at No. 3 on his list of Top 25 coaches behind Kirby Smart at No. 1 and Ryan Day at No. 2.
I'm sure some here will take issue with Day ahead of Dabo.
But for Dabo to be ranked third here in 2025 is .... pretty strong given how much the landscape/model has changed (and how Dabo was supposedly so much behind the times).
Here's what Staples said about Dabo:
Swinney kept telling us his reluctance to use the transfer portal had less to do with a philosophical opposition than a financial issue. Clemson recruits and develops well, and it was tough for Clemson to afford players in the portal who could actually help the Tigers and whose NIL deals wouldn’t upset the payscale of the players Clemson retained. Now that revenue sharing is on the horizon, the budget is bigger. And lo and behold, Clemson is using the portal some. That gives me confidence that Swinney hasn’t completely forgotten how to be the guy who won two national titles and had no qualms about going toe-to-toe with Nick Saban. I had worried Swinney had allowed the program to become to insular, but the decision to fire defensive coordinator Wes Goodwin and bring in Tom Allen — who isn’t from anywhere near Swinney’s tree — means Swinney isn’t afraid of some new ideas. This feels like the setup for a big comeback.
I'm sure some here will take issue with Day ahead of Dabo.
But for Dabo to be ranked third here in 2025 is .... pretty strong given how much the landscape/model has changed (and how Dabo was supposedly so much behind the times).
Here's what Staples said about Dabo:
Swinney kept telling us his reluctance to use the transfer portal had less to do with a philosophical opposition than a financial issue. Clemson recruits and develops well, and it was tough for Clemson to afford players in the portal who could actually help the Tigers and whose NIL deals wouldn’t upset the payscale of the players Clemson retained. Now that revenue sharing is on the horizon, the budget is bigger. And lo and behold, Clemson is using the portal some. That gives me confidence that Swinney hasn’t completely forgotten how to be the guy who won two national titles and had no qualms about going toe-to-toe with Nick Saban. I had worried Swinney had allowed the program to become to insular, but the decision to fire defensive coordinator Wes Goodwin and bring in Tom Allen — who isn’t from anywhere near Swinney’s tree — means Swinney isn’t afraid of some new ideas. This feels like the setup for a big comeback.
