Paul Finebaum needed only one word to describe Dabo Swinney.
It wasn’t flattering.
Appearing in a video segment in which he was asked to sum up several head coaches’ current situations, Finebaum labeled the Clemson coach “Grandpa,” a remark that quickly resonated with — and frustrated — many Clemson fans.
The comment reflects a critique Finebaum has repeated throughout the 2025 season, centering on Swinney’s perceived resistance to change in an era reshaped by the transfer portal, NIL and rapid roster turnover.
Swinney and Finebaum have frequently clashed publicly this year, particularly during Clemson’s midseason struggles. The Tigers opened the season 3-5, a stretch that fueled national discussion about whether Clemson’s program had fallen behind its peers.
At one point in November, Finebaum went further, suggesting that Swinney might benefit from a change of scenery — though not a firing.
“Every time I talk about Dabo, somebody takes it the wrong way,” Finebaum said at the time. “But nobody here is suggesting Dabo Swinney be fired. I am strongly suggesting Dabo Swinney get outta there, though. It’s gotten so bad, and I hate to see a Hall of Fame coach act that petulant and that poorly.”
That take has since lost some of its bite.
Clemson enters bowl season on a four-game winning streak, steadying what had been a turbulent year and complicating the broader narrative around the program’s direction. The Tigers are scheduled to close the season against Penn State in the Pinstripe Bowl.
Still, Finebaum’s one-word description underscores a perception that continues to follow Swinney nationally: that Clemson has been slower than most elite programs to embrace the transfer portal.
While Clemson has traditionally relied on high school recruiting and internal development, Swinney has begun to lean more openly into the portal, particularly as roster attrition has increased. This season, Clemson added edge rusher Will Heldt and wide receiver Tristan Smith via the portal, both of whom played meaningful roles.
Swinney has acknowledged that necessity, rather than philosophy, is driving the shift.
“That’s the first thing that puts you in the portal,” Swinney said earlier this month. “Somebody leaves that you didn’t want to leave. That puts you in the portal because now you’ve got to fill your numbers. There’s nowhere to go get a high school kid in December or January.”
The Tigers are expected to be active again this offseason, particularly in the secondary after the departures of Khalil Barnes and Avieon Terrell. Those moves, combined with broader roster turnover, will likely place renewed scrutiny on how aggressively Clemson operates in the portal.
For now, Swinney remains firmly in control of the program he built into a national power, but Finebaum’s remark highlights the pressure points entering the offseason.
Change is coming to Clemson. How much — and how fast — may ultimately determine whether the label sticks.