What Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney said about UNC, Bill Belichick ahead of Week 6

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Sep 30, 2025 - 15:00

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What Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney said about UNC, Bill Belichick ahead of Week 6

The Clemson Tigers will continue ACC play Saturday at Kenan Stadium in Chapel Hill against the North Carolina Tar Heels in the first meeting between Dabo Swinney and Bill Belichick as coaches.

Clemson (1-3 overall) is winless in its first two ACC games and is coming off a bye in Week 5 following a 34-21 loss to Syracuse on Sept. 20. North Carolina (2-2) is coming off a bye following a 34-9 loss at UCF.

After last Saturday's bye, Swinney previewed the Tigers' Week 5 opponent at his weekly Tuesday press conference and had a lot to say about UNC and Belichick.

"Tough challenge this week, excited about it. It's been a while since we've been up there," Swinney said, recalling Clemson's last visit to Chapel Hill six years earlier in 2019 and how the Tigers won by stopping North Carolina on a game-winning two-point attempt with 1:17 left for a 21-20 victory.

"It was a tough game. Came down to the last play, and I know it will be a tough game this time."

Here's what else Swinney said about Clemson's Week 6 opponent on Tuesday.

Dabo Swinney sees improvement from North Carolina despite results

North Carolina is playing its ACC opener and is winless against Power Four competition. They've been outscored 82-23 by TCU and UCF. Nevertheless, Swinney said the Tar Heels are "starting to figure out who they are."

"They're 2-2, and I think for them, a lot of change obviously. A lot of change with their staff. Had a bunch of guys come in January and in May, so now they're playing some games and starting to figure out who they are. They've had some change at quarterback. A couple of different guys have been playing there. Obviously (Gio Lopez) got hurt against Central Florida. They had an open date as well, so I'd be surprised if he doesn't play, but probably expect both of them to play, and they're very different. So that creates some challenges from a preparation standpoint."

Swinney praised receiver Chris Culliver as a "burner" for UNC on offense and singled out Jordan Shipp, Kobe Paysour and Javarius Green as top threats at wide receiver, as well.

"They've got skill outside," Swinney said. "They've got some kids that can really run -- I mean, really, really run."

Dabo Swinney impressed with North Carolina offense

"All those guys, they're doing a good job with them. I'm really impressed with the backs. (Receiver Caleb) Hood's been around for a while. But this kid, (Demon) June, he's been impressive and he's kind of really come on for them. He's a downhill runner, physical. They're big up front, really big in the trenches. A lot of RPOs built into their system. A lot of play action, what I call climb routes with deep overs, et cetera. So they do a good job as far as how they put it together schematically to challenge you. They know what they're doing. But again, I think they're still growing into their identity of who they're doing it with because they've had some change at quarterback on a couple of occasions for them."

Dabo Swinney on challenges UNC football defense presents Clemson

Swinney praised the Tar Heels' defensive line for being "big, thick guys" and singled out senior defensive ends Smith Vilbert and junior Melkart Abou Jaoude as players to watch.

"They're strong. You don't see ends typically as big as (Vilbert) for them, 280-plus pounds. He's a good football player. (Abou Jaoude) has got some twitch and skill to him, is thick inside. (Andrew Simpson) is leading them with explosive plays at linebacker, and then they've got a couple of experienced guys in the secondary."

Swinney mentioned Washington Huskies transfer Thaddeus Dixon as a standout at defensive back.

"Coach's son there who was the defensive coordinator out there, so he's a really good player. So again, schematically, they're a four-down but will jump in at some stuff and multiple with their coverages. They're a kind of week-to-week type of a game plan deal on who they're playing and what they're seeing."

The results may not be showing up on the scoreboard yet, but Swinney believes that North Carolina is a team that's getting better.

"Again, there are some unknowns with their quarterback that you just don't really know right now. A lot of times when you have multiple quarterbacks, they're similar and can run the same system, but this is a little different scenario as far as style of play, so I think that presents some challenges.

Swinney said that he was excited to get back on the field after the long bye week following back-to-back losses to Georgia Tech and Syracuse.

"I'm excited to get back in the fight and see if we can find a way to win a game," he said.

Dabo Swinney on facing Bill Belichick for first time as UNC football coach

Swinney was asked if he was excited about facing Belichick, who North Carolina hired as Mack Brown's replacement in December, and whether he was embracing the challenge.

"Yeah, I mean, are you kidding me? That's amazing. I never in my lifetime thought I would get an opportunity to coach against Coach Belichick. How cool is that? You don't get lucky and have, how many rings has he got, seven or eight? This guy's got eight rings. He's arguably the greatest ever, certainly at the pro level. But yeah, it's a cool thing. I mean, I wish we were 4-0. I'd feel a little better about it."

Swinney noted that Saturday would also be his 300th game as coach and said that Clemson associate athletic director Ross Taylor had told him the only other time that a national championship coach had faced a former Super Bowl champion coach was when Bill Walsh's Stanford Cardinal faced Joe Paterno and Penn State on New Year's Day 1993 in the Blockbuster Bowl.

"I could not believe that," Swinney said of his 300th game as Clemson's coach. "He told me that last night. I could not believe that. Went home and told Kath that. 'That's 300 games!' It's just amazing to me. It's crazy. I really didn't think I'd be here, maybe a year."

Dabo Swinney on what he learned about Bill Belichick from ACC Network special

Swinney and Belichick appeared in an hour-long conversation on ACC Network in May. Here's what Swinney said about Belichick on Tuesday and whether he tried to pick the former New England Patriots coach's brain.

"Yeah, absolutely. I thought it was an unbelievable opportunity for me because I'd only been around him maybe two other times. One was at Alabama as an assistant. He came in for a Pro Day or something, and then he came here one of the years when I was the head coach, so I got a chance to kind of meet him and visit with him there. He was just like I thought he was be in that moment, but it was more of a professional moment. But to have two or three days together in a very intimate setting where it was really just nobody else, I thought that was great.
"And then spent a good amount of one-on-one time together and then we actually got a chance to visit again at the media days. It just happened to be the same day. So I've talked more to him this year than I have in forever. He sent me a text before the season wishing me well. But I mean, he just is who he is, but he's a really nice man. I know he has a persona that he's probably earned, but he's a really nice guy. He's smart, but probably the thing... because I'd never been in a meeting with him, I was so impressed with him.
"First of all, he's 74. I always tell people... passion doesn't know an age. You're 74, you can't be passionate about what you do? I think that's just a terrible way to look at things. He's passionate about what he wants to do in life, and good for him. He wants to coach, and he's really good at it. He's passionate about it. Purpose knows no age. There's no age limit on chasing your purpose and fulfilling what you feel you've been called to do in life. Why should you ever settle to do something that you don't love to do?"
"I just was impressed with him because I thought he was very inquisitive. He asked a lot of questions that were very basic questions, but he just hadn't been in college. He really wanted to understand, and I think that's one of the reasons he's been very successful. I think that that's how I've always tried to live. I've always asked a lot of questions. I always want to know why... and I've always wanted to know what your 'why' is as a person, what drives you?"

"I wish him all the best, except this weekend," Swinney said of Belichick in closing. "We need a win a lot worse than he does. We need a win in a big way."

Dabo Swinney on Clemson football mindset after 1-3 start

Earlier in the press conference, Swinney said in his opening remarks:

"I think everybody is in a good space as far as where they are from a mental standpoint as far as, 'This is where we are, and this is what we've got to go do.' We've got a chance to play and coach our way out of a hole that we put ourselves in, and everybody understands that. Just a kind of a reset honestly on what we want to try to go do starting this week, and that is do something we haven't done outside of literally just a couple of moments, and that's play together and play complementary football. We talk about it all the time, and we've done that very little where we're really and truly pulling in the same direction."

Swinney said that he'd been pleased with the leadership by veteran players. He called the Tigers' 1-3 start an opportunity to improve in an adverse situation to see what the team is made of.

"I've been really pleased from that standpoint," Swinney said. "The guys have really responded the right way and are eager to get back out there and start playing some football. Again, still not too late for them to be the team that they want to be and to play together and play with precision in what they do."