Pressure is all a relative construct. However, not all types look the same. During a recent episode of The Joel Klatt Show, Klatt placed 10 college football head coaches into different pressure tiers. Not a surprise, Clemson Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney was one of the 10 head coaches he mentioned. While he has had a ton of success at Clemson before, it has been fleeting and very much in the past.
Klatt grouped all 10 of his head coaches in question into one of five pressure-packed categories.
- Just Happy You're Here
- We Like You, But...
- Just Trying to be Patient
- Is This Going to Work?
- It's Time
Klatt started by saying Clemson has not been the same program since Trevor Lawrence turned pro.
"Didn’t go well last year," Klatt said. "They started No. 4. Finished 7-6. Clemson has not finished in the top 10 since Trevor Lawrence; that was five seasons ago. Dabo’s in his 18th full year at Clemson. He’s been heavily criticized for not adapting to the new world of college football. He has slowly come around."
He then put Swinney into the "We like you, but..." tier. Swinney was the only one to be put into that tier.
"I think Clemson fans at this point are saying to themselves, ‘We like you, but …' there’s a huge pressure point for Dabo: Miami in their fifth game," Klatt continued. "Could be LSU, but Miami is in conference. Clemson has run the ACC. They have dominated the ACC. Now it seems like Miami's conference. Then you wonder, what's the gap? Is Miami head and shoulders above Clemson? They were a year ago. Miami is going to be loaded again."
No doubt about it, Miami's sudden rise has knocked Clemson down a peg in the ACC, or at least from a national media perspective. To date, Miami has never won the ACC. Neither have SMU or Louisville. It begs to question why all three teams got more votes than Clemson did during ACC Media Days? It is the constructs of conference realignment, but Clemson has let other teams gain market share.
In a way, Klatt may be right in his assessment of the Tigers. Clemson fans like Swinney, but to a point.
Dabo Swinney needs to avoid having Clemson fans turn on him this year
While one writer did unfairly compare Swinney to Hugh Freeze, he may have an argument if Clemson fails to be in the mix for playoff contention for the second consecutive season. Swinney has often reminisced over how good Clemson used to be, but what about right now? Yes, Clemson fans surely appreciate all Swinney has done for them over the years. However, what has he done for them lately?
Regardless of how the national media feels about this team, Clemson has a great shot at making the playoffs. The Tigers' pathway in is a lot easier than they would want to admit. They do not draw SMU or Louisville in ACC play, and get Miami at home. Truth be told, the Tigers must take advantage of the situation at hand. Miami can get got in that early October meeting in Death Valley, so make it happen!
Ultimately, for as great as Swinney has been for this program, it has been a long time since Clemson has been on top of the college football world. College GameDay may not come to Death Valley this year. Rather than temper our expectations, let's hold Swinney up to the highest standard. He is one of four active head coaches to have won the College Football Playoff. Swinney needs to coach like that.
Otherwise, more and more Clemson fans are going to agree with what Klatt proposed on his podcast.
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