ESPN analyst reacts to Dabo Swinney addressing fans on perspective, sees dose of 'reality'

ESPN's Greg McElroy says the Playoff has clouded perspective on success or failure.

by Brandon Rink - Staff Writer - Thu Feb 09 11:37:53 GMT-04:00 2023

Clemson coach Dabo Swinney spoke for nearly six minutes last week on keeping perspective on his program's run of late and what he perceived from fans on that.

ESPN analyst Greg McElroy weighed in on it with his podcast, saying it was a dose of reality but adding that the expectations were created by Swinney himself.

Swinney said what the program has accomplished has been "incredibly rare and incredibly unique."

“Hopefully moving forward we can have a reset and not have a bunch of miserable people out there if we don’t go 15-0,” he said. “Because it’s going to be a very miserable life if that’s what you’re waiting on every single year to determine your happiness. We’ve got a bunch of great people that work their tails off and are incredibly committed to excellence every single year. And somewhere along the way, maybe we’ll have that perfection, but it’s a daily deal that you have to stay committed to.”

McElroy says Swinney is among a group of coaches with the same problem.

"Here's what I'd say to Dabo or here's what I'd say to any other coach in this 'predicament' where the expectations are too high, you created them," McElroy said. "You are the one who created them. You are the reasons the expectations are what they are. You're the one who preaches to us as fans, as consumers of college football content -- you're the ones who tell us, hey man, we're striving to be perfect. We're striving to be the best version of us. We're striving to get better. We want to do this -- we want to do that. We want to improve, and if we have a disappointing situation or outcome, we're going to address the issue and we're going to come back stronger. You're the one who plants the seed in our head that we should expect nothing less than the very best...

"We don't set the expectation level. The expectation level is set by the performance on the field and the performance level of the Clemson Tigers has been unbelievably good for the last 12 years or so."

McElroy says there is truth in what Swinney said about perspective, however.

"I think Dabo is well-intentioned in saying this and I think we could all use some reality once in a while as well," said McElroy. "There's only one team that wins a national championship. And I've said this about Alabama. I've said this about Ohio State. I've said this about Clemson -- I've said this about several other programs. You cannot determine your season as a failure or success based on who won the national championship. Did TCU fail this year? Did Tennessee fail this year? Did Alabama fail this year? Did Ohio State fail this year? No, they all had very good years. But in the era of the College Football Playoff, how we define an elite season has changed drastically. And it's because we focus so much on those four teams. We focus so much on that championship game. And so much attention is paid to the outcome of that game. We have a tendency to overreact if for whatever reason you don't come out on top.

"But, back in the day, getting to the Orange Bowl would have been a remarkable achievement...I wouldn't worry too much how people perceive success or how people perceive a great year. You set your own standard, and if Dabo feels as so last year was a great year, by all means. But if you feel you left something on the table that you could have achieved last year, then you gotta take ownership of that as well."

McElroy ranked Swinney with the ninth-most pressure-packed job this season in a list led by Ohio State then Alabama.

"There is pressure now especially (with) Florida State maybe the preseason pick in the ACC to win the league," McElroy said. "So I think the pressure in a normal year for Dabo is top-5 because the expectations (are) win or failure. But this year I would say it's down a little bit because maybe people aren't paying as much attention and he just made adjustments to his staff. Got a new quarterback people are high on."