Swinney on Bandwagon Fans: ‘There Will Be Some That Judge Us In the Moment’

Dabo Swinney knows that his team has failed to live up to expectations this season.

Although, when it comes to the Clemson fan base and his biggest supporters, he knows they are in it for the long haul. That they will stick with the program through thick and thin.

However, at the same time, he knows that there are those that will not be able to forgive the lack of success. He knows some will jump ship, but in his eyes, those are the fans that never fully bought into the vision and the culture of the program to begin with.

“There will be a bunch that jump off the bandwagon, but I wouldn’t say they were all in anyway,” Swinney told the media on Sunday. “The type of winning we’ve had for a long time, everybody likes a winner. There will be some that will certainly judge us in this moment and again that’s just a product of all the success we’ve had here for a long, long time. 

The longtime head coach said that his team is absolutely not played up to its potential yet and that everyone associated with the team is aware of the circumstances, and what needs to be done moving forward.

“We all understand that we’re not playing anywhere near our capabilities or to the standard that we have set here,” Swinney said. “Nobody accepts that. We also have the right perspective. We know where we are. We know what we got to do. We know where we’re going. Again, you got to take the good with the bad.”

The Tigers have had a ton of success under the leadership of Swinney. Six straight conference championships, six straight playoff appearances and two national titles. His track record, as well as that of his coaching staff speaks for itself.

Swinney noted that while the team may be off to a rocky start, that it’s still September and that there is a lot of football left to be played.

“It’s been a ton of good around here, man. I think we got the winningest road record in the country and we’ve won a lot of games on the road, a lot of great moments,” Swinney said. “That one didn’t go well. Again, a hard-fought double-overtime game. Had a chance until the end, on a night where we just really was terrible in so many areas, but man, our guys kept fighting. As long as you have that, you can get better and we’ll do that. The majority of our fans, they’re all in, there’s no doubt about that. Again, the season ain’t over in September. Got a long way to go.”