During his weekly Tuesday press conference, Dabo Swinney had plenty to say when asked about the criticism he faced following Clemson’s loss to Georgia in the season opener.
But the bottom line is the Tigers’ head coach “could care less what people say” about him.
“I’m glad I don’t read none of that, or listen to it,” Swinney said.
Swinney was widely criticized after Clemson’s 34-3 loss to Georgia on Aug. 31, especially regarding his transfer portal approach, with many saying things such as the game has “passed him by” in the current college football landscape.
Swinney was asked if he wants to stick it to those people and say “look at us now” – now that the 17 th -ranked Tigers (2-1, 1-0 ACC) are on the upswing after bouncing back from that loss to the Bulldogs with consecutive blowout victories over App State and NC State.
“No, I could care less about any of that stuff,” Swinney said. “People can say what they want to say. I don’t care. I don’t read any of it, I don’t listen to it. I don’t let any of that in my mind.
“I just focus on doing my job every day. I’m not trying to prove anything to anybody, man. I’m just trying to love these guys here, man. I’m just trying to do my job and do what’s best for Clemson day in and day out, put these guys in the best position to go win. I ain’t worried about none of that stuff. People can say whatever they want.”
Swinney added that he doesn’t need validation from anyone.
“I know who I am, I know where I’ve been, where I’ve come from and where I’m going. So, none of that stuff affects me or bothers me at all,” Swinney said. “That’s the world we have right now. We’ve created a society where it’s just normal to attack people, destroy people, make stuff up, create narratives. That’s just the society we live in. So you have to choose as a person whether or not you’re going to let that type of stuff affect you, or you just rise above it and focus on what you know and what matters. But I don’t participate in any of that stuff, so it just doesn’t matter to me. I could care less.”
Swinney pointed to the 2016 College Football Playoff National Championship Game, when Clemson overcame a 14-0 deficit to beat Alabama, as an example of how “it’s not about what you say, it’s not about what they say – it’s about what you do.”
“You can go back and look at our national championship game in 2016. I guarantee you, the first half of that game, there was probably a ton of negativity, a ton of awful things being said on social media, because we’re down 14-0 and all this stuff,” Swinney said. “So just like I tell my guys, it ain’t about what people say, it’s about what we do. And what we do is a reflection of what we believe. That’s all that matters. That’s really what should matter for everybody.”
Swinney went on to say that “it’s sad, especially when you’re dealing with young people, the way we have made it almost celebrated to attack people” in today’s society.
“It really is. Especially with young people, because that’s their world,” he said. “That ain’t my world. That’s their world. It is what it is. But the good news is, everybody has a decision, everybody has a choice on what you let into your world. You don’t have to participate in that stuff, so that’s why you’ve got to live your life on a strong foundation and know what’s real and what’s not.”
Swinney says he isn’t out to prove anything to anyone – his focus is simply on trying to beat Stanford (2-1, 1-0 ACC) in Saturday’s game at Memorial Stadium (7 p.m., ESPN).
“That’s all I care about,” he said. “I’m trying continue to have a great program and fulfill the purpose that we have as a program and what I have as a man.”
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