CLEMSON, S.C. — Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney will no longer take live calls from fans on his weekly radio show.
This change comes after Swinney’s viral five-minute rant last year in response to a caller named ‘Tyler from Spartanburg.’ He confronted the Tigers’ coach about the team’s 4-4 record and loss to North Carolina State. The caller spoke for nearly three minutes and questioned why Clemson pays Swinney so much money for an average record.
In response, Swinney went off on the caller:
‘You can have all your opinions that you want. I don’t know how old you are. Don’t really care. But let me tell you something: We won 11 games last year. And you’re part of the problem, to be honest with you, because that is part of the problem. It’s people like you that all you do is … the expectation is greater than the appreciation. And that’s the problem. …
‘But I’m the head coach and I’m going to do what I believe is right for the long term of this program, what’s best for the players and what I think’s best for the moment. If you got a problem with that, that’s fine, but I’m not gonna see you sit here and let you call in. I don’t give a crap how much money I make. You ain’t gonna talk to me like I’m 12 years old. You’ve got to be freakin’ kidding me.’
The show’s new format will allow viewers to text questions to The Roar’s text line instead. Swinney will make his first appearance on ‘Tiger Sports Hour with Dabo Swinney’ at 8 p.m. Monday.
After Swinney’s rant, the Tigers won five consecutive games, including a victory then-No. 12 Notre Dame, to remain bowl eligible. Clemson missed the College Football Playoff and ACC championship and won its fewest games last season since 2010, but it displayed resiliency to overcome the rough start.
Derrian Carter covers Clemson athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at dcarter@gannett.com and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DerrianCarter00
