the game. He went 10-of-16 for 83 yards and an interception. Tait Reynold then came in and went 4-of-6 for 22 yards.

Clemson Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney looks on against the LSU Tigers. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Paul Finebaum Says Swinney Should Be Fired After Clemson's LSU Loss

The historic loss has already intensified the pressure surrounding Swinney, and ESPN's Paul Finebaum was particularly blunt when discussing Clemson's performance on "Get Up." Finebaum said that if he were Clemson's athletic director, he would fire Swinney following the loss.

"It's over," Finebaum said. "There's no turning back. I'm not suggesting he's going to get fired. Although I would fire him if I were the AD after that. There's just no excuse for that... If you're a high school player, why would you go there? If you are in the portal, why would you go there?"

Swinney Now faces Major Questions at Clemson

It's important to note that Swinney's buyout would be $57 million if fired in 2026. But the bigger issue is that Finebaum also questioned why top recruits or transfer portal players would choose Clemson given the direction of the program. That puts Swinney in a difficult position heading into the rest of the season.

Clemson has the opportunity to respond against Georgia Southern on Saturday, but this was more than an ordinary season-opening loss. After a 7-6 season in 2025, the Tigers were supposed to show that they remained capable of competing with the nation's best. Instead, their first major test exposed the same concerns that have followed the program in recent years.

Swinney now has to prove that one disastrous night in Baton Rouge was an outlier rather than evidence that Clemson's championship window has truly closed.

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