​College Football Chaos V2: The Coaching Carousel

By Keegan Bankoff ’22
In the first issue of this year’s newspaper, I wrote about the surprising chaos in college football and how it has affected every aspect of the game. CFB fans—myself included—love this, as increased chaos means more exciting games. Since then, this pandemonium has only continued. For thirteen out of fourteen weeks this season, at least one top-ten ranked team has lost. That may not seem that crazy, but it is insane. There is a glimmer of hope for different, often-overlooked teams vying for a National Championship or a New Years’ Six Bowl appearance in a sport usually controlled by the blue-blood programs. Despite all of this, a new kind of chaos has emerged over the past few days.

Obviously, teams with consecutive unsuccessful seasons will look for new leadership to reset their program and put the team back on top. Often, this leadership is chosen based on the success of a coach at another program, offering them a larger contract to bring them in. Due to the extenuated chaos this year, head coaching jobs at many massive programs have opened up, most notably at Florida, USC, LSU, Oklahoma, and Notre Dame. The first three became available because of unmet expectations, as all three programs expect tremendous success every year. However, the latter two are much more complicated. Last week, both had excellent coaches and were set for the future. Now, they are scrambling to find someone to take the wheel. So, what happened?
 
In short, their coaches ditched their teams for what they saw as a better opportunity for themselves. Lincoln Riley, the new head coach at USC, had put his Oklahoma Sooners at the top of college football over the last five years, with three College Football Playoff appearances and two Heisman Trophy winners. His game-changing ability as an offensive mastermind and excellent recruiter had Sooner fans excited for the future and a National Championship on the near horizon. Now, due to Riley’s unexpected departure, recruits are decommitting from the school either to follow Riley or in fear that their career would go to waste. Just the next day, longtime Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly announced that he was leaving the school to accept the job at LSU. Well, he didn’t really announce his decision. Kelly was at a Notre Dame recruit’s home when the news broke and continued to deny the claims even after it was all over the internet. If the CFB world wasn’t already going mad, this put them over the edge. Being the head coach at one of the most prestigious universities and football programs in the country, Kelly’s departure was nothing short of shocking for CFB. LSU offered Kelly a ten-year, $95 million contract, something not many would refuse. However, what is concerning is Kelly’s prompt ditching of the team he had been with for so long. Furthermore, Notre Dame currently has a chance to qualify for the College Football Playoff and win the National Championship.
 
During his 12 years with the program, Kelly constantly preached his goal to win a National Championship. So, for his team to be on the verge of competing for one and him leaving is extremely confusing. Even more baffling is that his players found out he was leaving through social media. Yes, social media. In fact, they didn’t even hear from Kelly until around 11 p.m., when he messaged them all saying he would meet them at 7 a.m. for a final meeting. Sounds like a great coach, right? He addressed his players minutes before he left for Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in an address that reportedly lasted less than two minutes, not accepting questions from anyone. Kelly has even attempted to recruit his assistants to accompany him to LSU, though reports say they feel betrayed by his quick departure. If there is anything that this coaching carousel does, it reinforces the idea that college football is a business rather than a game. Coaches—even long-tenured and experienced ones—have shown they will ditch their program if offered enough money, no matter where their team is situated. This is extremely unfair to the players and recruits who work their tails off day in and day out to be where they are. These coaches exercise a vision and a goal to their players, and for them to one day decide the dream they’ve advertised is no longer fit for themselves is an aberration to this sport. For anyone whining about the transfer portal and Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) payments destabilizing college football, putting too much volition and money in the hands of college players, it’s simply the players emulating their coaches. Coaches lure kids to campus with the promise of playing time, a paternal relationship, and loyalty, then leave for greener pastures on the next private plane.
 
The current College Football Playoff format is partly to blame for these coaches leaving their programs. Expansion from the current four-team system has been in talks for years now, yet no decision has been made. The CFP has created a sort of all-or-nothing mentality—you’re either in, or you’re out. Even schools that were “in” like Oklahoma and Notre Dame now must realize there is another exclusive level to the club lined by a velvet rope their iconic ex-coaches didn’t think they could get past by staying put. Their new programs have far better access to recruiting and almost unlimited capital for them to use, which makes their National Championship aspirations just a few steps away. So, as we look ahead to bowl season, there is one final opportunity for more chaos to ensue in the CFB world and immortalize this season among some of the wildest ever.