Clemson football has embraced the transfer portal – sort of.
Clemson football head coach Dabo Swinney made a statement to the effect of not needing the transfer portal because of the guys in his locker room.
Does, he have a point? Sort of but also, not really.
There is no denying the level of talent on the Clemson football roster – it is the most talent that the Tigers have ever had and it seemingly keeps getting better. However, much to the chagrin of Clemson football fans, the old adage “if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it” doesn’t apply to athletics in any way, shape, or form.
Yes, Dabo has won two national titles.
Yes, Clemson football has the most College Football Playoff appearances.
Yes, the Tigers have the longest active CFP appearance streak.
Yes, Clemson football has been embarrassed in their last two CFP games.
After the 2018 national title game, every fan and talking head across the country, myself included, proclaimed that Alabama was done and Clemson was the new king of college football. So what did head coach Nick Saban do?
He took a look at the way he was doing things and realized that he and his staff had to evolve if they were going to continue to be among the four best teams in college football. And the result – a national title in 2020 and the best recruiting class ever assembled.
This is the crossroads where Dabo is currently sitting. If Saban can embrace the change of college football after a lot more sustained success than Dabo has had, then why should Swinney be the exception?
Like Saban, Dabo Swinney has to evolve with the sport not buck the system.
The fact is, Dabo isn’t the exception unless you ask Clemson football fans that swear he walks on water and then turns it into wine.
A quick and simple look at the last two teams to embarrass Clemson football on the field, both had elite transfers on their rosters at positions that mattered. Alabama also had elite transfers at positions that mattered.
If a coach takes an honest look at his roster and realizes that he is young and deficient at spots, it is then the responsibility of that coach to look at both the transfer portal as well as the junior college levels to find a guy or two that can complement his roster and make it is as elite and as competitive as possible.
If the culture within Clemson football is as elite as we all believe that it is, then opening your doors to a transfer or two every year should not be that big of a deal and Dabo knows this.
This is why he has moved his coaching staff around in order to dedicate eyes and ears to the next step in evolution in college football – the transfer portal.
Dabo loves the guys in his locker room, as he should, but as one of the best college football coaches in the history of the game, he also understands that he cannot remain competitive nationally by continuing to replace the four and five-star recruits that leave with walk-ons.
No matter how badly some fans want to believe that a cute story will work out in the end.