On Sunday night, LSU made the decision that Tigers fans had been calling for since Saturday night. After being outscored 35-7 by third-ranked Texas A&M in the second half of a 49-25 loss, the school fired Brian Kelly.
It was just the latest high-profile coaching opening this season. We are not even to November yet, and several high-profile power conference jobs are already opening. LSU jumps to the top of the desirable jobs list ahead of Penn State and Florida. There are likely more to come over the next month.
There are some coaches out there who wouldn’t admit to being interested in the job, but there will be no shortage of names linked to it. One college football writer linked a current ACC coach to the position, and it makes a lot of sense.
CBS Sports Links Clemson’s Dabo Swinney to LSU Opening
LSU will look big for its next coaching hire. Chris Hummer of CBS Sports listed some darkhorse candidates for the position, including a current ACC coach who is struggling in 2025, Clemson’s Dabo Swinney.
“Swinney is amid his worst season as Clemson’s head coach since 2010. Could Woodward follow his Texas A&M playbook and lure a national champion to Baton Rouge? Swinney is a proven program builder and would seem to fit in at LSU culturally in a way Kelly never managed to. If Swinney wants a fresh start, you could pick much worse places than Baton Rouge to do so. But like (Jimbo) Fisher, you must wonder if Swinney would be a sexy enough hire at this point in his career,” wrote Hummer.
Swinney would certainly be a big hire. He has won a National Championship at Clemson, something Kelly couldn’t come close to doing at Baton Rouge, even though he went there to win one from Notre Dame. To make things worse for him, Notre Dame played for one last year, falling short against Ohio State.
Would Dabo Swinney Leave Clemson For LSU?
At the beginning of the season, there would be no shot that Swinney would leave Clemson for LSU, but now? He would likely consider it. Clemson lost the season-opener to LSU at home on Labor Day Weekend, but that was the beginning of things unraveling for Clemson in 2025.
Sitting at 3-4, Clemson is fighting just to become bowl-eligible, something that nobody thought would happen this year. Forget defending their ACC Championship, Swinney needs to find a way to get his team to a bowl game. Their remaining schedule, which includes Duke, Florida State, Louisville, Furman, and South Carolina, will not be easy.
When Clemson started 1-2 this season, frustration was already setting in with Swinney, who led Clemson to a National Championship in 2018.
“We’ve had a lot of success here and it hasn’t been perfect,” Swinney said. “I thrive in the battle, honestly. I have my whole life. … Perspective is important. If they want me gone, if they’re tired of winning, they can send me on my way because that’s all we’ve done is win. If they’re tired of winning, we’ve won this league eight of the last 10 years.”
Coaches have a shelf life at schools, no matter how much success they have. Swinney to LSU makes sense for a lot of reasons, but will it happen? It’s not as bad an idea as it may sound.
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