Clemson coach Dabo Swinney defends program after slow start - ESPN

Dabo Swinney defended his program, which has started 1-2, during a fiery news conference Tuesday, saying, in part, that if Clemson was tired of winning «they can send me on my way.»

The Tigers started the season ranked No. 4 with College Football Playoff hopes but fell out of the Top 25 this week after losing to Georgia Tech 24-21. They opened the year with a 17-10 home loss to LSU and trailed Troy at halftime in Week 2, also at home, before rallying to win.

«Hey, listen, if Clemson's tired of winning, they can send me on my way,» Swinney said. «But I'm gonna go somewhere else and coach. I ain't going to the beach. Hell, I'm 55. I've got a long way to go. Y'all are gonna have to deal with me for a while.»

Clemson has not been in sync on offense, with third-year starting quarterback Cade Klubnik struggling to find rhythm and consistency, and the defense is still learning to adapt to new defensive coordinator Tom Allen.

Swinney said Tuesday that he was confident his team would respond, starting Saturday against Syracuse, because that is what his program has done during hard moments. But he also had a message to critics who have questioned where Clemson goes from here after two tough losses.

«I would just say, if you don't believe in us because we've lost two games down to the last play and we're 1-2? You didn't believe in us anyways, so it don't matter,» Swinney said. «You weren't all-in anyway.»

Swinney pointed out that in his 17 years as head coach at Clemson, he has had one bad season — going 6-7 in 2010. In 13 of the last 14 years, Clemson has won 10 or more games. That lone season without 10 wins came in 2023, when Clemson started 4-4 but wound up winning five straight to finish 9-4.

«All we've done is win,» Swinney