ESPN personality Paul Finebaum joined The Matt Barrie Show on Sunday morning to give his reaction to all the Week 1 college football action.
To no surprise, Finebaum didn’t hold back on how he feels about Dabo Swinney and the Clemson football program when discussing the 14th-ranked Tigers’ 34-3 loss to No. 1 Georgia on Saturday in Atlanta.
“Most smart people, Matt, knew that the noon game would not be very close,” Finebaum said.
“I sat on the set Saturday morning saying what I’m saying now about Clemson, and a former Heisman Trophy winner, a guy that understands football better than the two of us combined, told me that Clemson is a great program and this game will be very tight. And I just sat there at that moment, usually kept my mouth shut, because I knew it wasn’t a good idea. I knew what was going to happen, and so did you, Matt.”
Finebaum thinks Saturday’s game between the Bulldogs and Tigers shows that the elite status of Swinney and his program is over.
“It’s as much about how well Kirby Smart has control of that program as it is to say that Dabo Swinney’s time as an elite coach is over,” Finebaum said.
“Clemson is a good program, they’ll compete in the ACC, but their days as a program that matters, their days as a program that is spoken with reverence, are gone. Everyone knows what they’ve done, but they’re not doing it this year, and I don’t see them ever doing it again as long as Dabo Swinney is there.”
Finebaum went on to say that Swinney should “start planning an exit strategy.”
“And I don’t mean that the program is isn’t capable. But his approach to college football doesn’t work any longer. He’s been slow to move for everything. He now has that reputation as ‘grumpy Dabo,’ and I frankly think Dabo Swinney would be smart to start planning an exit strategy,” Finebaum said.
“I’m not saying they’re getting rid of him. They’re not. They’re stuck with him. He’s part of who they are. But he would be better to look elsewhere, to find another way to do it, because it’s simply not going to matter. He may find ways into the playoff in the future, but he’s not going to find a way to hold up the trophy any longer, not the way he’s running that program.”
Clemson trailed only 6-0 after two quarters on Saturday before being outscored 28-3 over the final two frames, and Finebaum wonders what the game would’ve looked like, had Georgia been firing on all cylinders before halftime.
“I don’t know how many times on Sunday morning we’ve had this conversation about Dabo, and I feel like I’m beating a dead horse because he is a good football coach,” Finebaum said.
“But it’s over, Dabo. This is not going to change. And by the way, you didn’t even get an A effort from Georgia. It was methodical, but that was a pretty sloppy first half by Georgia. What happens if they start clicking in the first quarter?”
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