Clemson's Dabo Swinney - Win or lose, 'they're going to criticize'

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — For a team that has made the College Football Playoff six times in the past seven years, Clemson has faced a far bigger share of questions about the state of its program than one might expect this offseason.

Despite its run of success, including its 11th straight 10-win season a year ago, nobody is talking about the Tigers as a playoff shoo-in headed into the season. Instead, there are more questions directed to coach Dabo Swinney about his decision to stay in-house for coordinator hires, and what exactly the offense will look like after quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei struggled throughout 2021.

When asked about it during ACC Kickoff on Wednesday, Swinney said, «If I sit around and listen to all the people that questioned me for the last 14 years and did what everybody thought I should do, I wouldn't be here. We're not having this conversation.

»I do what I think is best for Clemson, and what I think is best for our team. We've always been inside-out driven and nothing has changed, just more people pay attention. But that's because we've been successful. The one thing I've learned at Clemson — we can go win the next three national championships in a row, people are still not going to like me. I can make whatever decision, and they're going to criticize. That comes with winning. When you're in a profession like this, there's really only one fan base that likes you."

It certainly is a far different narrative than a year ago, when Clemson was the overwhelming choice to repeat as ACC champions and make a seventh straight playoff appearance. Though the Tigers had to replace Trevor Lawrence, Uiagalelei had playing experience headed into the season. But Uiagalelei and the entire offense did not match the preseason