Is Clemson's Dabo Swinney still top 10 college football coach? Here are the rankings – Greenville Online

CLEMSON — Dabo Swinney was viewed as a top-five coach in college football a year ago, but last year’s struggles caused him to drop in the rankings.
The Clemson football coach is coming off a 7-6 record in 2025, the second-worst record in Swinney’s full 17 seasons. The Tigers were preseason favorites to win the ACC and make the College Football Playoff but missed both after a disappointing season.
Last year plus Clemson missing the CFP in four of the last five seasons have caused Swinney to fall in the national and ACC coaching hierarchy.
Here’s where Swinney ranks this offseason.
CBS Sports’ Tom Fornelli and nine other panelists ranked Swinney No. 11 among FBS coaches and No. 2 among ACC coaches. It is an eight-spot drop from last season when Swinney was No. 3.
Swinney’s highest ranked was No. 5 while his lowest was No. 28.
“It seems the respect for Dabo’s past accomplishments has begun to wane among our panel,” Fornelli wrote. “Swinney has won two national titles, so I don’t know how one of our voters can truly justify ranking him 28th (nobody else had him lower than 15th), but none of us can ignore recent results, either.
“Swinney has been slow or unwilling to adapt to the sport as it has evolved, and it’s having an adverse effect on Clemson‘s performance on the field.”
Indiana’s Curt Cignetti, Georgia’s Kirby Smart, Ohio State’s Ryan Day, Notre Dame’s Marcus Freeman, Oregon’s Dan Lanning, Texas’ Steve Sarkisian, Miami’s Mario Cristobal, Alabama’s Kalen DeBoer, LSU’s Lane Kiffin and Michigan’s Kyle Whittingham all placed higher than Swinney.
MORE: Why Clemson’s Gideon Davidson had quiet freshman year after making preseason All-American
Sporting News’ Bill Bender ranked Swinney No. 10 among FBS coaches and No. 2 in the ACC after assessing a coach’s overall record, record at the current school, record over the last three seasons, career accomplishments, program expectations and “the old ‘this guy or this guy’ arguments.”
Bender said Swinney, who was No. 3 last year in these rankings, might be the toughest coach to rank.
“On one hand, he is one of just two active coaches with multiple national championships and likely will be the next one to reach 200 career victories,” Bender wrote. “On the other, the Tigers are 26-14 the last three seasons – a .650 winning percentage that does not quite measure up after a disappointing 7-6 season in 2025.
“Swinney remains in the top 10 – at least for now.”
Cignetti, Smart, Day, Freeman, Lanning, DeBoer, Sarkisian, Kiffin and Cristobal all were ahead of Swinney.
Swinney signed his 10-year, $115 million deal with Clemson in September 2022, and it runs through 2031.
He made $11.5 million in the 2025 college football season, the highest in the ACC and the fourth-highest in the sport. Smart ($13.3 million), Ryan Day ($12.6 million) and Southern Cal’s Lincoln Riley ($11.5 million) were the only coaches to make more.
Derrian Carter covers Clemson athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at DCarter@usatodayco.com and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DerrianCarter00

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