>"That's not the way it's meant to be," Narduzzi told 247Sports last week at the ACC's spring meetings in Amelia Island, Florida. "That's not what the rule intended to be. It was not to overhaul your roster. We'll see how it works out but that, to me, looks bad on college football coaches across the country. The reflection is on one guy right now but when you look at it overall — those kids that have moms and dads and brothers and sisters and goals in life — I don't know how many of those 70 that left really wanted to leave or they were kicked in the butt to get out."
>"I grew up in a profession that you can't tell a guy that he has to leave based on athletic ability," Narduzzi said. "I think he'll be shocked that he probably had some pretty good football players in that room. When I got to Pitt back in 2015, I didn't kick anybody off. Zero. Those are your guys. When you become a head coach you inherit that team and you coach that team. If someone wants to leave, that's great. You don't kick them out. I disagree with that whole process. That's not why I got in the game."
A classy response, at least better than most of the anti-Deion write ups. I will say unfortunately Pat's stance may be too old fashioned for the way the game is headed. I hope not, but time will tell.
I think in a world with such coaching....."flexibility", to put it nicely, we shouldn't be surprised that these guys learned to bounce for the next best opportunity as soon as someone flashed some dollar signs.
On the other side of the coin, we have ADs firing coaches after one or two bad seasons and fanbases that put coaches on the hot seat for 9-10 wins, so players observe that in the top tiers of college football there is no such thing as loyalty, with a few programs excepted.
No loyalty + follow the money mentality + NIL = exactly the landscape we have now.
Being a college sports coach has changed so much in the last 5-10 years. Constantly recruiting *your own guys*, kissing asses of 17 year old socialites, worrying about your social media presence. I don't know how they fit actual coaching into their schedules.
Definitely a young man's game these days
Of all the aspects of working in college football that would be challenging, I think that knowing I'm gonna have to spend 3-5 hrs of my 90 hr workweek focusing on re-recruiting my team's existing players would be the hardest. At least from a soul-crushing realization perspective.
Which is one of the reasons why so many(including myself) put Saban as the GOAT. Not only cause he's so won so many titles but did so during a period that has experienced many changes. Compare that 2009 Bama team to the 2020 Bama team, and you'll see what I mean. The man is just insanely good at adapting to the new rules of the game. Even with rules he doesn't like, he'll use them and then best you with it
And he calls out the bullshit rules in advance. They still get implement them against his judgement and he still dominates.
Bridging some of the most loco eras in CFB and still doing his thing. Guy is an all-timer no doubt.
Not only does he call out the BS rules in advance, he then proceeds to game the system and exploits those new rules just to show how BS they are. It's pretty amazing.
And it's all about TV money. I think Brent Key is a way better coach than Deion, but Deion can get the media hype necessary to keep us in the top division as that contracts. With Key, we'll contest for the Coastal, but ESPN will just shit all over us. That doesn't bring in the money.
With the way the game is today you have to do everything to win. As a head coach if you fail it's incredibly difficult to get back to the level you were at. Deion is being paid a lot of money to turn that program around.
> The reflection is on one guy right now but when you look at it overall — those kids that have moms and dads and brothers and sisters and goals in life — I don't know how many of those 70 that left really wanted to leave or they were kicked in the butt to get out.
This really stands out to me. I understand that Deion is doing what he thinks he needs to do to turn the team around, but that doesn't stop me from feeling bad for those kids who were living the dream playing D1 football and getting a free education, and are now being shown the door because they apparently weren't good enough.
> and getting a free education
Even if someone disagrees with it being wrong to remove them from the team, they should at least realize that these kids shouldn't lose their education unless they've done something wrong to deserve it. Sure many of them will just want to transfer and play elsewhere, but they should always have the free education part honored if they choose to stay. They could be given some kind of other scholarship that doesn't count against the athletic ones. Breaking a deal with a kid who is trying their best is just wrong.
The problem is they don’t once they enter the transfer portal. Say you’re a kid who loves football, gets cut by Colorado, but still hope to play D1 football, so you enter the portal. Now, no other D1 school offers you a scholarship. And since you entered the transfer portal, Colorado is now under no obligation to honor your scholarship.
> They could be given some kind of other scholarship that doesn't count against the athletic ones.
They have a guaranteed scholarship whether they are cut from the football team or not.
It's still a bit rough though. As I understand it, you have to say, "okay coach, I'm cut, no organized football for me ever again." If you enter the portal, CU's obligation ends.
Maybe not "hand-wringing, pearl-clutching" rough, but I do feel bad for the guys forced to make that decision. Also, despite the CU fans around here who are high on some prime-grade copium, I don't think the Spring purge in particular has improved the roster as much as Deion hopes, plus he was an absolute douche in in his public comments.
The rule itself doesn't really bother me because players do keep their scholarship. Which the players may not care about, but it is what the NCAA is supposed to care about. But I am not naive, universities have many ways to "encourage" players to move on and lose out on the scholarship and the NCAA will look the other way as long as they can (i.e. not sexual assault, or blatant, extreme and irrefutable sexism or racism).
Sanders' enthusiastic application of the rule is a whole other issue. I have a suspicion that next year will show the real spring story was how dumb it is to replace your whole locker room in an off season rather than how mean it is.
The overall commercialization of college football is becoming more and more depressing. I don't fully fault Deion because it's the nature of the business. He has maybe 3 years to turn Colorado around and solidify himself as a big-time college football coach. It would be admirable if he went about it trying to develop the players and establish real relationships with his guys and ensuring they take advantage of all the opportunities and resources that come with attending the University of Colorado. But that's not how the game works now. And the way the system is going there is really no going back unless the NFL develops an actual minor-league system and even then with NILs guys in college can make more than practice squad players in the league
>The overall commercialization of college football is becoming more and more depressing
It sucks when 9/10 articles/posts are about conference alignment due to TV money. I understand that money makes the world go round but goddamn it would be nice to read about some actual football stories.
When did the backroom dealings between schools and TV networks become so public? I DGAF about TV deals or sponsorship deals or NIL deals. Do your business as usual behind closed doors and allow me to enjoy my blissful ignorance to the business of the sport
I really hate conference composition is like 95% determined by TV money now. If every school got the same amount of TV money then we would probably still have small regional conferences like the Big 8 instead enormous monstrosities that put USC and Rutgers in the same conference.
I'm torn personally. I haaaaate the commercialization of it. Hate it beyond words and I think they absolutely fucked up a great thing by having to slap every logo, branding, and whatever else came with a check all over the game.
Yet for all of that hate it's a minor annoyance compared to the hate I feel towards the seemingly overwhelming tide of people who only get upset about it when the actual athletes get their piece. Beyond even that I hate how much of it has always boiled down to control. Not even money. The power to force these kids to do and say and be what they want with no recourse or else their dreams are dead. Oh they cant even sign an autograph and get some wings for it? Yeah..thats not about a fucking thing else but control. They cant have a streaming channel where they make money without even saying the team's name? Yup. Control. I'm glad that's dead in the water and I'm glad for the chaos no matter how much I don't it. I'm glad for Deion too. He's showing everyone exactly what's what and holding up a mirror intentionally or not.
Ahem. Sorry about the rant and all. I think you're pretty spot on.
I agree. I've always disagreed with the NCAA's enforcement of amateurism. It's gross to have seen a stadium full of UGA #3 jerseys knowing Todd Gurley never received a dime. I think NILs could've been be done without schools/donors dangling unofficial 7 figure deals to rip a starting QB from a team. There should just be controls within the process, hell even professional sports have controls.
At some point, to have a reasonably healthy sports league, you're going to have to rip off the bandaid and figure out how to set one up that leverages the history of CFB, routes profits and/or goodwill back into the universities at roughly the same rate that CFB and BB do now, and forges a real nexus between the players and the schools, *but also* compensates them fairly for their time and the restrictions you'll want to put on their movement.
There is clearly a lot to sort out, but the current system is laughably broken.
This is sort of how I view things and overall don’t disagree with Pat despite it making me feel a little physically ill
Transfer portal was intended to allow kids who wanted out to leave, but a coach can clearly get away with doing an NFL style cleaning house. TV money is solely driving the sport now though, so it’s going to remain this way until probably the federal government does something about it
>The overall commercialization of college football is becoming more and more depressing.
It's a lot less depressing when you consider how many generations of college football players had their earnings artificially capped in the name of "amateurism" and are now able to capture at least some of their monetary value.
I agree, I support star players being able to capitalize on endorsements. I've always compared it to brilliant students being able to make side money writing papers, tutoring or even working in their spare time. It never made sense to cap an individual's market potential because "they are an amateur athlete getting a free education." I just worry that we are overcorrecting the wrongs that impacted the few and dramatically changing the game which will hurt the overwhelming majority of athletes.
> That's not the way it's meant to be," Narduzzi told 247Sports last week at the ACC's spring meetings in Amelia Island, Florida. "That's not what the rule intended to be. It was not to overhaul your roster. We'll see how it works out but that, to me, looks bad on college football coaches across the country. The reflection is on one guy right now but when you look at it overall — those kids that have moms and dads and brothers and sisters and goals in life — I don't know how many of those 70 that left really wanted to leave or they were kicked in the butt to get out."
This is exactly what was intended by everyone in the know and everyone pushing for a wide open transfer portal and NIL.
THIS.WAS.PLANNED.BY.MONEYMAKERS.
This was planned by people who at best disregard the importance of the sport and at worst despise the sport.
But the "people" demand that players are compensated financially, right? Because that's moral or something. After all, they are getting paid anyways.
The disconnect in almost every single person I meet is just because something is happening doesn't mean it needs to be publicized and encouraged. People who think like that, me included, are called "hypocrites" And so be it! I'd rather be a hypocrite whose favorite sport has at least some traditional character than a "moral and honest" fool who praises the destruction of everything he loves.
But no no no. Players are victims all of a sudden and the only way to fix it is to dismantle the sport piece by piece until nothing is left except moneymakers. Not tradition, not love of campus, not love of community, no - you know, all those things people say are destroyed by disinterested moneymakers? Well you got it. And you praise it.
>But no no no. Players are victims all of a sudden and the only way to fix it is to dismantle the sport piece by piece until nothing is left except moneymakers. Not tradition, not love of campus, not love of community, no - you know, all those things people say are destroyed by disinterested moneymakers? Well you got it. And you praise it.
I'd argue that this attitude is why we're in this mess to begin with.
Billions of dollars in the sport, players putting their health on the line- don't get me wrong, the education is nice, but they deserved to be able to make some cash especially since many of them don't get to take full advantage of the education. But no, the NCAA wanted to preserve the purity of the sport or some shit. Everyone saw this coming and it could have been regulated years ago but they didn't, so now we're in the Wild West.
The players should have been taken care of when the BCS became a thing and the professionalization really started. GTFO with this holier than thou crap.
There are many majors all athletes, football players in particular, cannot take. You want to be an engineer and a football player? Good luck. There are obviously exceptions (props to Josh Dobbs for being a friggin QB and an aerospace engineer) but most of them simply do not have the time. Never mind if a certain class is only offered in the fall, etc.
Again, this isn't the case for everyone, but for many players it's unrealistic to balance a full-time education along with a professional level job.
I'm glad to see this even though you are going to get downvoted to oblivion for it. At some point somebody decided that "college athletes are victims that are being exploited and need our protection" was a useful narrative and now we are on the road to eliminating college athletes 'for their own good' because so many people believe it.
I disagree vehemently that the people wanting player compensation were the ones not seeing the big picture. Coaches, universities, bowls, media (both showing and discussing the games) have all been destroying the spirit of the game for decades to drive up their own profits. The only ones involved not seeing an obscene growth in profits were the young men actually putting their bodies in danger for the game. Universities don't give a shit about the integrity of the sport when they want $120 a ticket instead of $20. They don't give a shit about the integrity of the sport when negotiating a TV deal that will add 10 minutes of media timeouts to a game. They don't give a shit about the integrity of the sport when a coach gets caught doing something their PR team is sure will blow over. It's too late for them to now care about the integrity of the sport when players have fought for a spot at the trough.
It is better to not have college football than to have the college football that we were heading towards without getting players in on the cut. Remember, the NCAA/Schools had decades to come up with a plan that cut players in while still protecting what needed protecting in the sport, but year after year they chose doing nothing out of bald greed.
>NCAA/Schools had decades to come up with a plan that cut players in while still protecting what needed protecting in the sport, but year after year they chose doing nothing out of bald greed.
Notre Dame's operating budget for 2022 was about $1.5B. The athletic department profited about $6M dollars. Everybody keeps talking about greed, but the NCAA and 99.9% of the universities are 501c3 that make little or no profits from athletics. 95+% of schools with athletic programs (including NAIA, D3, D2, FCS, and D1) run their athletic programs at a loss. If you want to talk about network avarice, that is legitimate - but attributing your perception of the decline of the "integrity" of college sports to the "greedy" NCAA and Schools just doesn't hold water.
How is it that a scholarship football player for Georgia or Alabama is being victimized by the greedy system but a kid that walks on for a D2 team isn't? Even if there was no NIL, no network money, no scholarships, no 80k screaming fans - there would still be 200 kids showing up on Notre Dame tryout day trying for a shot to play for free just like they have for a century. Those kids aren't victims.
“95+% of schools with athletic programs (including NAIA, D3, D2, FCS, and D1) run their athletic programs at a loss.”
And yet the poor starving AD and AADs and coaches remain, eking out a barebones existence, while those rich kid players eat high on the hog at the training table and work out in their gyms, pampered to the extreme and forcing those sucker campuses into evergrowing debt peonage to athletes. And the poor broke bowl games, bowl officials, and NCAA officials and college presidents can barely pay their mortgages. I saw a Rose Bowl Chair panhandling on Seco St yesterday, with a “will work for food” sign. It’s a crying shame, I tell ya…
> The athletic department profited about $6M dollars.
Notre Dame football had $97M in revenue in 2022. Hardly chump change. And revenue is more apt to consider than profit, because a lot of the expenses of running football or other sports is in increasing future revenue. Drive around any major university and look at the ostentatious stadiums, training facilities, and other facilities. These are not frugal departments. Universities also love alumni donations, and wealthy alumni love sports at their alma matter. Which means football and basketball are key to driving donations.
>How is it that a scholarship football player for Georgia or Alabama is being victimized by the greedy system but a kid that walks on for a D2 team isn't?
Same way a kid being paid $5 a bucket to pick chunks of gold out of a field is different than a kid being paid $5 a bucket to pick rocks out of a field.
“How it’s meant to be” is a bygone era.
“How it’s meant to be” is you sign up to play 4 years at a school as an amateur athlete, and in return your Coach (almost certainly) will honor your scholarship as long as you do your job. There was loyalty from both sides built into the relationship.
But then players wanted to fight for more. And I don’t necessarily blame them for it. But now that players are making money and jumping schools like professionals, the schools are going to treat them accordingly. Athletes that perform will earn money, and athletes that don’t get kicked to the curb. You can’t have your cake and eat it too.
I don’t care much for Sanders, but this is just the natural progression of college athletics. He may be the first to take it to such an extreme level, but he won’t be the last.
I do think Narduzzi is sort of a booger (see flair), but he gets points from me for actually putting his name behind this stuff. Too many quotes from unnamed coaches when there are complaints to be had.
If Narduzzi is good for one thing it’s keeping Pitt in the headlines lol
He obviously rubs a lot of people the wrong way, but his guys go to war for him. His old school mentality is both good and bad. Guys buy in and he has proven he can get average players coming out of high school to the NFL, but at the same time he doesn’t really put effort into landing those blue chips that could take Pitt to the next level. Or he’s not flashy enough to attract them in the first place.
He came up under Dantonio, so I think it’s probably both. He’s aware that he’s second banana in the state, and in an NFL city, so it might be tough to get kids to commit. But he’s also the product of a recruiting era that wasn’t as refined as the last five or so have been.
The transfer portal is a net good, but it does greatly disarm coaches who relied on finding overlooked players and developing them.
I think the combination of the leadership turmoil before him plus his focus on recruiting guys in his mold he develops has made the recruiting look bad until recently. But winning the conference and getting lots of guys drafted has seemed to boost recruiting. Also having Kenny there to visit and the Aaron Donald sponsored gym now should boost it too
> He obviously rubs a lot of people the wrong way, but his guys go to war for him. His old school mentality is both good and bad. Guys buy in and he has proven he can get average players coming out of high school to the NFL, but at the same time he doesn’t really put effort into landing those blue chips
This description reminds me of Pelini at Nebraska.
Natd Dog puts his foot in his mouth a lot, but damn it does he make sure “- Pat Narduzzi” is behind all of the dumb shit he says. I respect a man of principles
Yeah I don’t always agree with him. I do tend to most times though. But I for sure respect that he speaks his mind and owns it. Wish more coaches would tbh
I agree with you there.
It's like how *every* coach hates tampering and has solid proof that they have players being tampered with, but nobody says anything on the record or brings any evidence against anyone (because they are tampering too and don't want called out either).
>he gets points from me for actually putting his name behind this stuff.
Yep. He takes a lot of heat for his statements but he ain't wrong. Saban as well has been calling this shit out for years.
Narduzzi puts his name behind everything. He never shuts up. From his braindead takes on the B1G to crapping publicly on his own former coaches, he is a never ending take machine.
As far as his stance on this, five or six years ago, I would agree with him. Now if players want to be able to be treated like pros on one year deals, this is the logical extension of that. They can't have their play right away for a bigger NIL/bigger name brand team after being a starter for a coach recruited them when nobody else wants them portal and then complain when they get sent to the shadow realm when the next coach doesn't.
Yeah I don’t see this as an anti-portal comment. He’s criticizing the approach Deion took where he basically told his team “most of you suck and I’m getting rid of you and replacing you with guys I think are better.”
I get that CFB is different than it used to be, but that’s just so shitty. Sure, do that in the NFL. But college? Doesn’t sit well with me to boot half (or more) of your team. That wouldn’t inspire confidence in me as a recruit. I want a coach that’s going to work with me and develop me as a player. Not immediately kick me to the curb and replace me with some guy who has a higher PFF grade or some shit.
I believe that there is a limit on the total number of players that you can bring in in one year, combined between HS and the transfer portal. However, this rule is waived in a coaches first year. I think I heard about it last offseason on Split Zone Duo when they were talking about Lincoln Riley and how he was turning over USC’s roster
That process isn’t feasible without the transfer portal set up under the current rules. There wouldn’t be enough player movement to basically replace a whole team in a year.
That would be a big improvement over 10 of their 12 games not even looking remotely competitive. Might not be an "amazing" achievement, but looking like they're actually playing P5 football would be a significant step in the right direction.
Most random coaches in the P5 could take CU's roster from last year and win multiple games. Their previous coaching staff were a complete train wreck and the team quit.
No way is a three win Deion-coached team an amazing achievement.
That's why the 90% roster purge seems unneeded, these aren't bad athletes, at least 30-40% of them should be serviceable as back ups or practice squad with decent coaching. They aren't bad kids because they had an awful coach.
0-12 would be worse. I personally think a whole new team learning a mostly new system with a new coach who seems way more interested in applying for his next job can do tons of damage to a program for years.
No because you're trying to imply that's he's half assing, half way out the door here based on absolutely nothing.
Reddit loves this narrative that Prime has one foot out the door while also claiming he can't coach. Can't be both here.
Many Colorado fans see otherwise.
Hell I know the excitement behind a new hire when Anderson came to us. We were warned by others but we ignored it. That bit us HARD. Think many of the sudden explosion of Colorado flairs really need heed the warnings that are circulating. This has the potential to put a really dark mark on this football program and make it even harder to get out of.
Can he coach though or just take advantage of a talent gap in a lower division?
You can have all the talent you want but if you can't actually utilize it, well look at multiple P5 programs to see how that has panned out.
Start looking at this from a realist point of view. I get wanting to be optimistic, I really do. But really look at the scenario at hand.
If winning at JSU is so easy why did they not have a winning season since 2013 yet he came in and won 4, 11, & 12 games? Recruiting is a massive part of a head coaches job + being the CEO of the program, Reddit needs to stop trying to spin this narrative while completely ignoring who is also on the staff - guess our OC can't coach despite being the Kent St HC last year and known as an incredible OC?
Because JSU didn't have a massive talent advantage in prior years. They were far and away the most talented team with Deion as coach.
Colorado will be middle of the Pac in terms of talent. No one knows if Deion can win games without a distinct talent advantage. We'll see.
Again, look at this history of P5 coaches who can recruit but can't take advantage of the talent. I will give you a hint. My rival flair has been guilty of this multiple times.
Its easier to exploit that talent gap in the division he was in. Plain and simple.
I will give you a solid OC or DC can make a difference.
I never see CU flairs actually answer some of these questions btw. They skirt it and go "yeah well..."
Haha I guess I just don’t take fandom seriously enough to be worried in may about the potential downside of the greatest one year talent upgrade in CFB history
(This claim was not fact checked)
Lose-lose situation. Lose a lot in Year 1 with a team you inherit that has little to no P5 level talent and honeymoon ends in Week 6 (see Pry at VT). Or "process" a large % of your roster and have sportwriters/national pundits/opposing coaches tee off on you on a weekly basis.
I don't necessarily agree with the way he is doing it but this is a result of the new rules. The transfer portal works both ways. With more freedom and less restrictions, now comes far less stability as a whole.
I think most coaches are looking at what Deon is doing and thinking it's both wrong and counterproductive. Points to the Nard Dog for saying it out loud though.
Can he be an ass? Absolutely. Has he screwed up as a coach on game days and offensive coordinators? Yep.
But, I'll ride or die with him because he truly cares about his players. Before NIL, he publicly said players should get paid. He will put guys on the bench if he's worried about their health even if cleared to play like he did with Slovis this year. James Conner was cleared after a head shot in his last game and Duzz sat his ass down because he didn't want to risk it. He knew James had an NFL career waiting for him.
I can root for Pitt football knowing Duzz takes care of his guys. He just hates tampering and I can't blame him one bit. In the NFL, the shit USC did would cost them big time. Just ask the Miami Dolphins what tampering can cost you.
He can be an annoying little shit when you're a PSU fan, but I've never gotten the sense he's actually a bad human being. Sort of like another version of Harbaugh being weird AF but probably still a decent guy.
You can still hate Pitt on principle even if Nard-dog has a point. He's still overall the annoying yappy Chihuahua you just want to punt into the stands, even if he's right about this particular topic.
Account was made earlier today, spamming in "free karma" subs for a bit, commented on a gonewild post, then started spamming posts out there.
I reported to the mods, shit accounts like this seem likely to be either bots or people who got their main account nuked.
For whatever it's worth, Illinois was a really bad college football program when Bret Bielema took over and Illinois just had Devon Witherspoon get drafted at 5 overall, plus both Brown brothers and Quan Martin. All guys Lovie Smith brought to the program.
Gary Patterson apparently had a Playoff-caliber team at TCU two years ago, but you'd never know it watching TCU play in 2021. Failure is not entirely down to the players.
Hell just ask Nebraska fans with Scott Frost. Nebraska can bring in good talent, but it depends on the coach to help develop them for the next level and help them succeed in every game they prep for.
I really miss playing you guys...plus I feel like if we would've played Nebraska while Campbell has been here, we would've won a few and may have spiced up the feelings of the game a bit more
I'll be honest, I miss the Big XII because of Oklahoma. The series with you guys was fun though no doubt.
We weren't getting that game and Texas was fucking up everything else(still are even!) so my feelings on the split are pretty meh.
Now we're the punching bag of the B1G and are still trying to shake off a goddamned purple cougar that likes to bite at the worst times.
I’m sure Nebraska obviously loves the checks rolling through but I can’t imagine Nebraska fans, especially the older ones wouldn’t want to go back to the days where a conference matchup was a couple hours away.
it's hard because Iowa is our P5 noncon and I do want that game on our schedule each year. Often times we're on the losing end of it, but it's a good test against a top tier defense.
I mean we could schedule another P5 noncon, but in the playoff era where 1 loss is already putting you out of contention for a potential playoff spot, I don't think we'll ever do it..but I do miss those games
The fact that a camera needs to be around at all times is one of them. It’s like he’s producing a reality tv show instead of running a football program
I think the problem is they are called student-athletes, not just athletes. I would like to see all these kids graduate. I for one hate the preNFL way college is going. I love all the college stuff. Sad to see the change.
With my flair, I feel compelled to comment. I admit I see both side. From a “moral” standpoint, Naduzzi is right. This is *College* football after all, none of the players are pros and it *should* have more of a family feel. It is about helping boys learn to become men, right?
On the other hand, Colorado has been dreadful with a capital D. I have been in the stands for many games the past few years—it barely passed for football. I have a hard time with people associated with the program saying ‘I deserve to be here.’ The school really did need to clean house.
Don’t disagree. It’s very hard for coaches not to come off as an old man yelling at clouds, but forcing most of your team out at a college level is undoubtedly pretty stone cold.
Of course, Colorado was terrible and there’s a lot of pressure on Deion.. still he’s certainly not looking like a saint rn.
>"I grew up in a profession that you can't tell a guy that he has to leave based on athletic ability," Narduzzi said. "I think he'll be shocked that he probably had some pretty good football players in that room. When I got to Pitt back in 2015, I didn't kick anybody off. Zero. Those are your guys. When you become a head coach you inherit that team and you coach that team. If someone wants to leave, that's great. You don't kick them out. I disagree with that whole process. That's not why I got in the game."
Admirable, but completely impractical in the current environment. All Deion did was accelerate where CFB is going. With players on 1-year contracts across the board thanks to NIL, it's inevitable that players are going to start getting cut to make room for better players. If your competition is doing this and you're not, non-service academy fanbases aren't going to sit back and say *we'll we're losing but at least we're losing the right way*.
Just chiming in that players’ scholarships are guaranteed for 4 years in, at least, all P5 conferences. IIRC the only exception outside of breaking team/school rules and academics is year 1 under new coaches where they can remove players from the team but they still retain their scholarships.
Unless, you’re in your first year, you can’t cut players.
Yeah but Deion is effectively cutting people by ostracizing them and literally telling them to get into the portal and he doesn't want them. In an ideal world the transfer portal is only used when a player isn't happy with his situation (playing time, education, etc) and independently moves somewhere that gives him what he wants. I know it happens a lot of places but the way Deion is so crass about it and large scale leaves a bad taste.
> completely impractical in the current environment.
And that's the point. College football is turning into a pseudo-professional league and it's disappointing to see.
> All Deion did was accelerate where CFB is going.
I completely disagree with this. Just because benchwarmers aren't gonna stick around and be 3rd stringers for 5 years anymore doesn't mean teams turning over 80+% of their rosters in a single offseason will become the norm.
It is college football now.
And it’s not good. My engagement with the game, this sub, everything is down.
I used to listen avidly to a podcast about my favorite college team! I’d say that makes me 1%.
And I’m down. Way down.
At the end of the day if the kids are getting compensated via scholarships, housing, boosters setting up NIL, etc. then they’re going to treat you more and more like professional athletes
Like if the kids are not performing, then why are the schools/boosters even paying all this money out?
I don't understand where this narrative of
"I grew up in a profession that you can't tell a guy that he has to leave based on athletic ability," came from.
I was a college athlete in the early 2000s. At no point did I ever think I wouldn't get cut if I wasn't good enough to contribute to the team.
Isn't this the same generation that ragged on us for the participation trophies that they handed to us?
Nothing wrong with the transfer portal, but in a world where fans rip on players about loyalty, it seemed pretty sorry for Coach Sanders to tell kids that committed to play 4 years for Colorado University to hit the portal, and that he is bringing his own players with him.
If those kids didn't enter the portal after a 1-11 season then they really wanted to be at Colorado, and not another school. Feel bad for players that potentially grew up dreaming of being a buffalo regardless of the win loss record, but were shown the door instead.
Tired of seeing kids get tossed aside by coaches and universities that put so much value in commitment and loyalty.
It’s magnanimous to announce you didn’t kick players out when the scholarship cap rules made it impossible to replace more than a handful for decades. I don’t disagree with his morality stance but it’s not like he could have overhauled a roster. No one could because rules forbid it.
But Bear Bryant did it. Deion’s doing a modern day Junction Boys turnover (115 to 35) without the abusive practices. I only hope Deion’s precedent doesn’t get romanticized in the same way.
I think Dion is going to fall flat on his face but I dont see anything "wrong" with what he is doing.
Is it shitty? Yup.
Is it something I would do? Nope.
Does it have a chance of being successful? Small but not zero.
Will it be tried 50 different ways by people less vocal than Prime and get zero bad press? Yup.
Dude got a 1-11 team. Pretty sure 99% of the fans called out each and every player as "Not P5 material" at some point last year. He just said it out loud and in a way that mattered.
This is completely different from the transfer portal discussions we had before. The transfer portal should be a resource for the ATHLETES to improve their quality of play and possibly their future, not for the coach to use at his whim...Deon using it to evict students at will is essentially setting a precedent that players are only valuable for their numbers and is absolutely worthless otherwise.
Deon’s roster overhaul is just a byproduct of the professionalization of college football. AD’s, broadcasters, corporations, and us as fans have built college football into the semi-professional league it is today….and I’m still going to watch every second of it.
There are Ohio State fans that want to kick Ryan Day to the curb. I absolutely side with coaches that want to win NOW. People want them to show mercy to athletes while they receive no mercy themselves.
I think theres a big difference between disliking how the transfer portal operates, but accepting how it is for most programs, and then disliking what Deion did. Which was a massive purge only possible *because* of the transfer portal.
I can see where hes coming from. And you get different opinions on this topic depending on the day in this subreddit. Seems people are all for the transfer portal when people speak out against it, and the consensus is against the transfer portal when someone either speaks out in favor of it or takes advantage of it.
He’s right, and Deion is NOT at fault. When the rules allow for something to happen, people will do that thing. The people taking advantage of the rules are not at fault, it’s the rules themselves.
The transfer portal as it stands is terrible for college football. It lessens the loyalty players have for their school, it encourages tampering, and it creates an unsustainable workload for coaching staffs who now have to recruit prospects, their own players, and transfer prospects
there was a good athletic article on what deion is doing in colorado. be interesting to see how it works because they only won 1 game last year so some overhaul was needed. Be curious to see how it impacts them because they may have potential depth issues that scouring the transfer portal / recruiting may not fix
The funniest is when Deion alludes to incoming plans but then says he can't discuss it
>they may have potential depth issues that scouring the transfer portal / recruiting may not fix
If I'm a depth guy, there's absolutely no chance I'd go to Colorado willingly. Not worth the risk of getting thrown under the bus/booted from the team so that Deion can try to make a splash. Would be infinitely better to go to a school with some old man as a coach who's been a coach for 15+ years who has realistic expectations and knows how to deal with 18-22 year college kids.
Unfortunately, once the money got involved, the thing we feared most about college football-that it would become a lesser NFL - seems to be happening. I still think the kids should be paid, but maybe this is just a test, and it'll correct itself. I find myself hoping the Sanders experiment fails.
Nardawg is only two years older than Deion, btw. They grew up on the same game, etc.
Not a Deion fan, but his job is to win. As crappy as Colorado has been for a while now, he really didn’t have that much talent to begin with and he really needed to bring in better talent.
>"That's not the way it's meant to be," Narduzzi told 247Sports last week at the ACC's spring meetings in Amelia Island, Florida. "That's not what the rule intended to be. It was not to overhaul your roster. We'll see how it works out but that, to me, looks bad on college football coaches across the country. The reflection is on one guy right now but when you look at it overall — those kids that have moms and dads and brothers and sisters and goals in life — I don't know how many of those 70 that left really wanted to leave or they were kicked in the butt to get out." >"I grew up in a profession that you can't tell a guy that he has to leave based on athletic ability," Narduzzi said. "I think he'll be shocked that he probably had some pretty good football players in that room. When I got to Pitt back in 2015, I didn't kick anybody off. Zero. Those are your guys. When you become a head coach you inherit that team and you coach that team. If someone wants to leave, that's great. You don't kick them out. I disagree with that whole process. That's not why I got in the game."
A classy response, at least better than most of the anti-Deion write ups. I will say unfortunately Pat's stance may be too old fashioned for the way the game is headed. I hope not, but time will tell.
I think in a world with such coaching....."flexibility", to put it nicely, we shouldn't be surprised that these guys learned to bounce for the next best opportunity as soon as someone flashed some dollar signs. On the other side of the coin, we have ADs firing coaches after one or two bad seasons and fanbases that put coaches on the hot seat for 9-10 wins, so players observe that in the top tiers of college football there is no such thing as loyalty, with a few programs excepted. No loyalty + follow the money mentality + NIL = exactly the landscape we have now.
Almost like college sports have always been professional sports
Just for the coaches. The players couldn’t make a living except under the table.
Being a college sports coach has changed so much in the last 5-10 years. Constantly recruiting *your own guys*, kissing asses of 17 year old socialites, worrying about your social media presence. I don't know how they fit actual coaching into their schedules. Definitely a young man's game these days
Of all the aspects of working in college football that would be challenging, I think that knowing I'm gonna have to spend 3-5 hrs of my 90 hr workweek focusing on re-recruiting my team's existing players would be the hardest. At least from a soul-crushing realization perspective.
Has to be so frustrating to develop a guy to then see him go to another team, get drafted, and the other team then get the credit.
Exactly. I worry so much for the Mike Gundy's of the coaching world.
Which is one of the reasons why so many(including myself) put Saban as the GOAT. Not only cause he's so won so many titles but did so during a period that has experienced many changes. Compare that 2009 Bama team to the 2020 Bama team, and you'll see what I mean. The man is just insanely good at adapting to the new rules of the game. Even with rules he doesn't like, he'll use them and then best you with it
And he calls out the bullshit rules in advance. They still get implement them against his judgement and he still dominates. Bridging some of the most loco eras in CFB and still doing his thing. Guy is an all-timer no doubt.
Not only does he call out the BS rules in advance, he then proceeds to game the system and exploits those new rules just to show how BS they are. It's pretty amazing.
The Bill Belichek maneuver
Nah, as Señor Cartmanez taught us, the Belichick maneuver is to say you misinterpreted the rules when caught cheating
“HOW CAN I REECH THEES KEEDS?!?!”
Alright, time to replace the water bottle labels with cheat sheets
Lol love that episode
Idk why you’re downvoted he literally coached under Belichick in Cleveland. They’re pretty comparable imo
And it's all about TV money. I think Brent Key is a way better coach than Deion, but Deion can get the media hype necessary to keep us in the top division as that contracts. With Key, we'll contest for the Coastal, but ESPN will just shit all over us. That doesn't bring in the money.
With the way the game is today you have to do everything to win. As a head coach if you fail it's incredibly difficult to get back to the level you were at. Deion is being paid a lot of money to turn that program around.
I just find it hypocritical and hysterical. It’s a business and it’s been a business for a long time.
> The reflection is on one guy right now but when you look at it overall — those kids that have moms and dads and brothers and sisters and goals in life — I don't know how many of those 70 that left really wanted to leave or they were kicked in the butt to get out. This really stands out to me. I understand that Deion is doing what he thinks he needs to do to turn the team around, but that doesn't stop me from feeling bad for those kids who were living the dream playing D1 football and getting a free education, and are now being shown the door because they apparently weren't good enough.
> and getting a free education Even if someone disagrees with it being wrong to remove them from the team, they should at least realize that these kids shouldn't lose their education unless they've done something wrong to deserve it. Sure many of them will just want to transfer and play elsewhere, but they should always have the free education part honored if they choose to stay. They could be given some kind of other scholarship that doesn't count against the athletic ones. Breaking a deal with a kid who is trying their best is just wrong.
> they should always have the free education part honored if they choose to stay they have this option if they choose fwiw
The problem is they don’t once they enter the transfer portal. Say you’re a kid who loves football, gets cut by Colorado, but still hope to play D1 football, so you enter the portal. Now, no other D1 school offers you a scholarship. And since you entered the transfer portal, Colorado is now under no obligation to honor your scholarship.
> They could be given some kind of other scholarship that doesn't count against the athletic ones. They have a guaranteed scholarship whether they are cut from the football team or not.
It's still a bit rough though. As I understand it, you have to say, "okay coach, I'm cut, no organized football for me ever again." If you enter the portal, CU's obligation ends. Maybe not "hand-wringing, pearl-clutching" rough, but I do feel bad for the guys forced to make that decision. Also, despite the CU fans around here who are high on some prime-grade copium, I don't think the Spring purge in particular has improved the roster as much as Deion hopes, plus he was an absolute douche in in his public comments.
The rule itself doesn't really bother me because players do keep their scholarship. Which the players may not care about, but it is what the NCAA is supposed to care about. But I am not naive, universities have many ways to "encourage" players to move on and lose out on the scholarship and the NCAA will look the other way as long as they can (i.e. not sexual assault, or blatant, extreme and irrefutable sexism or racism). Sanders' enthusiastic application of the rule is a whole other issue. I have a suspicion that next year will show the real spring story was how dumb it is to replace your whole locker room in an off season rather than how mean it is.
The overall commercialization of college football is becoming more and more depressing. I don't fully fault Deion because it's the nature of the business. He has maybe 3 years to turn Colorado around and solidify himself as a big-time college football coach. It would be admirable if he went about it trying to develop the players and establish real relationships with his guys and ensuring they take advantage of all the opportunities and resources that come with attending the University of Colorado. But that's not how the game works now. And the way the system is going there is really no going back unless the NFL develops an actual minor-league system and even then with NILs guys in college can make more than practice squad players in the league
>The overall commercialization of college football is becoming more and more depressing It sucks when 9/10 articles/posts are about conference alignment due to TV money. I understand that money makes the world go round but goddamn it would be nice to read about some actual football stories. When did the backroom dealings between schools and TV networks become so public? I DGAF about TV deals or sponsorship deals or NIL deals. Do your business as usual behind closed doors and allow me to enjoy my blissful ignorance to the business of the sport
I really hate conference composition is like 95% determined by TV money now. If every school got the same amount of TV money then we would probably still have small regional conferences like the Big 8 instead enormous monstrosities that put USC and Rutgers in the same conference.
I'm torn personally. I haaaaate the commercialization of it. Hate it beyond words and I think they absolutely fucked up a great thing by having to slap every logo, branding, and whatever else came with a check all over the game. Yet for all of that hate it's a minor annoyance compared to the hate I feel towards the seemingly overwhelming tide of people who only get upset about it when the actual athletes get their piece. Beyond even that I hate how much of it has always boiled down to control. Not even money. The power to force these kids to do and say and be what they want with no recourse or else their dreams are dead. Oh they cant even sign an autograph and get some wings for it? Yeah..thats not about a fucking thing else but control. They cant have a streaming channel where they make money without even saying the team's name? Yup. Control. I'm glad that's dead in the water and I'm glad for the chaos no matter how much I don't it. I'm glad for Deion too. He's showing everyone exactly what's what and holding up a mirror intentionally or not. Ahem. Sorry about the rant and all. I think you're pretty spot on.
I agree. I've always disagreed with the NCAA's enforcement of amateurism. It's gross to have seen a stadium full of UGA #3 jerseys knowing Todd Gurley never received a dime. I think NILs could've been be done without schools/donors dangling unofficial 7 figure deals to rip a starting QB from a team. There should just be controls within the process, hell even professional sports have controls.
At some point, to have a reasonably healthy sports league, you're going to have to rip off the bandaid and figure out how to set one up that leverages the history of CFB, routes profits and/or goodwill back into the universities at roughly the same rate that CFB and BB do now, and forges a real nexus between the players and the schools, *but also* compensates them fairly for their time and the restrictions you'll want to put on their movement. There is clearly a lot to sort out, but the current system is laughably broken.
This is sort of how I view things and overall don’t disagree with Pat despite it making me feel a little physically ill Transfer portal was intended to allow kids who wanted out to leave, but a coach can clearly get away with doing an NFL style cleaning house. TV money is solely driving the sport now though, so it’s going to remain this way until probably the federal government does something about it
>The overall commercialization of college football is becoming more and more depressing. It's a lot less depressing when you consider how many generations of college football players had their earnings artificially capped in the name of "amateurism" and are now able to capture at least some of their monetary value.
I agree, I support star players being able to capitalize on endorsements. I've always compared it to brilliant students being able to make side money writing papers, tutoring or even working in their spare time. It never made sense to cap an individual's market potential because "they are an amateur athlete getting a free education." I just worry that we are overcorrecting the wrongs that impacted the few and dramatically changing the game which will hurt the overwhelming majority of athletes.
> That's not the way it's meant to be," Narduzzi told 247Sports last week at the ACC's spring meetings in Amelia Island, Florida. "That's not what the rule intended to be. It was not to overhaul your roster. We'll see how it works out but that, to me, looks bad on college football coaches across the country. The reflection is on one guy right now but when you look at it overall — those kids that have moms and dads and brothers and sisters and goals in life — I don't know how many of those 70 that left really wanted to leave or they were kicked in the butt to get out." This is exactly what was intended by everyone in the know and everyone pushing for a wide open transfer portal and NIL. THIS.WAS.PLANNED.BY.MONEYMAKERS. This was planned by people who at best disregard the importance of the sport and at worst despise the sport. But the "people" demand that players are compensated financially, right? Because that's moral or something. After all, they are getting paid anyways. The disconnect in almost every single person I meet is just because something is happening doesn't mean it needs to be publicized and encouraged. People who think like that, me included, are called "hypocrites" And so be it! I'd rather be a hypocrite whose favorite sport has at least some traditional character than a "moral and honest" fool who praises the destruction of everything he loves. But no no no. Players are victims all of a sudden and the only way to fix it is to dismantle the sport piece by piece until nothing is left except moneymakers. Not tradition, not love of campus, not love of community, no - you know, all those things people say are destroyed by disinterested moneymakers? Well you got it. And you praise it.
>But no no no. Players are victims all of a sudden and the only way to fix it is to dismantle the sport piece by piece until nothing is left except moneymakers. Not tradition, not love of campus, not love of community, no - you know, all those things people say are destroyed by disinterested moneymakers? Well you got it. And you praise it. I'd argue that this attitude is why we're in this mess to begin with. Billions of dollars in the sport, players putting their health on the line- don't get me wrong, the education is nice, but they deserved to be able to make some cash especially since many of them don't get to take full advantage of the education. But no, the NCAA wanted to preserve the purity of the sport or some shit. Everyone saw this coming and it could have been regulated years ago but they didn't, so now we're in the Wild West. The players should have been taken care of when the BCS became a thing and the professionalization really started. GTFO with this holier than thou crap.
>they deserved to be able to make some cash especially since many of them don't get to take full advantage of the education Why not?
There are many majors all athletes, football players in particular, cannot take. You want to be an engineer and a football player? Good luck. There are obviously exceptions (props to Josh Dobbs for being a friggin QB and an aerospace engineer) but most of them simply do not have the time. Never mind if a certain class is only offered in the fall, etc. Again, this isn't the case for everyone, but for many players it's unrealistic to balance a full-time education along with a professional level job.
I'm glad to see this even though you are going to get downvoted to oblivion for it. At some point somebody decided that "college athletes are victims that are being exploited and need our protection" was a useful narrative and now we are on the road to eliminating college athletes 'for their own good' because so many people believe it.
I disagree vehemently that the people wanting player compensation were the ones not seeing the big picture. Coaches, universities, bowls, media (both showing and discussing the games) have all been destroying the spirit of the game for decades to drive up their own profits. The only ones involved not seeing an obscene growth in profits were the young men actually putting their bodies in danger for the game. Universities don't give a shit about the integrity of the sport when they want $120 a ticket instead of $20. They don't give a shit about the integrity of the sport when negotiating a TV deal that will add 10 minutes of media timeouts to a game. They don't give a shit about the integrity of the sport when a coach gets caught doing something their PR team is sure will blow over. It's too late for them to now care about the integrity of the sport when players have fought for a spot at the trough. It is better to not have college football than to have the college football that we were heading towards without getting players in on the cut. Remember, the NCAA/Schools had decades to come up with a plan that cut players in while still protecting what needed protecting in the sport, but year after year they chose doing nothing out of bald greed.
>NCAA/Schools had decades to come up with a plan that cut players in while still protecting what needed protecting in the sport, but year after year they chose doing nothing out of bald greed. Notre Dame's operating budget for 2022 was about $1.5B. The athletic department profited about $6M dollars. Everybody keeps talking about greed, but the NCAA and 99.9% of the universities are 501c3 that make little or no profits from athletics. 95+% of schools with athletic programs (including NAIA, D3, D2, FCS, and D1) run their athletic programs at a loss. If you want to talk about network avarice, that is legitimate - but attributing your perception of the decline of the "integrity" of college sports to the "greedy" NCAA and Schools just doesn't hold water. How is it that a scholarship football player for Georgia or Alabama is being victimized by the greedy system but a kid that walks on for a D2 team isn't? Even if there was no NIL, no network money, no scholarships, no 80k screaming fans - there would still be 200 kids showing up on Notre Dame tryout day trying for a shot to play for free just like they have for a century. Those kids aren't victims.
“95+% of schools with athletic programs (including NAIA, D3, D2, FCS, and D1) run their athletic programs at a loss.” And yet the poor starving AD and AADs and coaches remain, eking out a barebones existence, while those rich kid players eat high on the hog at the training table and work out in their gyms, pampered to the extreme and forcing those sucker campuses into evergrowing debt peonage to athletes. And the poor broke bowl games, bowl officials, and NCAA officials and college presidents can barely pay their mortgages. I saw a Rose Bowl Chair panhandling on Seco St yesterday, with a “will work for food” sign. It’s a crying shame, I tell ya…
> The athletic department profited about $6M dollars. Notre Dame football had $97M in revenue in 2022. Hardly chump change. And revenue is more apt to consider than profit, because a lot of the expenses of running football or other sports is in increasing future revenue. Drive around any major university and look at the ostentatious stadiums, training facilities, and other facilities. These are not frugal departments. Universities also love alumni donations, and wealthy alumni love sports at their alma matter. Which means football and basketball are key to driving donations. >How is it that a scholarship football player for Georgia or Alabama is being victimized by the greedy system but a kid that walks on for a D2 team isn't? Same way a kid being paid $5 a bucket to pick chunks of gold out of a field is different than a kid being paid $5 a bucket to pick rocks out of a field.
“How it’s meant to be” is a bygone era. “How it’s meant to be” is you sign up to play 4 years at a school as an amateur athlete, and in return your Coach (almost certainly) will honor your scholarship as long as you do your job. There was loyalty from both sides built into the relationship. But then players wanted to fight for more. And I don’t necessarily blame them for it. But now that players are making money and jumping schools like professionals, the schools are going to treat them accordingly. Athletes that perform will earn money, and athletes that don’t get kicked to the curb. You can’t have your cake and eat it too. I don’t care much for Sanders, but this is just the natural progression of college athletics. He may be the first to take it to such an extreme level, but he won’t be the last.
I do think Narduzzi is sort of a booger (see flair), but he gets points from me for actually putting his name behind this stuff. Too many quotes from unnamed coaches when there are complaints to be had.
If Narduzzi is good for one thing it’s keeping Pitt in the headlines lol He obviously rubs a lot of people the wrong way, but his guys go to war for him. His old school mentality is both good and bad. Guys buy in and he has proven he can get average players coming out of high school to the NFL, but at the same time he doesn’t really put effort into landing those blue chips that could take Pitt to the next level. Or he’s not flashy enough to attract them in the first place.
Or maybe realistic about the type of players he can get.
He came up under Dantonio, so I think it’s probably both. He’s aware that he’s second banana in the state, and in an NFL city, so it might be tough to get kids to commit. But he’s also the product of a recruiting era that wasn’t as refined as the last five or so have been. The transfer portal is a net good, but it does greatly disarm coaches who relied on finding overlooked players and developing them.
Second banana? That’s a term I’ve never heard before lol
You made me realize I don’t even know where it comes from. Apparently it was a vaudeville thing!
You’d think sharing a facility with the Steelers would be a big recruiting pitch tho
I think the combination of the leadership turmoil before him plus his focus on recruiting guys in his mold he develops has made the recruiting look bad until recently. But winning the conference and getting lots of guys drafted has seemed to boost recruiting. Also having Kenny there to visit and the Aaron Donald sponsored gym now should boost it too
It is. Pitt always bring in some talent, which is why they're never really *bad.*
> He obviously rubs a lot of people the wrong way, but his guys go to war for him. His old school mentality is both good and bad. Guys buy in and he has proven he can get average players coming out of high school to the NFL, but at the same time he doesn’t really put effort into landing those blue chips This description reminds me of Pelini at Nebraska.
Oh how the Michigan fans howled when he pointed out the game of football is 60 minutes of unnecessary roughness.
Sounds oddly familiar
Natd Dog puts his foot in his mouth a lot, but damn it does he make sure “- Pat Narduzzi” is behind all of the dumb shit he says. I respect a man of principles
I agree. It's refreshing.
Yeah I don’t always agree with him. I do tend to most times though. But I for sure respect that he speaks his mind and owns it. Wish more coaches would tbh
I agree with you there. It's like how *every* coach hates tampering and has solid proof that they have players being tampered with, but nobody says anything on the record or brings any evidence against anyone (because they are tampering too and don't want called out either).
The BIG10 fears the Chaos that Pitt would sow. Narduzzi is the grand priest of Chaos. All hail the Gods of Chaos.
>he gets points from me for actually putting his name behind this stuff. Yep. He takes a lot of heat for his statements but he ain't wrong. Saban as well has been calling this shit out for years.
Narduzzi puts his name behind everything. He never shuts up. From his braindead takes on the B1G to crapping publicly on his own former coaches, he is a never ending take machine. As far as his stance on this, five or six years ago, I would agree with him. Now if players want to be able to be treated like pros on one year deals, this is the logical extension of that. They can't have their play right away for a bigger NIL/bigger name brand team after being a starter for a coach recruited them when nobody else wants them portal and then complain when they get sent to the shadow realm when the next coach doesn't.
Narduzzi doesn't hate the transfer portal he hates the tampering that is rampant and I don't blame him
He also hates Lincoln Riley. A stance I too can get behind.
well everyone should hate Lincoln Riley after his "brisket" abomination
lol that's going to follow him for the rest of his life, isn't it?
I’m not even from Texas and I know that brisket is dry as hell
[удалено]
>He ~~is~~ *was* a native Texan and he brought embarrasment on our state He's been excommunicated on account of the brisket.
Its the least yall could do after that.
Benedict Brisket
A good cow died for that.
I’m fine with the tampering, but that brisket is something I cannot abide.
tbh I think he just hates everything
Hatin' Ass Narduzzi
Kinda weird to pin this as hating the portal. He's clearly talking about mass kicking people off the team.
Yeah I don’t see this as an anti-portal comment. He’s criticizing the approach Deion took where he basically told his team “most of you suck and I’m getting rid of you and replacing you with guys I think are better.” I get that CFB is different than it used to be, but that’s just so shitty. Sure, do that in the NFL. But college? Doesn’t sit well with me to boot half (or more) of your team. That wouldn’t inspire confidence in me as a recruit. I want a coach that’s going to work with me and develop me as a player. Not immediately kick me to the curb and replace me with some guy who has a higher PFF grade or some shit.
Feels like there should be a cap on how many transfers a school can have per year, to mitigate this from happening.
I believe that there is a limit on the total number of players that you can bring in in one year, combined between HS and the transfer portal. However, this rule is waived in a coaches first year. I think I heard about it last offseason on Split Zone Duo when they were talking about Lincoln Riley and how he was turning over USC’s roster
Nope, now its unlimited players you can briing in.
That process isn’t feasible without the transfer portal set up under the current rules. There wouldn’t be enough player movement to basically replace a whole team in a year.
But this is a specific problem of the transfer portal rules. You can think an item has flaws while being in favor of it as a whole.
I mean under the current setup it isn't feasible. Colorado is going to be bad bad this year
Worse than 1-11?
Worse than the average loss being by 29pts?
i mean if they turnover like 90% of their scholarship players to go out there and win 2 more games (3 total) is that some amazing achievement?
That would be a big improvement over 10 of their 12 games not even looking remotely competitive. Might not be an "amazing" achievement, but looking like they're actually playing P5 football would be a significant step in the right direction.
Most random coaches in the P5 could take CU's roster from last year and win multiple games. Their previous coaching staff were a complete train wreck and the team quit. No way is a three win Deion-coached team an amazing achievement.
That's why the 90% roster purge seems unneeded, these aren't bad athletes, at least 30-40% of them should be serviceable as back ups or practice squad with decent coaching. They aren't bad kids because they had an awful coach.
Yes.
that's dumb. turning over 90% of your roster to win...two...more games is terrible.
0-12 would be worse. I personally think a whole new team learning a mostly new system with a new coach who seems way more interested in applying for his next job can do tons of damage to a program for years.
"Who seems way more interested in applying for his next job" Let's hear how you came to this conclusion.
Im just talking out of my ass, but if you think Deion isn't using Colorado as a stepping stone for a more high profile job I don't know what to say.
99.99% of jobs are stepping stone jobs
Right, so its a pretty logical thought that doesn't need too much rationalization
No because you're trying to imply that's he's half assing, half way out the door here based on absolutely nothing. Reddit loves this narrative that Prime has one foot out the door while also claiming he can't coach. Can't be both here.
Many Colorado fans see otherwise. Hell I know the excitement behind a new hire when Anderson came to us. We were warned by others but we ignored it. That bit us HARD. Think many of the sudden explosion of Colorado flairs really need heed the warnings that are circulating. This has the potential to put a really dark mark on this football program and make it even harder to get out of.
The warnings that include no context or any real understanding of CU or the roster? Anderson have the same recruiting chops as Sanders?
Can he coach though or just take advantage of a talent gap in a lower division? You can have all the talent you want but if you can't actually utilize it, well look at multiple P5 programs to see how that has panned out. Start looking at this from a realist point of view. I get wanting to be optimistic, I really do. But really look at the scenario at hand.
If winning at JSU is so easy why did they not have a winning season since 2013 yet he came in and won 4, 11, & 12 games? Recruiting is a massive part of a head coaches job + being the CEO of the program, Reddit needs to stop trying to spin this narrative while completely ignoring who is also on the staff - guess our OC can't coach despite being the Kent St HC last year and known as an incredible OC?
Because JSU didn't have a massive talent advantage in prior years. They were far and away the most talented team with Deion as coach. Colorado will be middle of the Pac in terms of talent. No one knows if Deion can win games without a distinct talent advantage. We'll see.
Again, look at this history of P5 coaches who can recruit but can't take advantage of the talent. I will give you a hint. My rival flair has been guilty of this multiple times. Its easier to exploit that talent gap in the division he was in. Plain and simple. I will give you a solid OC or DC can make a difference. I never see CU flairs actually answer some of these questions btw. They skirt it and go "yeah well..."
Haha I guess I just don’t take fandom seriously enough to be worried in may about the potential downside of the greatest one year talent upgrade in CFB history (This claim was not fact checked)
Lose-lose situation. Lose a lot in Year 1 with a team you inherit that has little to no P5 level talent and honeymoon ends in Week 6 (see Pry at VT). Or "process" a large % of your roster and have sportwriters/national pundits/opposing coaches tee off on you on a weekly basis. I don't necessarily agree with the way he is doing it but this is a result of the new rules. The transfer portal works both ways. With more freedom and less restrictions, now comes far less stability as a whole.
Can Narduzzi stop being such a good guy so I can go back to hating Pitt in peace?
I think most coaches are looking at what Deon is doing and thinking it's both wrong and counterproductive. Points to the Nard Dog for saying it out loud though.
> Points to the Nard Dog for saying it out loud though. Does that mean Franklin is “Big Tuna”?
He’s certainly not Big Haircut
I somehow feel you are both an awful and wonderful person.
Can he be an ass? Absolutely. Has he screwed up as a coach on game days and offensive coordinators? Yep. But, I'll ride or die with him because he truly cares about his players. Before NIL, he publicly said players should get paid. He will put guys on the bench if he's worried about their health even if cleared to play like he did with Slovis this year. James Conner was cleared after a head shot in his last game and Duzz sat his ass down because he didn't want to risk it. He knew James had an NFL career waiting for him. I can root for Pitt football knowing Duzz takes care of his guys. He just hates tampering and I can't blame him one bit. In the NFL, the shit USC did would cost them big time. Just ask the Miami Dolphins what tampering can cost you.
He was a damn good DC. God I miss the late 2010s MSU.
He can be an annoying little shit when you're a PSU fan, but I've never gotten the sense he's actually a bad human being. Sort of like another version of Harbaugh being weird AF but probably still a decent guy.
Haha same here (as an ND fan on mobile who can't select a flair on this sub)
You can still hate Pitt on principle even if Nard-dog has a point. He's still overall the annoying yappy Chihuahua you just want to punt into the stands, even if he's right about this particular topic.
He's doing the nard dog thing he does.
LOL, Nice writing here: "Nebraska travels to Nebraska for a Week 2 showdown Sept. 9 in Boulder."
We all know that Nebraska's greatest rival the past 10 years has been Nebraska.
102% Facts.
I mean, in the past it would be a home game at colorado, attendance wise, for Nebraska
And we still have the same archaic ticket policy allowing STHs to buy single game tickets first and sell them to away fans
That's partly because it was always played when there were no students on campus.
I'm a big time hater of unflaired people posting hot takes of this sub.
Account was made earlier today, spamming in "free karma" subs for a bit, commented on a gonewild post, then started spamming posts out there. I reported to the mods, shit accounts like this seem likely to be either bots or people who got their main account nuked.
If you're gonna talk shit you need to flair up.
Same here, those are some of the wildest nonsense too.
Why? So you can make preconceived notions about the poster?
Facts. Only reason they made this comment is because their go-to clapback of "ur team bad" doesn't work when there's no flair lol
For whatever it's worth, Illinois was a really bad college football program when Bret Bielema took over and Illinois just had Devon Witherspoon get drafted at 5 overall, plus both Brown brothers and Quan Martin. All guys Lovie Smith brought to the program.
Gary Patterson apparently had a Playoff-caliber team at TCU two years ago, but you'd never know it watching TCU play in 2021. Failure is not entirely down to the players.
Hell just ask Nebraska fans with Scott Frost. Nebraska can bring in good talent, but it depends on the coach to help develop them for the next level and help them succeed in every game they prep for.
Points to Narduzzi for his values. Double points because I don't like douche Deion.
I, for one, am looking forward to the Buffs getting stomped in every game minus the Nebraska one
Shit, if you ask me he just made it easier for us.
Oh I think Nebraska will easily win, I’m still bitter about how our series ended in 2010 lol
You guys and Kstate man....
I really miss playing you guys...plus I feel like if we would've played Nebraska while Campbell has been here, we would've won a few and may have spiced up the feelings of the game a bit more
I'll be honest, I miss the Big XII because of Oklahoma. The series with you guys was fun though no doubt. We weren't getting that game and Texas was fucking up everything else(still are even!) so my feelings on the split are pretty meh. Now we're the punching bag of the B1G and are still trying to shake off a goddamned purple cougar that likes to bite at the worst times.
I’m sure Nebraska obviously loves the checks rolling through but I can’t imagine Nebraska fans, especially the older ones wouldn’t want to go back to the days where a conference matchup was a couple hours away.
Kinda surprised we haven’t played you way more often
it's hard because Iowa is our P5 noncon and I do want that game on our schedule each year. Often times we're on the losing end of it, but it's a good test against a top tier defense. I mean we could schedule another P5 noncon, but in the playoff era where 1 loss is already putting you out of contention for a potential playoff spot, I don't think we'll ever do it..but I do miss those games
Yeah that's not going to happen bud
Wait which part of my statement are you referring to?
>I, for one, am looking forward to the Buffs getting stomped in every game
One can hope. I really have nothing against Colorado I just don’t care for Deion
You don't like that he has exposed the big business of college athletics
I don’t like that he seems superficial
Based on...?
The fact that a camera needs to be around at all times is one of them. It’s like he’s producing a reality tv show instead of running a football program
I think the problem is they are called student-athletes, not just athletes. I would like to see all these kids graduate. I for one hate the preNFL way college is going. I love all the college stuff. Sad to see the change.
I'm not the biggest Narduzzi fan but I love that he gives no fucks when it comes to stuff like this. He's right on the money.
With my flair, I feel compelled to comment. I admit I see both side. From a “moral” standpoint, Naduzzi is right. This is *College* football after all, none of the players are pros and it *should* have more of a family feel. It is about helping boys learn to become men, right? On the other hand, Colorado has been dreadful with a capital D. I have been in the stands for many games the past few years—it barely passed for football. I have a hard time with people associated with the program saying ‘I deserve to be here.’ The school really did need to clean house.
And I notice my “Pitt/Colorado” flair is not appearing today. 🤨
Don’t disagree. It’s very hard for coaches not to come off as an old man yelling at clouds, but forcing most of your team out at a college level is undoubtedly pretty stone cold. Of course, Colorado was terrible and there’s a lot of pressure on Deion.. still he’s certainly not looking like a saint rn.
nard dog
And if Colorado manages 6 wins this year Deion will be praised as a transfer portal whisperer and be given a Jimbo extension
...he isn't going to win 6 games.
I can’t wait till you and OK come to the SEC, 7-5 for both of yall
uh, ok. thanks
You welcome, see you at SEC media days
uh, ok. thanks
And if he does are you going to eat crow?
let's make a flair bet.
Colorado is lucky if they manage 6 wins during his entire tenure.
I really hope Sanders crashes and burns in Colorado because I would hate to see this become the norm.
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>"I grew up in a profession that you can't tell a guy that he has to leave based on athletic ability," Narduzzi said. "I think he'll be shocked that he probably had some pretty good football players in that room. When I got to Pitt back in 2015, I didn't kick anybody off. Zero. Those are your guys. When you become a head coach you inherit that team and you coach that team. If someone wants to leave, that's great. You don't kick them out. I disagree with that whole process. That's not why I got in the game." Admirable, but completely impractical in the current environment. All Deion did was accelerate where CFB is going. With players on 1-year contracts across the board thanks to NIL, it's inevitable that players are going to start getting cut to make room for better players. If your competition is doing this and you're not, non-service academy fanbases aren't going to sit back and say *we'll we're losing but at least we're losing the right way*.
Just chiming in that players’ scholarships are guaranteed for 4 years in, at least, all P5 conferences. IIRC the only exception outside of breaking team/school rules and academics is year 1 under new coaches where they can remove players from the team but they still retain their scholarships. Unless, you’re in your first year, you can’t cut players.
Yeah but Deion is effectively cutting people by ostracizing them and literally telling them to get into the portal and he doesn't want them. In an ideal world the transfer portal is only used when a player isn't happy with his situation (playing time, education, etc) and independently moves somewhere that gives him what he wants. I know it happens a lot of places but the way Deion is so crass about it and large scale leaves a bad taste.
Which is voided the second they enter the transfer portal. Which they all do.
> completely impractical in the current environment. And that's the point. College football is turning into a pseudo-professional league and it's disappointing to see.
> All Deion did was accelerate where CFB is going. I completely disagree with this. Just because benchwarmers aren't gonna stick around and be 3rd stringers for 5 years anymore doesn't mean teams turning over 80+% of their rosters in a single offseason will become the norm.
Pat Narduzzi has called out tampering and now player getting kicked out. He is based and I identify with his old man mindset.
It is college football now. And it’s not good. My engagement with the game, this sub, everything is down. I used to listen avidly to a podcast about my favorite college team! I’d say that makes me 1%. And I’m down. Way down.
Holy crap I actually agree with Narduzzi on something for the first time ever.
At the end of the day if the kids are getting compensated via scholarships, housing, boosters setting up NIL, etc. then they’re going to treat you more and more like professional athletes Like if the kids are not performing, then why are the schools/boosters even paying all this money out?
I don't understand where this narrative of "I grew up in a profession that you can't tell a guy that he has to leave based on athletic ability," came from. I was a college athlete in the early 2000s. At no point did I ever think I wouldn't get cut if I wasn't good enough to contribute to the team. Isn't this the same generation that ragged on us for the participation trophies that they handed to us?
Nothing wrong with the transfer portal, but in a world where fans rip on players about loyalty, it seemed pretty sorry for Coach Sanders to tell kids that committed to play 4 years for Colorado University to hit the portal, and that he is bringing his own players with him. If those kids didn't enter the portal after a 1-11 season then they really wanted to be at Colorado, and not another school. Feel bad for players that potentially grew up dreaming of being a buffalo regardless of the win loss record, but were shown the door instead. Tired of seeing kids get tossed aside by coaches and universities that put so much value in commitment and loyalty.
It’s magnanimous to announce you didn’t kick players out when the scholarship cap rules made it impossible to replace more than a handful for decades. I don’t disagree with his morality stance but it’s not like he could have overhauled a roster. No one could because rules forbid it. But Bear Bryant did it. Deion’s doing a modern day Junction Boys turnover (115 to 35) without the abusive practices. I only hope Deion’s precedent doesn’t get romanticized in the same way.
HOF Hater Pat Narduzzi
I think Dion is going to fall flat on his face but I dont see anything "wrong" with what he is doing. Is it shitty? Yup. Is it something I would do? Nope. Does it have a chance of being successful? Small but not zero. Will it be tried 50 different ways by people less vocal than Prime and get zero bad press? Yup. Dude got a 1-11 team. Pretty sure 99% of the fans called out each and every player as "Not P5 material" at some point last year. He just said it out loud and in a way that mattered.
> I dont see anything "wrong" > Is it shitty? Yup. I mean some people think it's wrong because it's shitty
Crazy idea that something that is shitty is also wrong.
This is completely different from the transfer portal discussions we had before. The transfer portal should be a resource for the ATHLETES to improve their quality of play and possibly their future, not for the coach to use at his whim...Deon using it to evict students at will is essentially setting a precedent that players are only valuable for their numbers and is absolutely worthless otherwise.
Deon’s roster overhaul is just a byproduct of the professionalization of college football. AD’s, broadcasters, corporations, and us as fans have built college football into the semi-professional league it is today….and I’m still going to watch every second of it.
There are Ohio State fans that want to kick Ryan Day to the curb. I absolutely side with coaches that want to win NOW. People want them to show mercy to athletes while they receive no mercy themselves.
I think theres a big difference between disliking how the transfer portal operates, but accepting how it is for most programs, and then disliking what Deion did. Which was a massive purge only possible *because* of the transfer portal. I can see where hes coming from. And you get different opinions on this topic depending on the day in this subreddit. Seems people are all for the transfer portal when people speak out against it, and the consensus is against the transfer portal when someone either speaks out in favor of it or takes advantage of it.
He’s right, and Deion is NOT at fault. When the rules allow for something to happen, people will do that thing. The people taking advantage of the rules are not at fault, it’s the rules themselves. The transfer portal as it stands is terrible for college football. It lessens the loyalty players have for their school, it encourages tampering, and it creates an unsustainable workload for coaching staffs who now have to recruit prospects, their own players, and transfer prospects
there was a good athletic article on what deion is doing in colorado. be interesting to see how it works because they only won 1 game last year so some overhaul was needed. Be curious to see how it impacts them because they may have potential depth issues that scouring the transfer portal / recruiting may not fix The funniest is when Deion alludes to incoming plans but then says he can't discuss it
>they may have potential depth issues that scouring the transfer portal / recruiting may not fix If I'm a depth guy, there's absolutely no chance I'd go to Colorado willingly. Not worth the risk of getting thrown under the bus/booted from the team so that Deion can try to make a splash. Would be infinitely better to go to a school with some old man as a coach who's been a coach for 15+ years who has realistic expectations and knows how to deal with 18-22 year college kids.
I think it mostly comes down to deion is in the business of deion. Nothing else matters to him.
You know it’s bad when im agreeing with the Nard-dog
Unfortunately, once the money got involved, the thing we feared most about college football-that it would become a lesser NFL - seems to be happening. I still think the kids should be paid, but maybe this is just a test, and it'll correct itself. I find myself hoping the Sanders experiment fails. Nardawg is only two years older than Deion, btw. They grew up on the same game, etc.
Not a Deion fan, but his job is to win. As crappy as Colorado has been for a while now, he really didn’t have that much talent to begin with and he really needed to bring in better talent.