Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney seems to think that fans of the team have become numb to the Tigers’ success, and he’s not too thrilled about it.
During a press conference introducing offensive coordinator Garrett Riley earlier this week, Dabo Swinney called out fans of the Clemson football team for a decrease in their support.
Swinney mentioned that 5,000 fans waited for the team in the end zone after Clemson won its first ACC Championship under the coach in 2011. The coach lamented that conference titles no longer generate the same enthusiasm from Clemson fans.
“Now there ain’t nobody there, ain’t no big deal,” Swinney said. “And I think that’s sad.”
Clemson went 11-3 in the 2022 college football season. After losing to Tennessee 31-14 in the Orange Bowl, the Tigers ranked No. 13 in the final AP Top 25 poll. It marked the second straight year that Clemson missed the College Football Playoffs. The Tigers finished as the nation’s No. 14 team in 2021.
Clemson still won the 2022 ACC Championship, giving the Tigers their seventh conference title in eight seasons. For a fan base that has become accustomed to competing for national championships under Swinney, the last two seasons have been viewed as a disappointment by some.
“Sometimes people can lose perspective,” Swinney said. “We’ve raised the bar here. We’ve changed the standard. We’ve elevated the expectations and I love that. But as we strive to meet and exceed those expectations every single year, we’ve got to keep the right perspective. We’ve got to have joy in the journey.”
In his first decade as Clemson’s head coach, Swinney elevated the program to a level that was only matched by Alabama. From 2015-2020, Swinney led Clemson to six straight appearances in the College Football Playoffs. Clemson reached four CFP championship games and won a pair of national titles.
Swinney has gone 161-39 since becoming Clemson’s head coach for the 2008 season.
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