ESPN REPORT: Details on Dabo Swinney suspension.
Coach Dabo Swinney of Clemson reiterated on Tuesday his strong remarks from the previous day, stating that too many supporters had lost the ability to enjoy victory and that he would not let the negative feedback over the Tigers’ 4-4 start “steal my joy.”
In response to a query concerning the distinction between fair and unfair criticism, Swinney remarked, “I’ve got a long way to go in this profession.” “I’m going to fight like crazy to bring this back up to par if they want me back here.
“However, nothing will be able to take away from my enjoyment of what I do. I enjoy what I do, but that doesn’t imply I’m content. I refuse to let victory turn into a sense of relief. That’s not going to happen, I promise. Winning should be the source of enjoyment, and if that becomes unsatisfactory, then we may take it from there.”
A caller to Swinney’s radio show on Monday night, who simply identified as “Tyler from Spartanburg,” made a diatribe about not feeling appreciated despite years of success. Swinney described this outburst as “an Old Testament answer” to a “Old Testament question.” Later on, Swinney declared that he would coach for a further fifteen years, even if it wasn’t at Clemson.
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Picking up where he left off on Tuesday, Swinney said that some fans were becoming unduly critical of his players and coaches.
“I’m not going to let one season, when I know exactly what the issues are, and a bunch of great kids and great coaches, I’m not going to let one season dampen that,” Swinney stated. “I’m going to stand up for this program, and maybe we can restore some respect in this place.
“Winning is frickin’ difficult. All you need to do is search the nation. This is a historic moment in history. It’s not been a good year. That’s what I have to do. Nobody is overjoyed about it. It is entirely my fault. While I’m not requesting happiness from others, let’s not devour our own.”
Swinney made it clear that while he thought the great majority of Clemson supporters still supported him and the program, he felt that the program was being impacted because enough of them had become public about their displeasure.
“It’s gotten to a point where, even if you win, people are miserable,” he stated. “I told you you have to be all in when I first came here [in 2008]. “Too many people only have half the story.”
Swinney has been under fire for a number of things, including having a coaching staff that is nearly exclusively made up of coaches with minimal experience outside of Clemson and failing to use the transfer portal to address roster deficiencies.
Although Swinney did not address either issue on Tuesday, he did declare that he would not alter his personality or program merely because the squad had lost more games than he would have preferred this season.
“I always take the player’s best interests, our program’s long-term viability, and the situation at hand into consideration. Nothing is going to change, according to Swinney. “Some people say I’m stubborn, but I say I’m convicted in my beliefs, and there aren’t enough people convicted in their beliefs.”
After losing to NC State last week, Clemson will no longer have a winning season for the first time in twelve years, and Swinney will have its lowest conference record since 2010 in 2023.
There are still games against Georgia Tech, North Carolina, and rival South Carolina before Clemson takes on Notre Dame on Saturday. For the first time since Swinney took over as head coach, the Tigers must win two of those games in order to avoid missing a bowl game.
On Tuesday, Swinney maintained that his team’s problems are small and that “we’d be 8-0 if we didn’t lead the nation in fumbles.”
“First off, we rank last in the country for fumbles,” Swinney remarked. Second, our fumble rate is the lowest in the country. Thirdly, in terms of fumbles, we rank bottom in the country. And I’ll give you a No. 4: We’re almost last in the red zone in terms of scoring because of the missed plays.
That’s where you are, exactly. You won’t win football games if you turn the ball over at least twice in each contest. Keep everything else the same, football-related stuff.”
Clemson turned the ball over three times, including two fumbles, in their opening loss to Duke, 28-7. Three weeks later, Seminoles linebacker Kalen DeLoach kicked the ball off of Cade Klubnik’s sack and returned it for a touchdown as Clemson lost to Florida State in double overtime.
Two weeks prior, Clemson lost in OT after turning the ball over three times against Miami, including twice deep in Hurricanes territory. Last week, Wolfpack linebacker Payton Wilson returned an interception for a touchdown as the Tigers lost to NC State by a score of 7.
According to Swinney, this season is the most difficult Clemson has faced in over ten years, but he sees it as a chance for his squad to improve.
According to Swinney, “it’s a season of what could have been.” “On the other hand, if you’re a competitor, you want to go out there and compete to win. Over the next four weeks, a lot will be learned. In fact, I’m quite excited about it. We’re going to witness how these guys battle and discover a lot about a lot of people.”
