Dabo Swinney explodes on ‘smart-ass’ Clemson fan calling into radio show

Clemson coach Dabo Swinney spent five minutes ripping into a man named Tyler from Spartanburg who called into Swinney’s weekly “Tiger Calls” radio show Monday. Here’s what you need to know:

Swinney’s rant came after Tyler spent multiple minutes talking about the Tigers’ performance this year, including questioning why Clemson pays Swinney $10.8 million “to go 4-4.”
The 53-year-old Clemson coach told the caller he “started as the lowest-paid coach in the frickin’ business” and that he “ain’t gonna let some smart-ass kid get on this phone and create this stuff. … I work for the board of trustees, the president and the AD. And if they’re tired of me leading this program, all they’ve got to do is let me know. I’ll go somewhere else where there is an appreciation.”
Clemson has already lost more games in 2023 than they have in any season since 2011, Swinney’s third year in Death Valley.

What to make of the rant

Whew. Swinney has had some epic rants in the past, but this was Mount Rushmore-worthy. Tyler got his jabs in his question, criticizing Swinney for internally hiring his “friends,” calling the Tigers’ head coach out for “a lot of arrogance” after the 2018 national championship and straight up asking Swinney, “Why are we paying ya $11.5 million to go 4-4?”

But after about two minutes, Swinney had had enough and sparred right back, telling Tyler, “I’ve listened to enough of you.”

In a five-minute long, scorched-earth tangent, Swinney said fans like Tyler were part of the problem, reminded him that Clemson hadn’t “sniffed a national championship for 35 years” before he got there and reached his breaking point toward the end of the rant when he passionately blurted, “Ain’t one thing in my life that I’ve ever failed at, TYLER. Never. Ever.”

Swinney should know better by now than to go at it with a fan, and he’ll certainly take some heat for (another) emotional reaction that quickly went viral. But … he wasn’t wrong.

Clemson didn’t have a 10-win season from 1991 to 2010. The Tigers then had one every year from 2011-2022, including six consecutive College Football Playoff appearances from 2015 to 2020 and two national titles.

Swinney’s supporters will rally behind him and love this outburst. His detractors will call him out for an inability to control his emotions. But his numbers were correct. And even given Clemson’s current season, it’s hard to argue against the last decade of Tigers football. — Grace Raynor, college football writer

What Swinney said

Swinney began his response by telling the caller “I don’t care how old you are” and adding that he doesn’t really care, before going on to say that fans like the caller are “part of the problem.”

“But let me tell you something, we won 11 games last year and you’re part of the problem, to be honest with you, because that is part of the problem,” Swinney said, later adding: “It’s people like you that all you do is — the appreciation, the expectation is greater than the appreciation. And that’s the problem.”

The coach reflected on his decade of success with Clemson, saying before his stretch of 12 10-plus win seasons, “Clemson ain’t sniffed a national championship for 35 years.”

“We’ve won two in seven years,” he said. “And there’s only two other teams that can say that: Georgia and Alabama. OK? Is this a bad year? Yeah. And it’s my responsibility. I take 100 percent responsibility for it. But all this bullcrap you’re thinking, all these narratives you read, listen man, you can have your opinion all you want and you can apply for the job and good luck to you, alright?”

After touting his program’s success, which includes having the second-most players drafted and graduating 98 percent of his players, Swinney returned his frustration to the topic of appreciation while defending his hiring decisions.

“But part of the problem is the appreciation — I used to tell people all the time. They’d say, ‘What’s the difference in Clemson?’ Let me tell you. At some places, there’s an expectation, but at Clemson, there’s an appreciation. But what’s happened at Clemson is we’ve won so much that even when we used to be ‘the fun’s in the winning,’ now even when you win, people like you complain. And criticize the coaches. And question everything. People like you. When I hired Tony Elliott to be the offensive coordinator, who never called a play in his life, I’m sure you were critical then. And he took us to two national championships. People like you who just love to destroy people with your comments, I’m sure you’ve never made any bad decisions. I’m sure you’ve lived a perfect life. I’m sure you’ve led a bunch of people.

“I started as the lowest-paid coach in this freakin’ business. And I’m where I am because I’ve worked my ass off — every single day. And I ain’t gonna let some smart-ass kid get on this phone and create this stuff. So if you’ve got a problem with that, I don’t care. I work for the Board of Trustees, the president and the AD. And if they’re tired of me leading this program, all they’ve got to do is let me know. I’ll go somewhere else — where there is an appreciation. It’s not just winning, it’s how you win.”

Swinney’s tone grew more agitated as his response continued, finishing his rant by defending his character and his track record of success.

“Am I perfect? Nope. I’m far from it. And I am a man of faith, absolutely. I’m 53 years old and there ain’t one thing in my life — I have been a part of failure many times — but there ain’t one thing in my life that I’ve ever failed at, Tyler. Never. Ever. I wanted to get an education, I got two degrees. I wanted to be the first college graduate in my family. I did it. I wanted to play football at Alabama. I earned a scholarship, lettered three years, worked my ass off, won a national championship. I wanted to get into coaching. I worked my way to being a head coach. And when I got this job, and I’m sure you didn’t want me to get this job, and 15 years later I’m still here and I’d say the results are what they are and I stand on them. So you don’t ever have to call back.

“I wanted to get married. I’ve been married for going on 30 years. I wanted to be a father. I’ve raised three great sons. If you don’t like how I run the program, don’t be a fan. I don’t care. But I’m the head coach and I’m gonna do what I believe is right for the long term of this program, what’s best for the players and what I think is best for the moment. If you’ve got a problem with that, that’s fine. But I’m not gonna sit here and let you call. I don’t give a crap how much money I’m making. You ain’t gonna talk to me like I’m 12 years old. You’ve (gotta) be freakin’ kidding me.”

What the caller said

“I appreciate everything you said, Coach Swinney. It sounded a whole lot like Tommy Bowden and I’ll tell you one thing: Tommy Bowden didn’t make the same amount of money as you do. You make $11.5 million a year. That’s second in college football if I’m not mistaken. I’m curious why that salary has led to a 4-4 (record)? And I know we’re gonna talk about just being a couple plays away from undefeated and all that and I know you’re a man of religion. I’m a big fan, coach. Before you categorize me as being in the 1.5 percent, I was going to Clemson games and my entire family going back generations has been going to Clemson games when you were in commercial real estate.

“So I’m not gonna accept being in that 1.5 percent and I respect the fact that you’re a man of faith. I’m curious if you’ve ever read Proverbs 16:18 which talks about pride coming before the fall. I was in the military and I was overseas for the big run and so I couldn’t watch all the games. I tried my best, but I always watched your press conferences just for life advice and I appreciated all that. Something changed after 2018. You’re humble, you’re hungry and everything and I always tell people, ‘Man, Dabo, just listen to his press conferences.’ But after that 2018 national title, something changed. And there seems to be a lot of arrogance that came in, there were a lot of friends and family — I mean, three of the 10 on-field football coaches are external, experienced hires. Everyone else was an internal hire that had no experience before or was a former player or friend. So I’m curious, why are we paying ya $11.5 million to go 4-4?”