It's been a half-decade since Clemson was a legitimate national title contender, and there have been quite a few changes in the landscape of college football since then, as well.
At the forefront of the Clemson football program has been Dabo Swinney. With two national titles, four national title appearances, seven College Football Playoff appearances, and a multitude of ACC Championships — nine, to be exact — to his name, there's no doubting that Swinney is destined for the College Football Hall of Fame, no matter what happens the rest of his career.
That being said, over the last few years, Swinney has seen a growing number of critics come after him for the way he has gone about building his program. Swinney hasn't been resistant to change, but he has been methodical in making alterations to the structure that had Clemson so successful in the past.
It should be noted that even in the "down years" of Clemson football — ie. the last five seasons — the Tigers have still won three ACC Championships, made two College Football Playoff appearances, and finished in the Top-10 twice.
Still, no one can deny that there has been a dropoff from the dominant Clemson teams of the past and the ones we've seen on the field from 2020-2024. Some of that may be due to talent acquisition, some of it may be due to inexperienced assistant coaches on staff, some of it may be due to the sheer nature of college football with all of its changes and the fact that it's hard to win at that level for an extended period of time for anyone, even the best coaches in the history of the sport.
However, for those who took the over-dramatized position that "the game had passed Dabo Swinney by," you might want to walk those comments back now.
There's something different brewing in Clemson.
First, there's talent development. Clemson has always been a program based on developing talent at a high-level. As we look towards the 2025 season, Clemson returns QB Cade Klubnik, WRs Antonio Williams, Bryant Wesco, T.J. Moore, and Tyler Brown, as well as four starting offensive linemen and three others who have starting experience. The offense figures to be one of the best in the nation when considering its returning production and another year in Garrett Riley's system.
Defensively, the talent is there too. Peter Woods, T.J. Parker, Khalil Barnes, Aveion Terrell, Ashton Hampton, and Sammy Brown are all pieces that could be NFL Draft picks in the future, and Swinney has big plans for his defense, as well.
Unhappy with the results from last year, he fired Defensive Coordinator Wes Goodwin and put his assistants on notice. He went out and nabbed Tom Allen from Penn State, who has brought a fresh and renewed perspective to that unit, and it's easy to see why they believe the defense will be much-improved under Allen's leadership beginning next season.
It doesn't stop there, either. Clemson brought in three transfers — EDGE Will Heldt, WR Tristan Smith, and LB/EDGE Jeremiah Alexander — to fill specific needs on the roster, and there have been big front-office moves coming from the Tigers, as well.
Clemson brought in Lonnie Galloway (former offensive coordinator and WRs Coach) who is well-respected and then went and hired Kevin Kelly as its Director of Player Evaluation & Acquisition from the Los Angeles Chargers. Kelly has more than 20 years of experience in the NFL, and he'll work with General Manager Jordan Sorrells on identifying talent for the Tigers moving forward.
Still sound like Dabo Swinney isn't open to change?
Clemson has retained players at a rate higher than any contender in the country, and now they're moving forward with big-time front-office moves, as well as assistant coach and analyst hirings, building a bigger and better infrastructure for the program moving forward.
What this all means for Clemson in the grander picture of college football remains to be seen, but anyone who says that Dabo Swinney isn't willing to adapt or that the game has passed him by might soon need to walk back some of those comments.