Dabo Swinney blasted the stark contrast between the intense, public criticism faced by coaches and players and the "behind a curtain" process for officials.
'Zero Accountability... Leave the Carnage Left Behind'
Swinney held nothing back, arguing that the stakes are too high for the current part-time, shielded system.
"There's not consequences," Swinney said. "In this profession, coaches get crucified. Players get crucified. Held to this unrealistic accountability standard. But refs have zero accountability... They get to go home and drink a beer and, you know, get on with their life. And just leave the carnage left behind that affects a lot of people. People losing jobs."
He called for a complete overhaul of the profession, modeling it after the NFL.
"With what's at stake now... they need to be full-time reps, and it needs to be a job," he declared. "And there needs to be one leader, and one voice."
'They Ought to Have to Answer For It'
The Clemson coach's core issue is the lack of public transparency. He railed against a system where he can be fined for criticism, while officials face no public consequences.
"You can't criticize them? But they're on the field... but they're the only ones in the arena that have no consequences. Publicly," Swinney said. "God forbid, you get to pay a fine because you criticize performance. But yeah, everybody else can be criticized. It's a bad system, the way it's set up."
He argued that in an era with rampant gambling concerns, officiating can't remain in the shadows.
"In the meantime, we got gambling issues going on... Yep, I mean, refs are people, too," he said. "...If they're a part of the game, then by God, they ought to be a part of the game. And they ought to be a part of the accountability... not just behind some shadowy curtain. Like, no, they ought to have to answer for it."
'5 of the 10 Were Wrong'
Swinney's frustration is fueled by personal experience. He revealed a stunning statistic from a loss earlier this season that left him incensed.
"We had a game earlier this year, that we lost. I had 14 [calls] I wanted to turn in, but I only turned in 10," Swinney explained. "...Got back, yup. Missed it. 5 of the 10 were wrong. And I mean, these are game-changing calls. Obvious pass interference, not cold, that takes you off the field."
The official response, he said, is meaningless without real consequences.
"But yeah, we just get it. 'This will be addressed with the crew.' Yada yada yada. Okay? ...There's no public accountability," he said. "The system needs to change. There needs to be challenge opportunity. And we need full-time officials... Everybody should have consequences. And the coaches and the players shouldn't be the only ones that publicly have accountability."