​It’s impossible to forget how good Dabo Swinney was in his prime.It’s impossible to forget, because Dabo won’t let us forget.Swinney used ACC media days as an opportunity to remind everyone of how good he used to be.“We’ve won 11 (conference and national) championships in the last 15 years,” Swinney told The Athletic earlier this month, amid some serious navel-gazing. “I think the next-closest coach has six.”Hayes: Why Dabo Swinney’s next college football job will be his best jobACC football coach rankings: Where does Dabo Swinney land?Who’s counting, right? Well, Dabo is.”We’ve had 15 winning seasons,” Swinney said, as he recited his resume, “Thirteen 10-plus win seasons, 14 nine-plus win seasons… and then you have a season like last year, and that’s kind of what everybody wants to focus on, and I get that.”Swinney’s giving off some serious Hugh Freeze at Auburn vibes.That’s, um, not a compliment.While failing miserably throughout three seasons at Auburn, Freeze spared no chance to remind us he used to be a good coach.“Honestly, Nick (Saban) is incredible, but I should have four wins against him,” Freeze said, one year into an Auburn tenure that included losses to New Mexico State and Kentucky.It’s true, a decade or so ago, Swinney and Freeze gave Saban fits.Ah, memories.How’s that working out for Freeze nowadays? Well, he’s got a buyout check and a tee time.Is Dabo Swinney willing to evolve at Clemson?Swinney can keep his golf bag in the garage for now, but the current state of his Clemson program is closer to 2020-25 Auburn than it is to 2015-19 Clemson.After Freeze beat Saban in back-to-back years with an innovative up-tempo system built on run-pass option plays, Saban hired Lane Kiffin to help Alabama evolve its offense.When Clemson’s success threatened to snuff out Alabama’s superiority, Saban rallied by bringing in his best run of quarterbacks.That’s how Saban became the GOAT. He kept evolving. He wasn’t content to say, “Well, I used to be a great coach. Let me recite my resume.” If Alabama ever wasn’t the standard, it ate him up.Finally, when the sport went the direction of pay-to-play and transfer free agency, Saban decided he didn’t want to participate. So, he hung up his whistle rather than linger on the sidelines, let his record slump, and prattle on about his past accomplishments.Maybe, Swinney should take a hint. He’s not naturally built for this era. He’s also not evolving to meet the moment.Swinney will be ‘raked over the coals’ if QB pick doesn’t workWhat about the idea of a transfer quarterback at Clemson?The past two national champions — heck, the past two national runners-up — started transfer quarterbacks.Swinney wants nothing to do with that.”We weren’t going to go get a shiny object at quarterback,” Swinney said.Oof, that sounds a lot like what Freeze said before the 2024 season. Freeze didn’t think a transfer quarterback was worth a million-dollar investment in N