College football has been a cornerstone of the American sporting landscape for ages. However, according to popular ESPN college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit, the future of the sport seems to be in disarray.
Herbstreit’s recent comments concentrate on the ongoing, unsettling discourses that surround the realm of college football today.
Herbstreit has opined that the sport is “spiraling out of control.” His assertion stems from an increasing number of coaches resigning from college football assignments to take up roles in the professional leagues.
“The sport is spiraling out of control as we know and many these coaches are not sticking around and waiting. Just a new reality for the sport,”
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
Amongst the wave of coach resignations is the recent departure of Jeff Hafley, the esteemed head coach from Boston College.
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
Hafley, credited for his significant contribution to the improvement of the team, announced his move to the Green Bay Packers.
Not only is he expected to bring a new dynamic to the Packers, but his departure from Boston College also raises questions about the real challenges within college football.
One of the paramount challenges that college football coaches currently face lies in the recruitment and retention of players.
Unlike before, coaches have to consistently re-recruit their entire roster season after season due to the newly introduced transfer portal, a system that allows student-athletes to change schools freely.
NIL, or Name, Image, and Likeness, adds to the pile of concerns that college football coaches encounter. The fund-raising around NIL, while abiding by NCAA rules, adds another layer of complexity to the job.
Herbstreit pinpoints these factors as an implication of a new reality for the sport. He believes that many coaches are choosing to leave the college space rather than facing the intensifying challenges.
“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.”
These recent developments are paving the way for a reformed and perhaps, a more professional style of college athletics.
To safeguard the interest of all parties involved, there’s a growing consensus for the introduction of a governing body with a collective bargaining agreement (CBA).
Such an authoritative body could potentially remedy the disruptive forces currently at play, keeping the spirit and function of college football intact.
