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Dabo Swinney remains in elite company according to The Athletic’s annual college football coach tiers.
The outlet placed Swinney in Tier 1, alongside Georgia’s Kirby Smart, as the only active coaches with multiple national championships.
“Kirby Smart and Dabo Swinney are the only two coaches in these tiers with multiple national championships. While Swinney’s Clemson seemed to be taking a step back from its mid-2010s peak, the Tigers did rebound with an ACC championship and College Football Playoff appearance last season, and this year’s team is a preseason top-six club,” Chris Vannini wrote. “Georgia has also taken a small step back. The Bulldogs won the SEC last year, but they failed to reach the CFP semifinals for the second consecutive year since their back-to-back national titles.”
The next group, Tier 2, features 11 “established winners,” a list that includes LSU head coach Brian Kelly, who will lead the Tigers into Death Valley on August 30 to open the season.
Tier 3 highlights a number of ACC names, with Louisville’s Jeff Brohm, Miami’s Mario Cristobal, SMU’s Rhett Lashlee and Florida State’s Mike Norvell all in this category. Norvell dropped from Tier 2 after Florida State’s stunning 2–10 campaign last season, just one year removed from an undefeated regular season.
Tier 4, described as “rising stars and steady hands,” is home to figures like South Carolina’s Shane Beamer, Colorado’s Deion Sanders and NC State’s Dave Doeren.
From there, several more ACC coaches appear throughout the lower tiers. Tier 5, “Up and Down,” features Fran Brown at Syracuse, Manny Diaz at Duke and Brent Key at Georgia Tech. Tier 6, “Show-me seasons ahead,” includes Wake Forest’s Jake Dickert. Tier 7, “Works in progress,” is where Virginia Tech’s Brent Pry and Cal’s Justin…
Source link : https://clemsonwire.usatoday.com/story/sports/college/clemson/football/2025/08/16/clemson-football-dabo-swinney-head-coach-ranking/85692994007/
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Publish date : 2025-08-16 21:30:00
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