Dabo Swinney beginning to acknowledge coaching struggles

By nature, Clemson coach Dabo Swinney is extremely protective and defensive of both his staff and players.

When the Tigers struggle, Swinney is quick to show support for those in his program and that is one trait that has made him such a great program builder over more than a decade.

However, even with his positivity, Dabo Swinney is beginning to public acknowledge that the Tigers have some work to do in the coaching department.

During his Sunday night teleconference, Swinney compared the offense to the 2010 season and while he was trying to put a positive spin on the matter, it’s clear that he and the entire unit, for that matter, are frustrated.

"“We’re a lot closer than people on the outside think. It’s just a matter of finishing on some plays and getting 11 guys together,” Swinney said. “Just communication and continuity with 11 guys getting their jobs done. It’s all a reflection on us as coaches. Player performance, we (coaches) are responsible for that. Everyone is working their buts off. I feel like I am back in 2010 again.”"

Notice how he starts the quote with positivity, but then embedded in there is the legitimate problem: Coaching issues.

Dabo Swinney knows what happened after the 2010 season

Perhaps we’re reading too much into the comment, but Dabo Swinney talked about how the coaches need to a better job and then said he felt like he was back in 2010, the season that caused him to make major changes on the offensive staff.

Is that by coincidence?

This comes after several weeks of intense criticism from Clemson football fans particularly towards Offensive Coordinator Tony Elliott.

We’re not saying that Swinney is thinking about making any decisions, but it does seem that he is challenging his coaching staff on the offensive side of the ball to get better.

As the season progresses, it shouldn’t just be Tony Elliott who is watched closely by Swinney, it should be the entire staff, including Robbie Caldwell, Brandon Streeter and Tyler Grisham, as well.

Perhaps changes aren’t needed and this offensive staff will transform themselves and the entire unit, but it’s becoming more and more apparent that there are clear coaching problems and, sometimes, the only way to resolve those is to find new minds.