Dabo Swinney has been Clemson football’s face since 2008, but for the first time in nearly two decades national analysts have begun to wonder whether the captain is prepared to go down with the ship. In a 360-degree dive into the 2026–27 coaching carousel, CBS Sports listed 25 names to watch in this new round of college football hiring and firing, the next on the ballot.
Swinney, a two-time national champion, was No. 23 on the list, listed with the auspicious label: “Considerable prying necessary.”
The addition represents a dramatic departure for the national perception of a program that once was seen as the best model of stability in college sports. CBS Sports analyst Brad Crawford did not hesitate in describing Swinney's current situation in Tigertown.
After a 2025 season that landed the Tigers at a 7-6 record, the Tigers’ worst full season since 2010, the pressure to modernize is at a fever pitch.
“Swinney’s like the captain of the Titanic, he will go down with the ship and would be kicking and screaming on his way out, if it comes to that,” Crawford wrote.
Industry sources quoted in the report are indicating that Swinney is still too deeply rooted at Clemson, but that Swinney’s “stubborn” attachment to the transfer portal, and the rising tide of NIL, has strained the program’s traditional values into the current world of championships. Swinney is making a surprising number of carousel lists, all the time.
Now the main factor that has resulted in Swinney’s appearance on the carousel list from time to time has been the lack of postseason results. Clemson, unlike a fan base that is used to getting back and forth from season to season around for all his past trips to the national title game, has the figure of having not won a College Football Playoff game since the 2019 season.
In a bid to resuscitate a mired offense, Swinney recently found a familiar architect: Chad Morris. The hire is facing a serious storm of skepticism. Even as Morris masterminded Clemson’s high-octane offenses over the 2011–2014 term, his resume since leaving the Upstate is jumbled with botched head coaching run-ins at SMU and Arkansas.
To critics, the hire is an extension of Swinney’s preference for what he calls “comfort” over cutting-edge innovation among his peer programs. Swinney isn’t the only figure of interest on Clemson’s radar for the 2026 season. CBS also pointed out a number of coaches on the Tigers’ schedule in store who should be hot commodities for head coaching vacancies:
- **Jeff Brohm (Louisville):** Top target on the overall carousel list for premier openings.
- **Shannon Dawson (Miami OC):** New assistant rising star in assistant ranks
- **Charlie Weis Jr. (LSU OC):** Could easily be a top player to step toward a head coaching position.
- **Bobby Petrino (UNC OC):** A veteran name keeping in the mix for late career options left for promotions.
As the 2026 season draws near, Swinney’s spotlight has transitioned from “how many titles can he win” to “how much longer can he stay.” For a coach who has shaped Clemson for 17 years, the next 12 months will ultimately depend on whether he can steer the ship away from the iceberg.