After Paul Finebaum declared it was “over” for Dabo Swinney at Clemson, ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky fired back. On First Take this week, the former NFL quarterback argued that dismissing Swinney would be a mistake.
“Shocker of a take right there, Mr. Finebaum. I disagree with him,” Orlovsky said. “You’ve got to be very wary when you’re talking about moving on from a coach like Swinney. There’s a lot of programs that have moved on from an older coach or a coach that maybe wasn’t performing, and then all of a sudden they spend a decade trying to find another coach.”
Orlovsky admits Clemson has underwhelmed, he points to players not living up to lofty preseason hype.
“A lot of expectations around this football team were that they were going to be a national championship contender,” Orlovsky said. “Cade Klubnik hasn’t played like a top-five pick. He hasn’t played like a first-round quarterback in the least bit. Those defensive linemen—only one of them has performed at that level.”
For Orlovsky, the roster still has the talent, but execution has lagged behind.
Recruiting or Development?
The analyst says the real question isn’t Swinney’s future, but whether Clemson can recapture its old formula in recruiting and development.
“Can he recruit the way he did in their heyday?” Orlovsky asked. “There’s evidence that says he still can, and then there’s evidence that says why did we have the 26th-ranked recruiting class in the country? Or is it a lack of internal development? Are highly recruited players not becoming those top-10 picks?”