College Football’s Broken Calendar Is Creating Coaching Chaos, And It’s Only Getting Worse

The college football calendar has been a topic of much scrutiny over the past few years, particularly with the advent of the 12-team playoff.

The way things used to be, only two or, at most, four teams would be competing for national championships in a given year.

While the modern era has been a welcome change of pace for teams and programs that feel they deserve a fair slice of the pie, it has caused considerable consternation for teams in the market for a new head coach.

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The LSU-Ole Miss situation regarding Lane Kiffin is a perfect example of things going south in a hurry.

The Tigers wanted Kiffin as their next head coach and were willing to wait, by all accounts, but the Rebels were ready to play hardball, eventually sending their once-beloved coach packing for Baton Rouge and missing out on a chance to coach his team in the College Football Playoff.

While you won't see me shedding tears for Kiffin – he made his bed and has to deal with the consequences like an adult – the current calendar as it is constructed made a messy situation like this possible.

And, of course, what about when both teams are more cordial to each other and agree to let their outgoing coach stick around for a potential playoff run?

That's what is currently taking place in New Orleans, as Tulane coach Jon Sumrall has a game tonight to determine whether his Green Wave makes it to the CFP.

There's just one problem: Sumrall has already accepted a position to be the Florida Gators' next head football coach.

As a Gator fan, I've found myself at a crossroads: 

Do I root for Sumrall to win and prove himself as a winner while risking missing out on potential portal and coaching acquisitions?

Or do I root for him to fail, hastening his transition to Gainesville while simultaneously stamping a black mark on his ledger as the guy who couldn't guide his team to the promised land?

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It's a tough situation to be in and one that could be avoided if the NCAA were just a little smarter about how their calendar shook out on a year-to-year basis.

Having signing day before we even play the conference championship games is so bizarre and ass-backwards that most fans outside of hardcore "recruitniks" forgot we even had National Signing Day on Wednesday.

The situations with LSU and Florida will not be unique moving forward either.

More programs with coaching vacancies will poach from playoff teams in the future, putting fans and administrations in impossible situations like the one I laid out above.

College football needs to get its calendar fixed, or this madness will continue until changes are made.