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Dabo Swinney runs onto the field before the game against the LSU Tigers at Memorial Stadium on August 30, 2025 in Clemson, South Carolina. (Photo by Katie Januck/Getty Images)

The Clemson Tigers and head coach Dabo Swinney are entering a pivotal 2026 college football season. Ahead of the campaign, there have been a lot of questions about the future of the program.

Swinney’s name has come up a lot in hot seat rumors. There are many who believe that Clemson could be forced to move on to another head coach if the program has another down year.

Last season was one of the most frustrating in recent history for the Tigers. They began the season as a top-tier National Championship contender. When all was said and done, Swinney and company mustered up a 7-4 record and missed the playoff entirely.

Over the last few years, Swinney has struggled to adapt to the changes in college football. Specifically, he has struggled with the NIL and transfer portal aspects. That has caused Clemson to fall behind much of the rest of the nation.

Keeping that in mind, a new update has been shared about Swinney’s future with the Tigers.

Josh Pate Weighs in on Clemson’s Future with Dabo Swinney

During a segment of his show on Sunday, Pate fired back against the idea of Clemson moving on from Swinney this season. He doesn’t see that coming.

“Dabo Swinney is not on this (hot seat) list for me,” Pate said. “And there was a lot of talk around the office today. Shouldn’t Dabo be on this list? Well, not to me. I think that’s its own universe of a conversation.”

Pate continued on, getting more vocal about his belief that Swinney’s job status is safe. He only sees one scenario that Swinney could lose his job.

“Dabo Swinney being on the hot seat would be insane to me. Now, they went 7-6 last year. And if they went 7-6 or worse this year, oh, of course, the conversation would be toxic. Yes, absolutely, it would be.”

At the end of the day, no one knows what the Tigers’ opinion on the matter is heading into the season. However, something has to change and Clemson needs to get back on track.

Dabo Swinney’s Recruiting Has Been on Fire Lately

There have been some positive signs for Swinney and the Tigers recently.

Swinney has been on fire with his recruiting in recent days. He secured 15 commitments in a 17-day span recently, which pushed the Clemson recruiting class for 2027 from being top 30 to top 10.

If the longtime head coach can improve his NIL and transfer portal success, the Tigers have a chance to rebound quickly. On the other hand, if he stays stuck in his ways, Clemson could be forced to consider a change.

Only time will tell, but Pate has a very different opinion than most. If his opinion ends up being accurate, Swinney is far from being at risk of losing his job barring a major collapse.