College football coaches from across the sport are calling for a change to the postseason playoff system, and how many teams should have an opportunity to receive a bid.
I would imagine you’re shocked to hear that assistant coaches, and some head coaches, want to expand the current system. But once again, the conversation continues about whether the sport should abandon the current 12-team playoff format in favor of a 24-team playoff that is essentially handing out participation trophies along with a lucrative check.
What’s the latest fuss about, you might ask?
Well, the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) convened recently to share ideas on how to enhance the sport of college football, along with other conversations about the current landscape of a profession that changes on what feels like a weekly basis.
It should be noted that this group has zero power, and any type of “recommendations” are not going to enact change on their own.
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This time, coming out of their meeting, the overwhelming theme of “change” has been a hot-button topic that plenty of coaches around the sport can’t seem to get over the fact that their job security is tied to a 12-team playoff that started only two years ago.
Sure, some of the topics discussed amid another eventful end to the season were tiered toward the change in how many transfer portal periods are now in place (one) compared to previous years.
But, the overwhelming sentiment has centered around how they (assistants, analysts, head coaches) think the sport of college football could be bettered if certain changes were to be enacted.
On Tuesday, the AFCA released a statement from their board that conveyed a message that there need to be immediate changes implemented to help usher college football into a new era.
Mind you, we’re still living within a landscape that isn’t particularly old, though that doesn’t mean coaches aren’t going to look out for themselves, rightfully.
What are some of the changes to the current system that AFCA members would like to see installed in the very near future?
Well, there’s a number of them, starting with the elimination of conference championship games. If you are an avid college football fan, you’ve certainly heard this one over the past year, as the SEC and Big Ten continue to fight over how many teams should be capable of making the CFP.
Right now, there is a game of “chicken” being played. The Big Ten, along with others like the ACC and Big 12, want the playoff to have 24 teams. On the other side of the coin, the SEC would rather go with the 16-team format, though plenty of coaches within the conference would be fine with 24 teams.
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Why the dissension? As you may have seen recently, some coaches within the SEC are starting to voice their displeasure with moving to a nine-game conference schedule without a further expansion of the college football playoff. The thought process in the coaches group chat, from some, is that if they are going to add an additional conference game, they have the cushion of a further-expanded playoff.
That’s a reasonable take, but getting to the point of expanding the postseason once again is going to take some finagling at this time. Given that the SEC and Big Ten control whether we see an expanded playoff, thanks to other conferences giving them that power in the last round of negotiations, coming to an agreement on how many teams should be included has been a tough argument since those two don’t agree.
As for the coaches who are members of the AFCA, they want to “maximize the number of participants while honoring the proposed completion date” which is essentially them saying “add more teams once the ESPN contract allows.”
The one thing I would imagine most of you fans won’t have a problem with is the AFCA voting to end the season by the second Monday in January. Sure, we can get behind that part.
Don’t worry though, they are voting like this for the “student-athletes.” Right, so we’re going to toe the company line and continue calling the players who are being paid “students.”
“Structuring the season in this way will better support student-athletes by more closely matching the academic calendar and aligning with the single transfer portal window,” the AFCA said in a statement. “It also elevates the quality of play during the most meaningful stretch of the season by removing unnecessary breaks and preserving competitive rhythm.”
For some reason though, the coaches who voiced their opinion also want to reduce the number of bye-weeks from two to one. So, are we worried about the wear and tear on the players’ bodies or not?
I think we all understand where we are headed in college football. There will be expansion of the playoff, which fans aren’t asking for, and there will be a season that is officially started a week earlier than the normal Labor Day weekend kickoff.
But, as we continue into ‘talkin’ season’, remember that there are plenty of voices that want to be heard regarding overwhelming changes to college football, though only a few will actually have their recommendations heard loud enough to enact real movement.
Until then, it’s all just noise.
