The Nature of the Business

This is the nature of the business. This is better for the organization in the long run. This is what the Coach wanted. This is not what you want to hear as the recruit of an exiting head coach.

Okay, imagine this. You are 18-years-old (focus, you don't really get to go to the prom with the head cheerleader), you have been the star of every team you have ever been on, and now you have your pick of college football programs. What is going to help you decide which school you end up going to? Is it the tradition? The location? The opportunity to play in a bowl game? The coach? I would have to say that all are relatively important factors, but don't count on the coach anymore, not even during the season.

If I am a senior in high school, I can't count on my future coach being there when I am a senior in college. It just doesn't work that way anymore.

Let's first take a look at the University of Pittsburgh. Walt Harris, Pittsburgh's head coach this past season, landed a big-name recruit in Western Pennsylvanian's own Tyler Palko. Palko and the Pitt Panthers team responded to controversy about the future of their head coach (after several disappointing games this season) by landing a BCS bowl game. Palko spoke publicly to the media multiple times defending his coach and proved on the field that Harris was the right person for the job. Guess what, Palko? Harris is leaving anyway.

"Obviously, it's not something I enjoy," said redshirt sophomore quarterback Tyler Palko. "He recruited me. He was a big reason why I came here, and we developed a great relationship together," Palko said. "He's taught me a lot about football and life. He's groomed me to the point I'm at right now. I owe a lot of gratitude to him."

A big reason why Palko came to the school and Harris is another team's head coach prior to the biggest game of this Pitt Panthers life! You can't totally blame the organization for this; they were heavily pressured and had justifiable reasons (see UConn game.) So who is at fault?

Some would contend that it was Harris, but I would argue otherwise. If rumors were floating around that they were trying to replace my position at work with someone else, you better believe I will be looking for a new job. So who is to blame?

Once again, the system is flawed. Recruiting starts so early with high school seniors that waiting until bowl games have ended to begin pursuing a new position or replacing an existing one, is a ridiculous statement.

Ask Florida about this. They made it clear from early on that coach Ron Zook will not be back next year. In fact, even if Ron Zook wanted to coach Florida in the Peach Bowl, he would have never had the chance. Athletic director Jeremy Foley called Coach Zook to tell him he has coached his last game for the Gators. Foley said defensive coordinator Charlie Strong will be named interim coach for the Dec. 31 Peach Bowl against Miami.

Zook, who will be the head coach at Illinois, had not decided whether to coach Florida's bowl game. Some close to Zook said he was considering sticking around for another chance at Miami, which beat Florida twice under Zook. A victory against the Hurricanes would have given Zook two big wins in his final two games (the Gators beat Florida State to end the regular season). This is something that would have raised plenty of questions that both players and some fans wanted answers to about the school's decision to fire him Oct. 25 after just two and a half seasons.

Ask Notre Dame about this. On Nov. 30th, the University of Notre dame announced that Tyrone Willingham will not be retained as its head football coach. Willingham finished 21-15 overall in his three seasons as Irish head coach. Most of the controversy comes with the fact that Willingham is being replaced after three seasons. The young men he recruited, the men that believed he could give them the opportunity to do something special, didn't even get a chance to develop under him.

Just ask freshman running back Darius Walker how he feels about this change. "It's tough. These past few weeks have been kind of tough especially with the season going the way it has, a way we didn't want it to go, and then to hear the news about the coach it was definitely shocking. I think it was harder probably for the younger guys, myself included, and some of the other freshman. Coming in our first year, coach Willingham is really all we knew and we still have a few more years left here in this program. There's a lot of uncertainties in everything so you just kind of feel a little scared about the situation." But then again, this type of thing happens everywhere. So you basically just have to deal with it and move forward.

Darius is right, it does happen everywhere, but he shouldn't have to deal with it during the current season. This isn't the NFL. Chances are most college recruits will not end up making a career out of football. The bowl games that they will be playing in this December and January will be the highlight of their football careers, and potentially the highlight of their entire lives.

It should be a collegiate rule that head coaching changes can not be made until after the bowl games have ended. College Football brings in millions and millions of dollars, without paying those that play the game a dime. The least they could do is give players the best opportunity to win the games that they have worked their entire lives for. Set specific hiring/firing etiquette guidelines and make all schools adhere to this policy because it is the students that currently play on these teams that suffer the most.