Most likely, Pat McAfee didn't deliberately throw shade at Dabo Swinney, but he is a much better head coach than the guy Swinney is being compared to. While Swinney continues to coach his brand of football at Clemson, Lincoln Riley has repeatedly used quick fixes and overhauls for his teams. This is why one is a two-time National Champion, while the other is sitting atop the hot seat at USC.
However, it did not stop McAfee from comparing the coaches by placing them into the same bucket.
“This sounds terrible, and I don’t mean it to sound this way. I put Dabo Swinney and Lincoln Riley in the same bucket,” McAfee said. “Let’s say Dabo, a little bit above him then, in that bucket ... Both of those guys, I think, everybody thinks, ‘Good football coach, but nobody really fears them.'”
McAfee continued his argument by saying how the game has passed Swinney by.
“Dabo was sticking up for football, and what college football and sports were supposed to be for a while,” McAfee continued. “And it’s like, ‘OK, we appreciate you doing that,’ but everybody is completely bypassing him. Now, he’s in the game, but he’s a little bit late. Will that help his team? I mean, we shall see.”
He finished by suggesting that Clemson could give up 50 points on the road at LSU during Week 1.
“This first weekend down at Baton Rouge for Clemson this year, that could be a 50-burger ... That could be a devastating one," McAfee finished. "Is Clemson a new team? Maybe ... We all agree you’re good football coaches, but ... I don’t really ever think that they can beat [Curt] Cignetti. Are these guys gonna beat Kirby [Smart]? That is kind of how I started viewing it."
McAfee went from saying he likes Swinney and Riley as coaches, to preediciting Clemson would get 50 burger-ed.
You can't have it both ways. If McAfee was really in Swinney's corner, he would have toned down his message. Yes, it is plausible that Clemson could lose to LSU in Baton Rouge in Week 1. However, to say you are in favor of a guy, only to predict an outcome that could have Swinney on a hot seat is mind-boggling.
Pat McAfee is not ruling out Clemson getting blown out at LSU during Week 1
If Clemson were to lose at LSU by that margin, Swinney's critics would have a field day. We do not see that type of blowout in games between a team with a new head coach that was almost entirely rebuilt in the portal and a team with a two-time National Championship coach at the reins. Usually, a new head coach, like a Dan Lanning, falls to a veteran, such as a Kirby Smart.
To be fair, McAfee is still relatively new to being all-in on college football. He is an NFL guy at heart. Regardless, what Swinney has done in his coaching career eclipses everything Riley has done. Swinney has reached the College Football Playoff seven times, played in four National Championships, and won two of them. Riley has still never won a playoff game.
So while McAfee may like Swinney and what he is all about, that does not change that he suggested Clemson could get 50-burgered during Lane Kiffin's first game at LSU. That is honestly more unforgivable than comparing Swinney to Riley in the first place.
If Clemson gets blown out, Swinney will have to wear it, but this does not feel like a likely outcome. Right now, Clemson and Swinney need to focus on the task at hand by taking care of business at LSU.
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