An irate Dabo Swinney infamously told a radio caller last fall that he would stay at Clemson for as long as the school wanted him.
The Tigers were 4-4 at the time and coming off a 24-17 loss to North Carolina State that proceeded losses to Miami, Florida State and Duke. Swinney’s team would rebound and close the year with five straight victories to finish 9-4 and ranked in the Top 25.
On Wednesday, Clemson athletic director Graham Neff spoke to reporters and gave Swinney a glowing endorsement ahead of the 2024 season.
“Couldn’t be more convicted and supportive of Coach Swinney,” Neff said without hesitation. “Two-time national champion head coach and how he has built his current program and where he’s at, let alone where his strategies and nimbleness, quite frankly, is ahead.”
Swinney has been under fire from many in the media — and some Clemson fans — for his reluctance to adapt to the changing landscape of college football. Namely, his lack of use of the transfer portal.
Clemson did not take a single player in the portal during the offseason, the only Power Four program not to do so. Swinney, who is entering his 17th season as Tigers head coach, didn’t help his case when he claimed that players in the portal weren’t “good enough” to play for Clemson.
While reiterating his support for Swinney, Neff said that he and the coach have talked about Swinney’s approach to roster-building in a “supportive” manner.
“We talk about it in a supportive way and an understanding vision and strategy (of) how do we continue to be adaptable in a changing landscape,” Neff said. “Sure, that means roster management, but that particularly means a lot of things that we have talked about. There’s absolutely an active engagement with me and coach, but just in a very supportive (way) and equipping him and the other 15 of our head coaches in how they run their programs and build their rosters.”
Clemson, ranked No. 14 in the preseason AP Top 25 and US LBM Coaches Poll, faces No. 1-ranked Georgia in the season opener for both schools, Aug. 31 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. Kickoff is set for noon ET. The game will be televised on ABC.
Neff’s full press gathering with reporters can be seen below.
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