Hogs in Danger of Over-Coaching?
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Apparently, the NCAA has just shrugged at things. The NCAA Division I Council on Tuesday approved a rule change that will allow all football staff members to provide coaching instruction during practice and games
In other words, the previous restriction of 11 "countable" coaches now won't be in the rules. Arkansas coach Sam Pittman has to be shaking his head wondering what else will change. He spent decades learning things here and there to be a head coach and it changed in 60 days.
This may lead to a complete circus out of what has always been a chaotic sideline. Practices appear to outsiders like complete chaos. If teams bring in more coaches, how all of that gets managed is going to be a big question.
That's before factoring in additional voices. For at least 50 years it's been unclear how anybody understands everything going on and it's not about to get worse.
At best the head coach hears a quarter of everything going on during a game. There are things happening on sidelines average fans have no clue occur, and a lot of times, the man running things doesn't either on a game-to-game basis.
"Moving forward, any staff member may provide technical and tactical instruction to student-athletes during practice and competition," the NCAA said in a release. "Removing restrictions on skill instruction in football will provide those student-athletes with increased resources to achieve their greatest on-field potential."
A rule that only allows 10 coaches to recruit off-campus will remain in place. That one may be a bone thrown to help the athletic budgets on expenses. Paying additional coaches will already add to a growing budget which will reach a maximum at some point.
ESPN's Heather Dinich came straight to the point and just said what was suspected at first glance.
"Instead of the gray area that existed before, which for many schools was a compliance nightmare, those staff members will now be allowed to provide hands-on instruction," Dinich wrote. "The rule isn't intended to be a green light for head coaches to hire 12 new assistants. Instead, the idea is to modernize the rule and allow for scenarios such as when fired head coaches are recycled onto other staffs in the guise of a "quality control" coach who previously might have ignored the rule to provide instruction."
In other words, Alabama wouldn't have had to bring in all these consultants and analyst positions like they did with the "Nick Saban Redemption School" for fired coaches. They could just let them coach their specialty.
Now coaches have to figure out how to organize this or hand the whole thing off to an assistant they trust. The next thing is to see how many use it as an excuse to explain something that goes sideways in the fourth quarter. Get ready because it's going to happen.
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ANDY HODGES
Sports columnist, writer, former radio host and television host who has been expressing an opinion on sports in the media for over four decades. He has been at numerous media stops in Arkansas, Texas and Mississippi.