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Dabo Swinney made national headlines last season after the Clemson Tigers‘ 4-4 start. During a weekly call-in show following a loss to NC State, a young fan named Tyler was critical of the head coach.
In that interaction, Tyler came after Swinney, questioning whether he was deserving of his $11M salary while blasting the team’s production on the field.
Swinney fired back with a vicious evisceration, calling him a “smart-a– kid” during a lengthy rant that lasted more than five minutes.
“You’re part of the problem. If you want to apply for the job, go for it. And good luck to you… To answer your question, I started as the lowest-paid coach in this business … I worked my a– off. I’m not going to let this smart a– kid get on the phone and tell me how to do my job.
“If you got a problem with that, that’s fine. But I’m not going to sit here and let you call. I don’t give a crap how much money I make. You ain’t gonna talk to me like I’m 12 years old. Gotta be freaking kidding me.”
-Dabo Swinney
There was much speculation following that phone call. Some went as far as to claim Tyler was a Dabo Swinney plant used to fire up the Clemson squad.
If that was the case, the plan worked as the Tigers finished the year on a five-game win streak.
According to Chapel Fowler of The State, Swinney may not get the opportunity to rip his critics in the coming season.
Clemson could make a change to Dabo Swinney’s call-in show.
Ahead of the 2024 Clemson football season, the school athletic department is weighing a number of changes to coach Dabo Swinney’s popular weekly radio show. One thing the “Tiger Calls” might drop: live callers.
Although Swinney will still appear on the radio show on Monday nights during the season, Clemson is in the process of finalizing a number of tweaks to the show. The school has not yet made a final decision on whether or not Swinney will take any calls from fans, an athletic department spokesman told The State.
The athletic department may limit access to the head coach, though it states that it’s not in a direct response to Tyler from Spartanburg’s phone call.
Many in college football have moved away from the live call-in format, instead allowing coaches to break down the game tape from the week prior without the interruption of criticism.
For Swinney, who rarely bites his tongue when attacked by fans or media, it could be a good thing.