Despite being as popular as ever, college football is entering a bit of a crisis.
No one is saying that players shouldn’t be paid – but the fact that there are no guard-rails in place when it comes to the whole system of everything is absolutely ridiculous.
Add to that the transfer portal where players can abandon their team out-of-the-blue without punishment (often by being bribed behind-the-scenes by other programs), and we effectively have the Wild Wild West in college football.
For the last 2-3 years, there's been constant speculation that college coaches fed up with NIL/portal would start trying to jump to the NFL.
Jeff Hafley giving up a P5 head coaching job to be an NFL coordinator is the most clear-cut example to date.
— Stewart Mandel (@slmandel) January 31, 2024
Well over 1,000 players entered the transfer portal this past period alone … ONE THOUSAND!!!
Coaches have been forced to re-recruit their own players each and every year just to convince them to stay in the program. Needless to say, it’s a very flawed system and its driven coaches absolutely crazy.
It would be naive to think that all of this wasn’t the main driving force in Nick Saban’s decision to retire from Alabama.
You'll never convince me that the NIL and the current state of college football didn't weigh on Nick Saban's decision to retire. He sees all. Hopefully they figure it out… but we just lost the GOAT. Thanks for the memories, Nick! #RollTide pic.twitter.com/nNlAyaY1Z5
— Brandoñ Dubisky (12-5) (@BrandonDubisky) January 11, 2024
As a matter of fact, this is becoming a trend in the college coaching world it seems.
The latest example is Boston College head coach Jeff Hafley who decided to leave Chestnut Hill to become the new defensive coordinator for the Green Bay Packers.
Sources: Boston College coach Jeff Hafley is expected to become the new defensive coordinator of the Green Bay Packers. Hafley has brought BC to bowl eligibility in three of his four years. pic.twitter.com/TrcArWmiyb
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) January 31, 2024
Don’t get me wrong – being the defensive coordinator for a prestigious franchise like the Packers is a massive gig … However, a move like this would’ve been borderline unheard of just a few years ago.
“He wants to go coach football again in a league that is all about football,” an anonymous source told ESPN. “College coaching has become fundraising, NIL, and recruiting your own team and transfers. There’s no time to coach football anymore.”
REPORT: Sources tell ESPN the new CFB landscape played a role in Jeff Hafley's decision to leave Boston College.
On the latest episode of Next Up, Jeff Hafley revealed his thoughts on NIL & the future of college football 👀:
"I don't see it [NIL] going away… Everything seems… pic.twitter.com/hB83JWo8cn
— Next Up with Adam Breneman (@NextUpWithAdam) February 1, 2024
ESPN’s lead college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit expressed his thoughts on Hafley’s move, emphasizing the shift in priorities for college coaches.
“CFB in its current state will be seeing more and more coaches heading to the NFL. Without boundaries and regulation that make sense, coaches that get real opportunities in the NFL will be gone,” Herbstreit tweeted on X.
“This trend will continue until there is a new governing body and it creates a CBA with a players’ entity or union that would include issues like NIL, Transfer Portal, and eventually revenue sharing. The sport is spiraling out of control as we know, and many of these coaches are sticking around and waiting. Just a new reality for the sport,” he added.
No. CFB in its current state will be seeing more and more coaches heading to the NFL. Without boundaries and regulation that make sense coaches that get real opportunities in the NFL will be gone. This trend will continue until there is a new governing body and it creates a CBA… https://t.co/iNuaDU5lp7
— Kirk Herbstreit (@KirkHerbstreit) January 31, 2024
FOX Sports lead college football analyst Joel Klatt sang a similar tune…
“I am also deeply frustrated that CFB is in the state it is in where we will continue to lose great coaches because our structure sucks,” he tweeted on X.
CFB is desperate for a CBA which would actually make life better for the players as well.
THE CURRENT STRUCTURE OF CFB IS UNSUSTAINABLE!!
— Joel Klatt (@joelklatt) February 1, 2024
Klatt argued that college football needs a collective bargaining agreement to address the issues at hand.
“Without that CBA, the sport’s structure is unsustainable,” he said.
A CBA in college football would mark a significant departure from the traditional notion of amateurism associated with the sport. As college football players profit with NIL, some argue that a CBA is necessary to create a fair and sustainable structure.
Jeff Hafley leaving is a bad sign for CFB. His dream job turned into something that likely just wasn’t exciting or fun anymore. We will lose more and more CFB coaches because of this lawless NIL and portal world we are in.
— Mike Farrell (@mfarrellsports) February 1, 2024
What are your thoughts on what Herbstreit and Klatt said?
Is college football in crisis mode?
What needs to be done to fix the current system???