Next Splash In College Football Is A Head Coach Leaving After Spring Practice? Time To Change The Calendar
As the college football world continues to change when it comes to NIL and conference expansion coming in the next five months, it's the coaching carousel that should really have folks worried about the current state of the sport.
Over the course of one month after Michigan hoisted the national championship trophy in Houston, we are now navigating a whole different problem within the sport. All of this centers around the current coaching landscape in college football, with the sport undergoing another massive face-lift since that title game.
It was one thing for Jim Harbaugh to flirt with the NFL over the past three seasons until he finally pulled the trigger and decided it was time to move on from the college game. That whole situation was exhausting enough for Michigan fans, along with the rest of the sport. But it's the moves that were made before Harbaugh finally accepted the Chargers job that set the tone for a seismic shift in the current calendar.
Nick Saban retiring was something we all thought would happen in the next few years, but the legendary Alabama coach decided three days after the national title game that he was ready to put down the whistle and play eighteen holes of golf per day. What we saw in the aftermath of his decision was pure chaos, in a sport that is already dealing with a number of problems.
Just this morning we had another head coach resigning to take a job as a position coach at South Carolina, as 247 Sports is reporting Georgia State's Shawn Elliot is joining the Gamecocks as the Tight Ends coach. Again, this is another move that will repercussions on the current program.
You all know the scenario that played out following Saban's retirement, but it's still fascinating to discuss. Washington's Kalen DeBoer took the job to replace Saban at Alabama, which led to the Huskies poaching Arizona's Jedd Fisch, which then led the Wildcats to hire Brent Brennan from San Jose State. Three different programs in different conferences had a massive shakeup that will be talked about for years to come, and dissected in multiple ways over the next few seasons.
It Wasn't Nick Saban Retiring That Changed How We Look At The Calendar
But, that wasn't the end of the coaching carousel, it was just the first act in this intense play.
It was Jeff Haftley leaving his job as head coach at Boston College that really made folks think about our current landscape. Not because of the interesting decision, but more so on the timing of that decision. Just when we thought the coaching carousel was over, Haftley left his job at Boston College to become the defensive coordinator for the Green Bay Packers. So, to replace Haftley, Bill O'Brien left Ohio State after three weeks on the job as its offensive coordinator to take over the program in Chestnut Hill.
"That was the flip that made head coaches around the country scratch their head and wonder how this would play out for the players, along with the assistant coaches who thought they were planning for spring practice," one Power-4 head coach told OutKick. "You have guys (assistants) that are thinking they can take a deep breath, knowing they are safe for another season, and then their boss leaves in February, which puts them in a rough spot, even with a contract.
"Then the Chip (Kelly) news hit, and we surpassed a new level of crazy timing in our sport."
Oh yes, Chip Kelly deciding he would hold the fate of his future in his own hands added to the ongoing saga. The UCLA head coach barely made it out of the 2023 season with his job, so rather than sitting on a flaming hot seat for the 2024 campaign, Kelly took the Ohio State offensive coordinator job that was left vacant by Bill O'Brien. Sure, the Bruins found their guy within a number of days, hiring former assistant DeShaun Foster, but we had now entered the lunatic portion of the play that was unfolding in front of us.
And guess what? It's not the head coaches who are affected, it's the players.
Thirty Day Transfer Portal Opening Came At A Horrible Time
If you don't know the rules by now, let me explain them to you. When a head coach changes jobs or is fired, the players get thirty days to test the market when it comes to the transfer portal. But, this is not enough for players that had their world turned upside down in the latter portion of January or early February. Most schools had already started classes, so getting a transfer portal addition into school is a very big hoop to jump through.
This is why we now have the blueprint of how to change the calendar in college football. The February signing day period is now outdated, with more focus being put on the portal and the December signing period. These players who are sitting around watching their coaches leave a month into offseason workouts are practically stuck until the Spring portal period begins.
Lane Kiffin jokes about joining Georgia's staff. (Credit: Twitter/Lane Kiffin)
Sure, they can enter the portal in the thirty days after, but most schools will now wait until the Spring. This means players will go through off-season workouts and practice at one school, while opposing schools will quietly tell them to stay put and they'll stay in contact until the Spring period opens. Talk about bad timing, and we have to find a way to fix it.
If this recent coaching carousel taught us anything, it's that the current landscape of college football is changing every day. The one thing we can do to combat the timing of these decisions is figure out a calendar that also combats what we've witnessed over the last two months.
If you thought these past few months have been wild in college football, wait until the head coach leaves for another job after Spring practice.
There's your absolute chaos.