While some members of the national media continue to make their living at Dabo Swinney's expense, Brandon Walker does not appear to be one of them. The college football analyst for Barstool Sports shared his introspective thoughts on why it is so hard for him to quit Swinney.
“I don’t know if I’ll ever quit [on] Dabo as far as believing in his ability to have a good team, even though he is really wringing out the sponge as far as the believability of that actually happening,” Walker said. “He’s not giving us anything to hang on to as far as present day, but I still have the memories, man. I still have to believe it’s in there somewhere.”
Like many of us, Swinney has put Walker through the wringer recently. The 2018 campaign might be a long time ago, but it is not exactly ancient history either. Swinney had Clemson in the College Football Playoff two years ago as ACC Champions. The Tigers are on the shortlist of teams that can win the ACC title bout in Charlotte this December. Winning the ACC guarantees a playoff berth this season.
Even if the present-day version of Swinney is not on par with who he was on the Clemson come-up a decade ago, we have to believe this great galvanizing force is still inside him. Whether it be former coaches and players coming back to fight for the Clemson cause, or underutilized players who are unwilling to transfer, Swinney always has his guys in his corner. Even then, they are being tested a bit.
There’s no giving up on Dabo Swinney and his Clemson Tigers pic.twitter.com/wtRbRYga5v
— Brandon Walker College Football Show (@BFWshow) August 18, 2026
Dabo Swinney does just enough to keep his believers from all cutting ties
Not since Danny Ford had Clemson been in as good a place as a football program. Tommy Bowden did have his moments, but there were so many 8-4 seasons throughout his tenure. When Swinney succeeded him from within, he knew that things had to be different. Swinney redefined the Clemson standard, one where simply being good was no longer acceptable. You had to strive for greatness.
Unfortunately, the last five years or so have seen this ACC program regress. Clemson is no longer an annual fixture in the College Football Playoff, even though the field has expanded threefold in recent years. Coming off their worst season in well over a decade, everybody in the building seems to be motivated to right the ship. This includes Swinney, who needs to silence some of his biggest critics.
However, he still has a way of connecting with his kind of people. Clemson is still able to land its kind of guys out of high school, now occasionally dipping into the transfer portal. Better late than never, we suppose... Regardless, Walker is absolutely right. He knows that Swinney will continue to have his believers, even if the results have not been there for a bit. They all saw what he has done previously.
To keep his disciples from becoming dissidents, Swinney needs to have this year's team push for 10 wins and be in the mix to play in the ACC Championship game. Whether or not they even get to Charlotte, win there, or watch somebody else take on Miami instead of them, these are the types of conversations the Tigers need to be a part of. Anything less may turn Swinney truthers into skeptics.
Quitting on Swinney is not for the faint of heart. Whenever you try to cross off his Tigers, he finds a way.
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