Clemson's Dabo Swinney on Chad Morris: 'His Name is Mud'

Clemson Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney wasn't afraid to throw offensive coordinator Chad Morris under the bus after Saturday's 20-16 loss to Virginia Tech at home, saying the two would have several serious conversations over the weekend to find out how to fix problems with that side of the ball. Earlier in the week, Swinney confirmed that he had no intentions of firing Morris during the regular season. Morris returned to Clemson to call plays this season, the first time he called plays since the 2020 campaign when he was with Auburn.On Tuesday, Swinney argued that the Tigers have a solid coaching staff. He said he believed Morris is a great coach, but didn't shy away from saying he's facing heat as the offense plummets to historically bad levels."We've got good coaches," Swinney said, via Chapel Fowler of The State. "Like, Chad Morris? I know his name is mud right now, but this guy's a great coach, a great collaborator. ... This guy knows ball."The backhanded compliment was supposed to be in jest, but it doesn't hide the truth that many fans are upset with the direction the offense has taken this season. There was skepticism about bringing Morris back this season, and those concerns are grounded given the start to the season.Swinney noted that the coaching staff is earnestly working to address issues with the team. They stayed at the office until 11:30 p.m. as the Tigers prepare to play Florida State on Saturday.Swinney did take the blame for Clemson's 4-3 record. He believes the Tigers have enough talent to have a better record, though he's not sure they should be undefeated. He believes some of the teams Clemson has faced are flat-out better than the Tigers at this point.LSU and Miami are better than Clemson. Those programs were aggressive in the transfer portal. The losses to those teams weren't bad, but the way they were blown out shows how bad the talent gap is for the Tigers. When it comes to the Virginia Tech loss, there's not much good to say about Clemson losing that game at home. VT is in Year 1 of a build under new head coach James Franklin. The Tigers should have been the better team. They could have been, but Swinney made stubborn offseason choices that backfired. Whether he decides to confront those mistakes and move in a different direction for 2027 will decide if Clemson can again contend under Swinney or if being a mid-tier ACC team is the new normal.