Re: TNET: Finebaum proclaims Dabo Swinney is no longer 'elite,' needs 'exit strategy'

Because Neff was brought up through the ranks of the Clemson Athletic department and has bought into the idea that loyalty to the "Clemson family" trumps the business that is college athletics today. It's part of the reason so many of us loved our time at Clemson--it's what makes our program different. But it's also an awful way to run an athletic department in a cutthroat, multi-million dollar college football landscape.

Neff also was a few rungs down in the Athletic Department when Dabo was winning national titles in 2017 and 2019, and he realizes we wouldn't have had the success we had in the late 2010s if it weren't for Dabo. Hard for someone in that position to challenge Dabo, who was Neff's "superior" for so many years--even if that is technically Neff's responsibility now.

The unfortunate reality is that due to Dabo's long and successful run, and Clemson's culture, no one--not Neff, not Clements, not the Board of Trustees--is going to give Dabo any sort of ultimatum or tell him how to run the program. No one is going to hold his feet to the fire and ask the tough questions. It's ridiculous that Dabo is being paid $11 million a year and is immune from any real criticism from a decision maker. No other multimillion dollar business is run this way. But that's where we find ourselves...

agent k

Letterman [185]

TigerPulse: 70%

Posts: 185

Joined: 2019

Sep 3, 2024, 1:35 AM

Unfortunately there are Clemson fans who mix their love for Dabo with their judgment on where the program is and where it is headed. It is truly as plain as day. Times have changed because the elite players are in college to get to the NFL. They are not here primarily for a traditional education, because if they make it to the big time, they won't have to worry about getting a job after leaving the league where their course work at Clemson makes any difference. The job they will get in retirement will involve football. It is their major academically at Clemson, as also happens at other top schools. This isn longer the era where players get second jobs between seasons, or non-athletic jobs after retiring from the professional ranks.

So all those who think things will improve while Dabo keeps the same approach regarding the portal should ask themselves a simple question. If you are elite or close to elite, and you can get NIL money at one school, as well as playing in a top league (there are only two), and having a shot annually for the BCS and a national title, or you can go to a wonderful school, which Clemson is, and play in a second tier league while struggling to be its champion, but have no NIL and not enough highly talented players alongside you to be in the end of year mix, which school would you choose?

We are not competitive, plain and simple, and it shows in every game.

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TNET: Finebaum proclaims Dabo Swinney is no longer 'elite,' needs 'exit strategy'