College football has a new problem, to go along with all of its other problems. It’s escalating quickly and will dramatically impact the future of the sport – but you won’t find this mess anywhere near Boise.
Have you seen the headlines of the past few weeks?
UCLA head coach Chip Kelly bails to become an assistant coach at Ohio State, after desperate failures to land a job in the NFL.
Boston College head coach Jeff Hafley leaves to become an NFL assistant.
Head coaches at Georgia State, South Alabama and Buffalo ditch their boss status to become assistants at other programs.
Suddenly, and in droves, college football head coaches are taking demotions in titles, and in some cases pay, or leaving the sport altogether, because college football has become this quagmire of nonsense.
Money is great. Headaches are bigger. Rules keep changing. Greed is everywhere. A proper life balance doesn’t exist, and high-profile people in powerful situations are figuring out that mental health matters.
Blame Name, Image and Likeness, raising money for NIL, constant fundraising, the transfer portal, multiple recruiting periods, re-recruiting current players, non-stop recruiting, roster retention, extended travel because of conference realignment, lack of NCAA leadership.
Who has time to actually coach anymore?
Jim Harbaugh will encounter less pressure, less babysitting and more time to coach now that he’s left college for the NFL. Even Nick Saban, the dean of all college football coaches who was supposed to be a lifer, would rather do something else than coach college football.
Kirk Herbstreit, the mouthpiece of college football: “The sport is spiraling out of control. … Many (of) these coaches are not sticking around and waiting. Just a new reality for the sport.’’
College football is forcing its coaches to the edge of the cliff. Some will jump – because kids suddenly have all the power and adults have no interest in playing their games.
Other coaches will stop at the edge of the cliff. Contemplate. Figure it out. Even embrace the college football of today – like Spencer Danielson.
Boise State’s new football coach is young and fresh, a 35-year-old rookie occupying the fancy corner office for the first time. His approach toward a messy sport is puppy-dog cute and somewhat naive.
Danielson not only hasn’t lost his sincere and genuine passion for the game, he’s beyond excited to attack his new role in college football. He thinks he can change the sport. He thinks he can change Boise State football. He thinks he can change people.
He’s not intimidated by change, or a college football future that is part intimidating, part mysterious, and beyond frustrating for everyone involved.
Last week, offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan left Boise State for a massive pay raise at Kentucky, to replace another coach who bolted for the NFL. The news came less than three weeks before spring camp, and caught Danielson off-guard.
Fans didn’t handle the news well, and Hamdan is suddenly enemy No. 1 around here. Danielson, becoming a master of crisis, rolled his eyes then rolled up his sleeves.
“Yeah, I think, just like anything, it always catches you off guard, but it is what it is,’’ he said on our KTIK radio show.
Danielson isn’t panicking, vows to conduct a “slow” process to find a new OC, and even said he could push back the start of spring camp March 5. No big deal.
Danielson played the roster retention game as well as any coach in the country this offseason. It might be the most frustrating part of college football these days – and success from Danielson & Co. raises the bar going into the 2024 season.
He put together, with plenty of help, a $300,000 NIL package to keep star running back Ashton Jeanty in Boise. Danielson surprised most everyone by keeping record-setting kicker and NFL hopeful Jonah Dalmas on the roster.
Danielson dipped into the transfer portal and lured five-star USC transfer Malachi Nelson to his quarterback room.
He landed promising Indiana wide receiver Cam Camper to Boise – despite a series of injury issues.
He’s taking a chance on troubled wide receiver Chris Marshall, who’s on his fourth school and coming off a November felony marijuana arrest in Texas.
Danielson embraces the challenges, walks the path, inspires those around him, and firmly believes he can turn transfer portal chaos into quality young men. He takes Marshall and a group of other players to church. He talks about developing people, creating structure and giving players a better chance to focus.
“Chris knows that he needs this place,” Danielson said. “He’s aware that this is his last shot and he’s going to be held to a very high standard.”
Danielson sees himself as a savior, and isn’t fazed by messy situations. He isn’t jumping off any cliffs. He’s juggling, doing it his way, and so far hitting home runs to begin his new chapter of college football.
One day, like the rest of us, Danielson might become crusty and jaded.
Today, he adds the perfect touch to a sport that’s far from perfect.
Mike Prater is the Bronco Nation News columnist who co-hosts Idaho Sports Talk (KTIK 95.3 FM on Monday-Friday from 3-6 p.m.) and the Boise State football postgame show (KBOI 670 AM). He is on Twitter @MikeFPrater and can be reached at mikefprater@gmail.com.