Changes Needed to Save Coaches' Lives in College Football

December has become overwhelming and a health risk, but the stress can be eased

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Arkansas head coach climbed to the front of the media room and had a seat. 

Just like when he wandered to the same spot a few weeks ago, he looked worn and stressed. 

However, there was an extra element this time.

There was a tinge of exhaustion and a bit of "I am so over this" lingering in his eyes.

Pittman then labored his way through the long list of items on his plate that had been beating him down for the past week and then settled in for a round of questions he didn't appear to want to deal with, but did anyway out of sense of duty. 

It was easy to see the emotions were the type of raw that comes with just being tired and desperately needing a nap and about 15 hours to just do nothing.

Arkansas Razorbacks coach Sam Pittman during the second quarter against the Ole Miss Rebels at Razorback Stadium. (Nelson Chenault / USA TODAY Sports)

Just look at Pittman's December list:

1. Meet with staff to evaluate every single player on the team to determine who to fight for if they decide they want to leave.

2. Meeting with every single player on the team.

3. Track the transfer portal and generate a list of players you want to recruit for every position and where they will be during school and after finals.

4. Interview new coaches.

5. Put together a plan for how and when you're going to prepare for your bowl game and then begin putting preparation in place for said bowl game.

6. Meet to figure out what to do with the players left on the team in regard to the bowl game.

7. Go out on a one week cross country trip to all 23 of your high school commits. Talk with their parents about any coaches who are leaving that haven't been announced yet.

8. Swing by as many transfer portal players as possible along the way to see if they'd like to be a Razorback.

9. See if potential coaching candidates are on the road anywhere near where you will be and meet with them about the job. 

10. Meet with the media to explain as much as you can about 1-10 while being unable to address certain things in 1-10, which means several more days of headache for you because people are frustrated about not knowing what you can't tell them.

11. Drag what's left of exhausted coaching staff through a practice with what's left of the team.

12. Attend Mike Leach's funeral with Hunter Yurachek.

It's a lot even though there was nothing in there to incorporate the stress created by NIL. 

That's because coaches have no control over NIL; only the consequences.

It's so much, that if something isn't changed, No. 12 is going happen a lot more.

The list of coaches with stress related health issues generated by long hours, extensive travel, dealing with teenagers and young men in their early 20s, dealing with the media, trying to keep boosters happy, recording radio and television shows, the ups and downs of interacting with fans and the numerous issues coaching creates at home with the wife and children is dramatically longer than the average fan knows.

The addition of NIL and a December signing period has added to the stress exponentially. It's a wonder these coaches can walk without developing the shakes.

Something has to change, and it has to be done soon. It's too much on one plate in a single month.

While a lot of this can't be avoided, the frantic plane ride across the nation to try to hold a recruiting class together while dealing with coach and player defections can be eliminated.

The December signing period was created during a time before the complications of NIL. There has also been time to observe the effects it has on setting up a new coach who is hired late in the process for failure in his first season.

It also forces athletes to make decisions on a whim they may not have made if give time to weigh everything out.

North Carolina Tar Heels quarterback Jacolby Criswell (6) makes a catch during warm ups before the start of the first half against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons at Truist Field. (Jim Dedmon / USA TODAY Sports)

For example, when Pittman took the job, he went to Morrilton to see if he could coax Jacolby Criswell to come be his quarterback of the future. Unfortunately, with it being just a few days before the signing period, Pittman couldn't make up for the failures of Chad Morris in recruiting the in-state star.

Criswell didn't have time to get to know Pittman and his staff. If he hesitated, North Carolina would have moved on.

If it turned out Arkansas wasn't going to be a fit for him after taking time to find out, he would have been stuck in a bad situation.

Because of all of these reasons, it's time to make an amendment to the rules that govern the December signing period.

There should still be an early signing period for high school recruits. However, it should be limited to those who desire to be a December graduate who will join the team in the spring whose school has certified the athlete will qualify for graduation.

Everyone else signs in the spring during the old signing period.

If this were the case, Pittman would have been able to put together his staff and invest more time in developing a target list and building relationships. Criswell may have been a Razorback from the start and Pittman would have had even more of a shot at success in his first year.

That simple adjustment alone would have added time to the end of his life.

He would have been able to figure out his coaches these past few weeks without feeling as stressed or rushed. There wouldn't be a full class of super star tight ends potentially disappearing overnight at the last moment.

The week long marathon plane blitz wouldn't have been necessary. Those coaches could have been back home with their families watching Kansas game film as they eased their way into planning and preparation.

The recruiting focus could have been solely on the transfer portal as potential targets presented themselves.

It would have meant more time added to the lives of these coaches, and in some cases, their marriages.

It's a tough business that has become crushing over the last few years. 

But it doesn't have to be as crushing as it is. 

Adjustments need to be made before funerals for coaches become the next transfer portal in this profession.

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