Could Dabo Swinney head to the Jaguars with Trevor Lawrence in 2021?

Could Dabo Swinney join Trevor Lawrence with Jacksonville Jaguars 2021?

Even the most ardent fans of the Jacksonville Jaguars will have a hard time saying this team isn’t tanking anymore. While it was slightly understandable for them to part with players such as Calais Campbell and A.J. Bouye due to their large contracts, the Jags made a couple more moves this week that scream of a tank job.

The first was the trading of Yannick Ngakoue to the Minnesota Vikings. Sure, he wasn’t thrilled with being there but had they actually handled his contract negotiation better, things could have ended differently. Then on Monday, they released Leonard Fournette with just two weeks to go before the season began.

Sure, Fournette never lived up to his draft status but it’s not as if the team had any readily available options to turn to. Those moves coming back-to-back like that are proof that this team is eyeing Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence in the 2021 NFL Draft. But what if he’s not the only star from the Tigers they have their hearts set on?

New reports have suggested that the Jags could try and make a play for Lawrence’s head coach at Clemson, Dabo Swinney. This was an idea floated by former NFL general manager Mike Tannenbaum on the ESPN show “Get Up.”

"“There’s a lot of speculation that Dabo Swinney, who’s been on the short list of multiple head coaching searches, could be a coach that teams want to talk about,” Tannenbaum said on “Get Up” according Nick Kosko of 247 Sports. “This would be the perfect storm and here’s why. He’s immensely popular in that area of the country and if he can go with Trevor Lawrence right down the road to Jacksonville, with all those picks and cap room, that’s the ideal situation. I know from talking to a number of NFL general managers, they see Dabo in the same mold as Pete Carroll.”"

It’s an interesting idea that has it’s attractions as well as it’s detractions for a coach such as Swinney.

Why would Dabo Swinney want the Jaguars job?

Dabo Swinney has done about all he can at Clemson. He’s won a national championship and turned the program into a perennial powerhouse. That success is what attracts NFL teams to him and there’s a chance he could want to go and prove himself on the next level.

Should the Jaguars land the No. 1 overall pick, Swinney would be able to bring in the quarterback who knows his system better than anyone else. He would also be armed with many other draft picks and a boatload of cap space to build around Lawrence.

It would be the ultimate challenge, and there’s no guarantee it would work. But if it did, there’s no denying he would go down as one of the best coaches in all of football if he could turn the Jags around the way he did with Clemson.

Why wouldn’t Dabo Siwnney want the Jaguars job?

The reason against the move is the same reason for someone such as Nick Saban to stick it out in the NCAA. Like Saban in Alabama, Swinney is absolutely worshipped by the fan base in Clemson.

Bringing them two titles while boasting a record of 130-31 will do that for a college coach. And if we are being honest, there’s no loyalty like that of a collegiate fanbase. Swinney will always have the respect of the Tigers fandom whereas the NFL can be a fickle bunch, ready to turn on him at the first sign of trouble.

It’s a fun scenario to think of and there are plenty of reasons to think Swinney could have success. Having said that, it seems as though far too often, the coaches nowadays like to stick with the known — especially when they’re as successful as he has been.