Dabo Swinney remains one of the most polarizing coaches in all of college football.
The Clemson Tigers head coach is a two-time national champion. However, it’s been a while since he’s been at a truly elite, national title frontrunner status. ESPN recently ranked Swinney the No. 3 head coach in the country.
Some of ESPN’s writers, though, had him ranked all the way down at No. 6.
“No shade here. There’s not a clear line of delineation between No. 3 and No. 6, and there are logical arguments that could be used to advocate for Swinney as high as No. 1. So when splitting hairs, I think I dropped Swinney below the consensus because his recent success hasn’t matched his peak success. But, again, this shouldn’t be misconstrued,” one ESPN writer said.
I don’t care who comes to the game,” he said. “I just care about who’s playing in the game. Unless (South Carolina coach Shane Beamer) is going to put him in and throw him a halfback pass or something.”
Swinney previously chose to visit the White House following national title wins in 2016 and ’18.
It’s not the only time Swinney has made political headlines, too. On Election Day in 2024, Swinney said that he couldn’t vote.
