Swinney leads the pack of coaches who need to embrace the transfer portal

Dabo Swinney – Clemson

The skinny: While many other coaches have made the portal a priority in recent years, Swinney continues to ignore it. And this continues to be true despite the angst of many fans in Death Valley who question his philosophy. Can the Tigers continue to excel on the field while not replenishing some of their portal losses with some potentially quick transfer help? That is still up for debate, but if the Tigers falter in 2023 you can be sure that this will be quickly brought up.

Jimbo Fisher – Texas A&M

The skinny: The last couple of seasons have been a roller coaster ride for Fisher in College Station. But overall, high school recruiting has excelled, while the on-field product has not. The result has been a steady stream of players entering the portal, but a surprisingly underwhelming group arriving. Recruiting has never been an issue for Fisher, but his efforts and results in the portal have been far from inspiring as he looks to revitalize the Aggies program this fall.

Oct 22, 2022; Columbia, South Carolina, USA; Texas A&M Aggies head coach Jimbo Fisher directs his team against the South Carolina Gamecocks in the second quarter at Williams-Brice Stadium.

Steve Sarkisian – Texas

The skinny: About to start his third season in Austin, Sarkisian has compiled a 13-12 record to this point. However, despite adding a couple of big pieces such as Quinn Ewers (Ohio State) and AD Mitchell (Georgia), the Longhorns have been somewhat passive in the transfer market. This has the potential to be a turning point season for Sarkisian, either good or bad, so the outcome may determine how he handles the portal in the future.

Kirk Ferentz – Iowa

The skinny: After seemingly ignoring the portal’s existence during the last few years, Ferentz finally realized its benefits during this off-season. At least part of this was due to a historically bad 2022 offensive season for the Hawkeyes and the growing pressure that resulted. Whatever the reason, Iowa did successfully add a few pieces that have the potential to jumpstart the unit. Now it will be interesting to see if the use of the portal will become more of a norm in Iowa City or if this was a one-year anomaly.

Oct 8, 2022; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes head coach Kirk Ferentz reacts after a penalty was called on an assistant coach during a game against the Illinois fighting Illini at Memorial Stadium.

Matt Campbell – Iowa State

The skinny: The Cyclones have had 30 scholarship players enter the portal over the last two cycles but continue to slow play the buyer’s market. This was especially surprising during this off-season considering they finished 4-8 in 2022, their worst season since 2016. Another similar performance this fall may change their portal philosophy as Campbell’s shine would also begin to fade.