Nick Saban may have thought he retired from college football early this year, but now his name is being suggested as the “obvious choice” to head a new alliance if football leaves the NCAA.
Saban is the best candidate to become the new commissioner of college football, at least according to Penn State Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin.
“I think one of the most important things we can do is, let’s get a commissioner of college football that is waking up every single morning and going to bed every single night making decisions that’s in the best interest of college football,” Franklin told ESPN on Sunday.
“I think Nick Saban would be the obvious choice if we made that decision. Now, Nick will probably call me tonight and say, ‘Don’t do this,’ but I think he’s the obvious choice, right?” he added.
Talk of college football separating from the NCAA and creating a new organization to govern itself has been ongoing for years. But it seems to be getting more serious lately.
Franklin went on to talk about some of the issues facing college football.
God forbid we talk about academics, right?” Franklin continued. “That used to be every conversation started with academics and that’s becoming less and less. Maybe I’m old school, and maybe I’m a traditionalist, but I still believe in the model. Rather than just say this is a problem, I thought I would throw out a few recommendations, but I think one of the most important things we can do is let’s get a commissioner of college football.”
SMU head coach Rhett Lashlee said that one of the biggest problems coaches have is the transfer portal, which can deplete them of players even during the bowl season.
“I feel so awful for our kids and kids around the country,” Lashlee told ESPN on Tuesday. “There’s no other sport at all that has free agency in the season. It’s sad. It’s terrible. You hear the story about their backup quarterback saying, ‘I don’t have a choice.’ That’s wrong. That’s unacceptable. That’s not OK. He shouldn’t have to make that decision.'”
“The real easy thing is you don’t have a transfer portal in December. That’s the real easy answer, and it solves all the problems. Why in the world would we put kids in a position where they’ve got to decide, ‘Do I transfer or play in the playoff? Do I transfer or play my bowl game?…’ People are bombarding our roster, trying to pick people off our roster, and we’re trying to focus on the playoff. So, yeah, it’s real easy – don’t have a transfer portal in December. Go to the spring.”
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