Andrea AdelsonMay 11, 2026, 08:58 PM ETClose ACC reporter. Joined ESPN.com in 2010. Graduate of the University of Florida.Follow on XMultiple Authors
Dabo on last season: ‘Nobody’s fault but mine’ (0:58)Dabo Swinney takes the blame for the Clemson Tigers’ 2025 season in a sit-down interview. (0:58)
In his first comments since the draft, coach Dabo Swinney said Monday from ACC spring meetings, “It’s pretty well documented we grossly underachieved last year. That isn’t a news flash.
“We just keep beating that dead horse to death. We’re onto the new season. We grossly underachieved and underperformed and did not coach and play to our potential. We’ve had other seasons where we had nobody drafted and won 10-plus games. That’s football.
“It didn’t work last year. If you do this long enough, you can have a year where it just doesn’t work. I don’t care if you’re Roy Williams or Coach K or Dabo Swinney, it doesn’t matter. It’s what you do moving forward. But I think perspective is important.”
Swinney said he does not push back on the criticism or disappointment from last season, when the Tigers were the preseason pick to win the ACC and a popular choice to make the College Football Playoff. But he also pointed out what Clemson has accomplished — including ranking No. 7 in the country in wins this decade.
“The narrative of our program, it’s just not accurate,” Swinney said. “If we go have a bunch of bad years, that’s different, but we’ve had one bad year in 15 years. Ten wins is not a bad year. Eleven wins is not a bad year.
Swinney also said he believes Clemson is in a good spot with what it has spent on its roster, maxing out the revenue sharing number while adding NIL opportunities on top of that.
He also added context to an interview he did last week with Greg McElroy on his “Always College Football” podcast — in which he said Notre Dame “prints its own money.”
“We may not have a $45 million roster like some teams, but we’ve got enough. We’ve just got to be good with it. We’ve got to be strategic.”
Dabo on last season: ‘Nobody’s fault but mine’ (0:58)Dabo Swinney takes the blame for the Clemson Tigers’ 2025 season in a sit-down interview. (0:58)
Andrea AdelsonMay 11, 2026, 08:58 PM ETClose ACC reporter. Joined ESPN.com in 2010. Graduate of the University of Florida.Follow on XMultiple Authors
Dabo Swinney takes the blame for the Clemson Tigers’ 2025 season in a sit-down interview. (0:58)
Close ACC reporter. Joined ESPN.com in 2010. Graduate of the University of Florida.Follow on X