Dabo Swinney Is Right About LSU, but He's the Wrong Person to Say It

I think most people agree that LSU’s pursuit of NFL players is bad for college football. Amateur status is mostly a joke at this point, with lawyers deciding eligibility and players getting millions in NIL deals; however, there still needs to be something to prevent professional players from returning to college sports.

Dabo Swinney and Clemson will be the first team to face LSU in a game that shouldn’t be played by any former professional athletes. Dae’Quan Wright and Junior Tuihalamaka both have been practicing with LSU in spite of the SEC ruling that former pro players are ineligible to play.

Coach Swinney is rightfully bothered by Lane Kiffin’s pursuit of these players. He described it as an “embarrassment” to even go for these guys. In theory, I fully agree with Swinney. Kiffin is one again, trying to bend the rules, even though he would be on the front lines complaining if another coach tried to do this to him. Also, if either Wright or Tuihalamaka ends up playing this weekend, I’ll be right there with Sinney, complaining about the results from that game and any future games for LSU.

With that being said, this feels like a right message, wrong messenger situation. Swinney consistently benefited from things breaking his way during Clemson’s run at the top of college football, but since the start of NIL, he’s come across as an out-of-touch, whiny old man.

Swinney is also just a massive hypocrite. He was at the front lines protesting NIL, preventing thousands of kids from getting life-changing amounts of money. He said he would quit coaching if college football ever became pay-for-play. Swinney, of course, changed his mind when NIL started in 2021, saying he builds his programs in “God’s name, image, and likeness”.

He was also vehemently opposed to the transfer portal, thinking he could still build his program from within, but quickly had to change his tune there as well because no team could succeed without it in 2026.

Everything about Dabo Swinney has always felt so disingenuous. He’s first in line to take all the credit when things are going well for the Tigers, but the second anything goes against his beliefs, he takes his ball and goes home. I’m not the biggest fan of Dabo, but he is exactly what makes college football so great. With that being said, I would hammer LSU -10.5 this week, and I’m not particularly high on LSU to begin with.