By Rock Westfall
Nick Saban has been echoing Dabo Swinney’s original concerns about college football’s future. Saban has become outspoken since retiring from Alabama about his concerns for the game. But Swinney was at the point when the lid originally blew off.
Nick Saban Gets Dabo’s Religion While Appearing Self-Serving
This week, we have seen a more animated and adamant Nick Saban regarding the state of college football. Saban claims to be a player and education advocate, and perhaps he is. He says he will use his new platform to offer solutions to college football’s continuing crisis. Of course, Saban was more muted and grudging about such matters when he was still wearing the whistle at Alabama.
In 2022, Saban deeply resented that Texas A&M was, in his words, “buying” better players, which set off a nuclear feud with then-Texas A&M coach and former Saban assistant Jimbo Fisher, in turn. Fisher spilled the beans that players were getting paid long before NIL made the issue public and became a major recruiting factor.
Fisher implied that Saban ran unethical programs all along, calling the Nicktator a “narcissist” in the process. As a former Saban assistant, Fisher hinted at knowing how Saban got around the rules. Fisher challenged the media to dig into Saban’s past.
I always suspected Fisher’s assessment of Saban was more right than wrong and that Saban was hardly pristine. I also agreed when Fisher said Saban was acting like a child throwing a tantrum because he could no longer get his way.
https://twitter.com/GetUpESPN/status/1531658271676833792
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Saban’s Petulance Over New Parity Offers ESPN Potential Gold
Other programs were catching up to Alabama at the end, including Michigan. And it was then-Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh who once lamented that “you can’t beat the cheaters.” Then came the portal, NIL, and increased competition. The ultimate proof was Michigan beating Alabama in the College Football Playoff to send Saban into retirement.
It isn’t easy to believe that someone who dominated the SEC the way Saban did always operated within the letter of the law. After all, SEC culture has long overtly bragged, NASCAR style, that “if you ain’t cheating, you ain’t trying.” But like a good mafia chief, Saban apparently kept himself several levels above and away from whatever Fisher was alluding to.
Despite his denials, Saban retired in great part due to college football’s chaotic lawlessness. A bitterly frustrated Saban lost much of his ability to control players and prospects as NIL and the portal created more alternative options for prospects.
Still, Saban offers undeniable potential value as the most credible figure in the eyes of the public as college football’s GOAT coach. ESPN has a golden opportunity to drain Saban’s brain on his new Gameday platform. Saban’s desire to speak out could provide substantive content for a clown caravan show that needs it, not to mention ratings gold.
Dabo Swinney welcomes Saban to the party he started long ago. Swinney is fighting against the strong headwinds he warned us about. But he is not ready to concede his convictions.
https://twitter.com/MySportsUpdate/status/1527309612638035976
Dabo Swinney’s Internal Battle – Head vs. Heart
For traditionalist college football fans, Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney reaches their hearts. Swinney has long preached the Gospel of College Football Virtues. Education, learning to be a responsible contributing asset in society, and sharing the riches of a lifelong brotherhood of teammates is the mythical magic of the sport.
To the traditionalists, mercenaries chasing the bag and free agency is why God invented the NFL. To them, College football was never meant to have players showing up to a facility in a Lamborghini or a QB flashing his Rolex to fans in an opposing stadium. It was also not meant for that same QB to skip the first team meeting of the offseason to do a Louis Vuitton shoot with his teammate-brother in France.
Sadly, God’s Game has gone pro.
Then there is the Nick Saban pragmatist wing of college football. They may hate the transfer portal and NIL but realize that it is a case of having to adapt or die. Nobody in college football history adapted and embraced change more effectively than Saban.
https://twitter.com/ConfCommandos/status/1520437323657326593
A Matter of Principle
Dabo Swinney is a highly intelligent man. He rose from poverty with a tremendous work ethic and smarts. He has a master’s degree in Business Administration and worked in real estate development before becoming a football coach.
But as a coach, Swinney really shined. He has two national championships and led Clemson to the College Football Playoff six consecutive seasons. He is the winningest coach in Clemson history.
So, when critics say Dabo is slow to adapt, they are wrong. Dabo knows the inherent advantages of NIL and the transfer portal. But he hasn’t been shy about criticizing their pitfalls.
Long before anyone else, Dabo saw the threats of constant roster turnover and a mercenary attitude of players. Ironically, he saw how today’s lawlessness would hurt student-athletes more than anyone else. Too many players end up without diplomas because of being abandoned in the portal.
https://twitter.com/ConfCommandos/status/1514379462670000129
It’s No Longer Dabo’s World – Can He Get it Back?
Not that long ago, it was Dabo’s world, both figuratively and literally. Clemson’s football facility was named “Dabo World” and included a pool and spectacular waterslide. Clemson was rolling with eight ACC championships to go with its playoff accomplishments, finishing in the AP Top 6 in six consecutive campaigns.
Dabo built the greatest culture in college football history. He formed partnerships with his players and challenged them to find “our kinda guys” (OKG) during recruiting season. He would use his players to weed out potential bad apples on recruiting visits and find the ones who were eager to succeed in the classroom as well as the gridiron.
But Clemson has missed the CFP the past three years. There has been a noticeable talent gap between its Glory Years and today. Offensively, the Tigers have become slower and with fewer playmakers. And a defense that was once a dominant asset is now merely good.
This drop can be traced to a recruiting slide that began in 2022, just as NIL and the portal became major factors in the game. Previously, Clemson fought with Alabama and Georgia for top-ranked classes. But in the past three years, they finished outside the top ten, including 14th in 2024.
With talent that is good but no longer elite, Clemson finished 10-3 in 2021, 11-3 in 2022, and 9-4 this past season. All three years, Clemson finished outside the AP Top-12, including 20th in 2023.
https://twitter.com/ConnorFliff/status/1698897917107372401
Dabo Fights the Perception Storm That He Forecasted
Dabo remains adamant that he prefers the OKG approach he has always used. But that is not what most 5-star prospects want to hear. Clemson has a reputation with recruits and transfer prospects for not having the bag and for not being welcoming to transfers. While that is not entirely true, perception is reality.
Additionally, playing in the ACC has become a liability. Florida State being left out of the CFP for Alabama in 2023 exemplified the issue. The ACC has a second-class reputation that is used for negative recruiting by SEC and Big Ten schools.
So, with the perception of having no bag, playing in a second-tier league, and a level of competition that won’t do as good of a job preparing players for the NFL, the best players are going elsewhere.
https://twitter.com/Jon_Blau/status/1754999812871639551
Will Dabo Be Convicted By His Convictions?
Dabo Swinney remains of a different world that no longer exists and is not coming back. Swinney faces the possibility of falling further behind the times. But if he fails career-wise, he will fail his way, with honor and with his boots on.
Millions of college football purists hope Swinney succeeds in sticking it to the system. But hope is not a plan. And Swinney’s way is no longer a realistic path to a national championship.
But let the record show that although Dabo is wrong about building a champion in the current era of college football, he was right from the beginning on how the game is destroying itself.
https://twitter.com/TheMorganTShow/status/1720904020804432238
