NJDuck Moderator No. 1 Share Posted February 15 When an industry evolves, it typically does so slowly. Along the way, there are signs that something is on the horizon—morsels of moments that ultimately add up over time. These moments can be small when individualized. But in totality, they can change everything. In business, these moments start small and grow big. Eventually they become a trend, and eventually that trend becomes the norm. Suddenly, the business that is college football finds itself in a series of trends, although no trend is more curious than the sudden abundance of coaches leaving for other opportunities. Given the impact of the transfer portal and the way NIL has brought free agency to the sport in a matter of years, that statement might sound strange. But it's the coaches operating in this universe that know it best, and many of these coaches are choosing to leave when given an opportunity to do so. Currently, the sport is operating without guidance. Rules are iffy (at best). Rosters are being built with checkbooks and booster backing, first and foremost. The landscape is unknown, and the work required to build winners is greater than it has ever been. The new requirements demanded of coaches at the college level are both extreme and still relatively unknown. Those who have found work at other levels are telling us, without actually saying it out loud, that the current climate is reaching an unsustainable place. Is College Football's Great Coaching Exodus Finally Here? BLEACHERREPORT.COM When an industry evolves, it typically does so slowly. Along the way, there are signs that something is on the horizon—morsels of moments that ultimately add… 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Augduck No. 2 Share Posted February 15 I think there are certainly some points to ponder in that article. Certainly reinforces Dan's adapt or die mantra. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duckley Palace No. 3 Share Posted February 15 The coaches have been free agent mavericks for years. Agents have been putting their client's names out for other jobs since the start of Big time athletics began. This is while their client is under contract, I repeat under contract. Not enforced, unpaid servitude. Guys making millions who make their money because of how well they recruit & coach up teenagers. Teenagers who pledge allegiance to these men that come into their homes, and promise to lead them. Often time to mold them into players and men that can succeed into adulthood. These young men put their bodies on the line, in exchange they get a college education(Not cheap by any means). But the sport makes billions of their performance. Grown men benefit, the school benefits, and other sports benefit. Let's be frank here, non revenue sports players benefit. Those kids get scholarships to attend school, but they don't bring in anything of monetary value. They are funded off the sweat & physical abuse the football players endure. So am I upset that these guys are getting paid? No. Am I upset they have the chance to transfer if the coach who brought them there leaves? Again no. But I do think something needs to be fixed, and the grown ups need to take some responsibility. They need to understand they've been abandoning their posts, and young men for years. For a better opportunity, all while they were under contract. They didn't pay the buyout either, the deep pocketed boosters of their new employers did that.. Willie Taggart was a mercenary one year coach. How many young men did he tell to trust him? Come to Eugene, be a Duck. Sometimes from across the country. Just to leave at the first chance because he wanted to go home to FSU. Yes a day of reckoning is coming, but it's been on the horizon far longer than anybody's been aware of. The grown men that have been making millions are just now starting to feel the sting. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drake Moderator No. 4 Share Posted February 16 Let me see… Big wallet donors contribute funds to bring in a coach, and then spend stupid amounts of money on NIL. Donors are now fully invested, and expectations soar. The coach “fails” to meet expectations. Donors put pressure on AD to fire the Coach. Coach gets fired, but still continues to receive millions from original contract signed. Big wallet donors contribute funds to bring in new coach… Wash, rinse, and repeat. The carousel never stops. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrw Moderator No. 5 Share Posted February 16 It seems like a lot of older coaches are leaving as the relentless, year-round grinding of the job only gets more intense and burns them out. Recruiting is a constant, and now NIL and the portal make it so coaches never really have time off. Is the really a quiet period any more? It may be that college coaching is getting to be a younger man's game, as the constant pressure takes a toll. Sure, they get paid a lot, but that's not all there is to a job. I suspect that right now is the time of maximum flux and uncertainty, and that somehow rules will be imposed on the portal and NIL that will make a coaches life a little easier, but it's a meat grinder of a job, being a big-time college football coach. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nevada Dawg No. 6 Share Posted February 16 The burnout factor and declining quality of life for head coaches will drive many, including some of the very best, from the college ranks in the coming years. Clearly it seems easier to "have a life" as an NFL Head or assistant coach than a college guy who, if not actively coaching on the field, is having to recruit, re-recruit the guys you already have, and to work at it 12 months of the year to achieve success you hope to have in today's college landscape. Head guys are going to have to be young, driven, and extremely energetic. Having a supportive family seems necessary as well. But I can almost guarantee you that we will see some apparent coaching superstars choose to walk away from their posts in the coming years because the required effort is too stressful. I have heard the story from several sources this year that, either before or immediately after the SEC Championship (after seems the more likely) Nick Saban leaned in to Kirby Smart on the field and said "Man I'm too old for this crap". Kirby claims to have been as surprised as anyone by Saban's sudden retirement, but I am pretty sure that he had a hunch that departure could well be forthcoming. It was pretty well known that Saban believed that portal- induced free agency and no regulations on NIL and roster tampering was ruinous for college football. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Joseph Moderator No. 7 Share Posted February 16 How can anyone manage Bowl preparation, the transfer portal, attendant NIL deals, and early signing day at the same time in December without going nuts? And also re-recruiting your roster during the same time. That's crazy-making. NFL roster management and salary cap management by comparison is a piece of cake. CFB has to do something to ease the burden. Move signing opportunities for recruits up and move official signing day back to what is not the 2nd date in February. For enrollment purposes, CFB cannot defer transfer portal entry to the 2nd portal opening date. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
