Dabo Swinney is as frustrated as anyone with the Clemson Tigers' 4-4 record. And it shows.
During his Monday night call-in show, Swinney went off on a fan named Tyler who called in and criticized him for his coaching job in 2023 while making more than $10 million.
To say Swinney went scorched earth would be an understatement...
Dabo Swinney rants at critical Clemson fan: "You're part of the problem"
"I don't know how old you are, don't really care. Let me tell you something, we won 11 games last year. You're part of the problem," Dabo went in. "The expectation is greater than the appreciation and that's the problem.
"We've won 12 10+ win seasons in a row. That's happened three times in 150 years. You want to know why? Clemson ain't sniffed a national championship for 35 years. We've won two in seven years."
Swinney pointed out that only Georgia and Alabama can say the same.
"Is this a bad year, yeah. And it's my responsibility," Swinney continued. "But all this bull crap you're thinking and all these narratives you read. Listen man, you can have all the opinions you want and you can apply for the job and good luck to you."
He wasn't done.
"I used to tell people all the time, what's the difference at Clemson? At some places, there's an expectation and at Clemson, there's an appreciation," Swinney said. "What's happened at Clemson is we've won so much, it used to be the fun in the winning, now even when you win, people like you complain and criticize the coaches and question everything. People like you who 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...
"To answer your question, I started as the lowest-paid coach in this 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 it 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 gotta do is let me know. I'll go somewhere else where there is an appreciation."
But wait, there's more!
"I'm 53 years old and there ain't one thing in my life that I've ever failed at, Tyler. Never. Ever," Swinney said. "If you don't like how I run the program, then don't be a fan. I don't care."
So yeah, Swinney wasn't feeling that caller. And here's the thing...he's substantively right. Clemson has been wildly successful during his tenure and there probably isn't enough appreciation for how special this run has been.
At the same time, Swinney is dead wrong in his approach. He broke the No. 1 rule of the internet: Don't feed the trolls.
There is valid criticism of Swinney's recent approach. He hasn't embraced the transfer portal or NIL and his program has fallen behind because of it. Fans shouldn't be expected to be content with 4-4 just because they won more games last year. There isn't a major program in the country that doesn't also operate with a "what have you done for me lately?" mentality.
Going on this rant just revealed that losing is getting to Swinney. He lost his cool. That's not a good sign and this wasn't a good look, even if it might have been cathartic.
