Paul Finebaum bluntly calls out $115 million coach following 'tampering' allegations

College football rules seem made to be broken in the current day. But with an ongoing fracas about some purported tampering, that could all be changing. Many voices in the current media seem pleased by a situation that brings potential rules violations into the public eye.

That said, ESPN personality Paul Finebaum is never a broadcaster afraid to be on the other side of a debate. And Finebaum's recent comments suggest that he's not very impressed with Clemson's allegations against Ole Miss that arose out of alleged tampering in the recruitment of LB Luke Ferrelli. After coach Dabo Swinney's press conference in which he threw Ole Miss under the bus, Finebaum took issue with the coach working under a 10-year, $115 million contract.

Finebaum takes on Swinney

Discussing the situation on McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning, Finebaum took aim at Swinney's handling of the situation. Finebaum took the approach that exposing Ole Miss's potential rules violations left Swinney looking "whiny and out of touch."

Finebaum contemplated the changing landscape of NCAA enforcement in his discussion. He noted that "We're going to turn you in" was a threat that in a prior day of college football "used to be the golden phrase... [but] it just doesn't work much anymore."

Finebaum was clear to acknowledge that the current Wild West mentality of a blind eye toward potential NCAA violations "is a frustrating thing." Finebaum noted, "I've heard other coaches even in the SEC screaming about stuff like this." He finished, "There's a way to do it and he should let the administrators handle it, as opposed to them doing it."

Paul Finebaum provided his thoughts on Dabo Swinney’s presser against Ole Miss:

Finebaum says Swinney comes off “whiny” and “out of touch” in his tampering rant.

He believes Swinney should’ve left the issue in the hands of administrators.

🎥: @macandcube pic.twitter.com/4zBIlwgLr7
— Grayson Mann (@gray_mann21) January 26, 2026

Details behind the scandal

Swinney's press conference was the public face of a complicated recruitment in the transfer portal for former Cal LB Fornelli. Fornelli committed to and signed with Clemson late in the first week of January. Swinney noted in his press conference that Fornelli bought a car, rented an apartment, and started classes at Clemson.

Enter Ole Miss, who Swinney contends then contacted Fornelli in his class at Clemson, asked about his buyout, and offered him a $1,000,000 contract. When Fornelli ended up leaving Clemson and signing with Ole Miss, Swinney felt like the situation deserved public exposure as tampering.

Finebaum's reaction is different to many within the new media, who have welcomed Swinney's disclosure as a potential step toward forcing the NCAA to enact some of its enforcement powers. Swinney is noted for 187 wins and a pair of national titles, and has been one of the coaches who has been a bit slower about embracing the transfer portal.

But will the NCAA wield enforcement power again? Or is Finebaum accurate, that acting as the whistle-blower isn't a good look for Swinney and his program?