Dabo rips into caller: ‘You can request the task’

• David Hale, ESPN Personnel WriterOct 30, 2023, 10:35 PM ET

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  • ACC reporter.Joined ESPN in 2012. Graduate of the University of Delaware.Amid his worst season in more than a years, Clemson coach Dabo

Swinney berated a caller to his radio show on Monday after being asked to protect his group’s efficiency given his status as one of the highest-paid coaches in the nation. “You belong to the issue,”Swinney told the caller, who introduced himself just as” Tyler in Spartanburg.””The gratitude, the expectation is higher than the gratitude. That’s the issue. We have actually won 12 10-plus-win seasons in a row. That’s occurred three times in 150 years. Clemson ain’t smell a championship game for 35 years; we have actually won two in 7 years. And there’s only 2 other teams that can say that: Georgia and Alabama.”Is this a bad year? Yeah, and it’s my responsibility.

Take one hundred percent responsibility for it. But all this bull crap you’re believing, all these stories you read. Listen, male, you can have your viewpoint all you want, and you can apply for the task. And best of luck to you.”Monday’s tirade was the latest– and most aggressive– reaction from Swinney in the middle of growing criticism of his handling of the Clemson program, which will miss out on the College Football Playoff for the 3rd straight year after a 4-4 start to the season.In a radio program appearance 2 weeks earlier, Swinney regreted the Clemson

“bandwagon “fans and recommended that a few losses may help eliminate bad fans who have actually lost an appreciation for winning. The Tigers then lost in overtime to Miami and, last week, by a touchdown to NC State.Editor’s Picks 2 Associated Swinney went on Monday to protect his salary, noting that upon his working with in 2009,

he was among the lowest-paid coaches

at a significant program.”I began as the lowest-paid coach in this organization [and] I worked my ass off,”Swinney said.” I’m not going to let this smart-ass kid get on the phone and tell me how to do my task.”Swinney is in the second season of a 10-year,$ 115 million contract, which puts him amongst the highest-paid coaches in the country. In his very first season at Clemson,

in 2009, he was paid $816,850. He had been hired after being an interim head coach and had no prior coordinator or head-coaching experience. He has considering that won 2 nationwide championships.However, the 2023 project is Clemson’s third straight that has actually stopped working to measure up to high expectations amongst fans, with losses to Duke, Florida State, Miami and NC State– the team’s first four-loss ACC season given that 2010– and a hard game against checking out Notre Dame on tap for Saturday.Swinney’s attitude after each defeat has grown gradually more frustrated, however he has largely avoided undercutting his players or coaching staff, pressing back against require coaching modifications and criticism of private players. Rather, Swinney has actually largely deferred to

some regularly misfortune– especially when it comes to turnovers– in each of the group’s losses.Fans, nevertheless, have actually indicated a scarcity of skill on the roster along with some jarringly bad efficiencies from the players. Swinney has taken criticism for the past couple of years over his rejection to dip into the transfer portal to include players to the roster along with for mostly constructing his training personnel from former players and others with Clemson

ties. He fired offensive organizer Brandon Streeter after the 2022 season, when Clemson lost in the Orange Bowl, and hired Garrett Riley as his replacement. But Riley has mainly struggled to inject much energy into the offense, and Clemson is averaging a half-point less per drive in 2023 than it did last season.Swinney also has received criticism in recent years for his stance versus players being paid. He stated in 2015 that if players were paid directly, he might merely stop and coach in the pros. He has distanced himself from those comments in the last few years, and Clemson has actually developed among the more enthusiastic name, image and similarity(NIL)programs in the nation.Still, Swinney went back to a similar method on Monday, recommending that if the school no longer felt he was doing a satisfactory job coaching the Tigers, he would go elsewhere. “I work for the board of trustees, the president and the advertisement, and if they’re tired of me leading this program, all they got to do is let me know. I’ll go elsewhere where there is a gratitude, “Swinney stated, adding that he has 15 more years left in coaching.”I do not understand if it’ll be here, but it’ll be someplace.”