College Football

Dabo Swinney’s old-school ways threaten Clemson football dynasty, while SEC evolves

Dabo Swinney’s incomprehension of capitalism and his lousy metaphors won’t derail Clemson football. What could, though, is the veteran coach’s persistent reluctance to embrace evolution within college athletics.

Swinney, in a recent interview with ESPN, painted himself as a relic while his sport speeds into a present where players are allowed to earn money off endorsements and may freely transfer without penalty.

Regardless of Swinney’s stance on these changes, the toothpaste shows no sign of re-entering the tube. Rather than adapt, Swinney clings to the myth of amateurism.

Swinney defended his $8.5 million salary by telling ESPN “we live in a capitalist society.” Yet, he argued that college athletes earning money devalues their education. In Swinney’s phony capitalism, universities (many of which, including Clemson, are government funded), coaches and administrators bathe in riches from a product supplied by athletes who do not earn wages.

“The head of Delta probably makes a lot more than the people who are checking your baggage in,” Swinney pontificated, “but those people are as vital as anybody.”

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Two issues with that metaphor: Baggage loaders earn wages; also, college athletes aren’t metaphorically loading luggage onto College Athletics Airlines. The athletes are the dang pilots. Without pilots, there is no airline industry. Without athletes, there is no college athletics.

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney, second from right, meets Alabama head coach Nick Saban at mid-field after the Tigers’ 44-16 win in the CFP National Championship presented by AT&T at Levi’s Stadium on January 7, 2019, in Santa Clara, Calif.

As Swinney played the hits, he explained his distaste for transfers.

“We’re also not doing our job as coaches and recruiters if we’re bringing in a bunch of transfers,” Swinney said, before adding that he’s open to transfers who address specific roster needs.

It’s fair for Swinney to question…

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