Dabo Swinney has been the face of the Clemson Tigers football team since taking over as the team’s head coach back in 2008.
Since becoming the lead man at Clemson, he has led the program to an impressive 187-53 record. He has also won two National Championships with the Tigers.
Thinking about a Clemson football team without Swinney on the sidelines just seems wrong. However, the falloff that the program has been going through in recent years has led to rumblings that a change could be coming in the future.
Over the last couple of years, the Tigers have had big expectations only to come up short. In 2025, Clemson was expected to be a National Championship favorite, but didn’t even end up making the College Football Playoff.
Heading into the 2026 college football season, Swinney will be facing a lot of pressure. Many believe that he will be on the hot seat from the opening game of the year.
Dabo Swinney Lands Brutal Prediction About Clemson Future
Keeping all of that in mind, a new prediction has been shared about Swinney’s potential future with the Tigers.
Stewart Mandel of The Athletic has predicted that the Tigers will make a change and move on from Swinney after the 2026 season concludes. He went as far as to predict that Clemson will bring in current Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer to replace him.
“Lane Kiffin leaves LSU after nine games for Alabama, which fires Kalen DeBoer after eight games,” Mandel wrote. “DeBoer then goes to Clemson to take over for Dabo Swinney after he gets too distraught over tampering to continue.”
That comment about tampering stems from Swinney’s recent callout of Ole Miss head coach Pete Golding. Even after signing with the Tigers and enrolling in classes at Clemson, the Rebels continued to contact linebacker Luke Ferrelli. Swinney took offense and publicly took a shot at Golding and Ole Miss.
Whether or not Swinney chooses to walk away or the program decides to make a change, another down season could force the two parties to part ways.
Why Have Things Gone South for Clemson & Dabo Swinney?
Quite simply, Swinney has struggled to adjust to life in the new-look college football landscape.
He has not adapted well to the transfer portal. The change in NIL has also not come easy for him.
Those two things have caused the Tigers to fall behind many of the other power teams in college football. Swinney has slowly started using both avenues of roster improvement better over the last couple of years, but he is already at a disadvantage.
Clemson could very well rebound in 2026 and get back to being a National Championship contender. If the Tigers are able to do that, Swinney could easily be back in 2027. However, if the struggles continue, he could find himself looking for a new job.
Dabo Swinney Lands Brutal Prediction About Future at Clemson