Paul Finebaum labels one legendary college football coach as ‘grandpa’

The 2025 college football regular season is now over, and sans Michigan, so too is the chaotic coaching carousel of this fall. But as programs around the country nestle in wieht their new head coaches, SEC Network analyst Paul Finebaum came out with his one-word grades on the coaching situation at many of the top football schools.

While doing this exercise, Finebaum generally gave positive reviews on the brand new coaching hires within the SEC as there were six just in 2025. But it was the coaches who aren't new hires, but old dogs, that drew the sharpest ire. Specifically, when Finebaum was asked about Dabo Swinney at Clemson, his one-word response was telling.

"Grandpa," was Finebaum's only comment on Swinney's current state at Clemson. Now, Swinney himself is only just getting into grandpa age at 56 years old, and there are loads of coaches older than him. However, when it comes to Swinney's tactics and stubbornness to embrace modern advancements like NIL and the transfer portal — at least compared to some peers — then you can see why Finebaum believes Clemson is stuck in a bygone era.

"I think it's over at Clemson," Finebaum declared all the way back in December on Swinney, which came right after the Tigers' 1-3 start to a letdown 2025 season. "Let's quit trying to sugarcoat it. Sometimes it's very difficult to get it back when you've lost it, and (Dabo Swinney) lost it badly. It's time for him to go."

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney speaks | Ken Ruinard / USA Today Co Inc SC / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Clemson came out and immediately let air out of their national championship hopes with a pretty ugly home loss to LSU, who was presumed elite at the time but later fell apart themselves. The Tigers even fell to 3-5 at one point but have rallied to win four straight and get into the Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl, which will be played in Yankee Stadium between two teams that opened the year No. 1 (Penn State) and No. 4 (Clemson) in the preseason AP Poll.

Penn State is it's own nightmare, but at least they've changed coaches. Instead, Clemson stumbled to a poor year overall and are stuck with a coach who doesn't seem to want to change his ways but also isn't having success any longer with his own philosophy.

"Of the people that could leave coaching and go into TV, he would be very coveted," Finebaum has said of Dabo Swinney, already fielding moonlight careers for the fiery Clemson head coach. "Or, find someplace to go. There will be a lot of openings, and when you introduce Dabo Swinney, it's not a bad look."

Dabo Swinney at Michigan? Maybe the Wolverines should make that call if they're interested. Plus, Dabo Swinney had plenty of opportunities he could have pursued this season, and if he's still at Clemson by mid-December, then he's probably going to be back on the sidelines next fall.