Clemson Tigers Boss Talks ‘Defiant Dabo’ Not Using Transfer Portal

Clemson Tigers coach Dabo Swinney’s lack of desire to use the transfer portal is one of college football’s underlying subplots.

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney talks with media in the media room at Memorial Stadium in Clemson, Satuday, August 10, 2024. / Ken Ruinard / staff / USA TODAY NETWORK

If the Clemson Tigers win the ACC and claim a spot in the College Football Playoff they’ll do it their way.

And, for Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney, that means not using the transfer portal.

It’s been a controversial choice to say the least, given that just about every other Division I football program is using the portal to import talent.

But, earlier this season, The Athletic’s Stewart Mandel called Swinney ‘Defiant Dabo’ for not using the portal. He also pointed out that Swinney’s 2024 recruit class was on the small side — just 13 players, with one five-star recruit.

Mandel wrote that he couldn’t “…remember such a high-profile coach so defiantly zigging where everyone else is zagging.”

Some came to his defense. ESPN’s Rece Davis, who hosts College Gameday, said he was “sick to death of the Dabo blasphemy.”

After all, Swinney enters the season 170-43 record entering 2024 with eight ACC titles and two other national title game appearances, to go along with the two national titles he won in 2016 and 2018. He has a resume that will put him in the College Football Hall of Fame one day.

But, what does his boss think? Clemson athletic director Graham Neff spoke to the media on Wednesday to announce Clemson Ventures, a new department designed to help the athletic department generate more revenue using a private, corporate model.

While talking about that, he was asked about Swinney and his lack of use of the transfer portal. Neff seemed to have no issue with Swinney’s roster management.

“I couldn’t be more convicted and supportive of coach Swinney, a two-time national champion head coach, and how he has built his current program and where he is at and let alone where his strategies and nimbleness, quite frankly is ahead,” Neff said, in comments reported by tigernet.com. “And so yeah, we talk about it, but in a supportive way and understanding vision and strategy and how do we continue to be adaptable in a changing landscape. That means roster management, but that also means, or particularly means a lot of things that we’ve talked about. So absolutely that’s active engagement with me and coach.”

This season may put Swinney’s convictions to the test. Coming off a 9-4 season, the Tigers are attempting to win its first ACC crown since 2020, which was their last appearance in the CFP. Clemson, ranked No. 14 in the preseason AP Top 25, will face No. 1 Georgia in Atlanta on Aug. 31 to open the season.