The New Timing of Coaching Carousel in College Football

Early signing day in December has forced decision-makers to speed up process

The end of this college football season has not arrived yet and we already have an interesting wrinkle that could show the future.

USC fired Clay Helton as head football coach and six weeks later Georgia Southern has agreed to make him the new coach.

Ross Dellenger reported the news on Twitter:

Georgia Southern has finalized the deal and hired former USC coach Clay Helton, sources tell @SINow.

The nicest man in college football is back in college football after just a six-week hiatus.

— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) November 2, 2021

The Eagles got off to a 1-3 start (including a 45-10 loss to Arkansas back in September) and coach Chad Lunsford was fired.

They didn't waste a lot of time hiring what some have described as the nicest man in college football with Helton, who was 46-21 over seven seasons with the Trojans.

It doesn't really matter at this point whether you think we have fallen to a level of insanity no one dreamed possible, but the guess is coaches are going to be hired as quickly as others are fired.

The December national signing date that was initially an early signing date is now the main show. Forget about the early February date ... what happens in December is the main show.

If you thought things were getting crazy this may end up as something resembling a transfer portal for coaches.

Nobody is trying to say Helton was going to be a prime candidate for one the big openings available right now (or that will be coming open over the next few weeks). Formers Hogs athletics director Jeff Long isn't doing the hiring at any of those places so we feel safe saying that.

Those schools better have SOMEBODY trying to hold together the players who committed to play for the guy they just fired.

As Arkansas fans learned the hard way, firing a coach and waiting until December to bring in a new one means you have to compress a couple of years recruiting a player into a couple of days.

Schools are going to have to start hiring coaches quick and then you will have a domino effect.

Clay Helton first hiring in this year's coaching carousel :: Jayne Kamin/USA TODAY Images

One of the main things coaches used to look at before taking any job was the roster they would inherit. Especially in this day and age of quick triggers.

The transfer portal has changed all of that.

It's a new day and age. For players and, now, coaches.

We will find out somewhere down the line there's a coach somewhere that is trying to coach his current team but also looking at the team where he's already made a deal to go.

No idea from this corner who that is, but it's a very good bet it's happening.

Or has already happened.