The Coaching Hire and the NIL Problem

I'm retired now, but when I was a successful HS coach we had a rigid structure to our football program. We mentored kids to be decent productive humans, to be respectful at all times and stay out of trouble. It was a simple but effective solution for winning championships.

However this NIL thing where kids are getting paid millions to play football is a big problem. Not only will a lot of them be millionaires by the time they enter the NFL, I'm hearing from my contacts in college that these young men have absolutely no moral compass at all.

Many of them are from poor, from broken homes and don't have the proper guidance to be decent humans. What could go wrong? Lots, trust me. The NFL is about to have a massive problem on a gigantic scale for years to come.

So what I am trying to say is the most important traits our new HC needs to have are the abilities to be a mentor but also be tough with no tolerance for players straying from the rigid team structure.

I feel that this is where Mike Tomlin failed as a HC. Without naming names under his leadership we had too many players acting up and not being team players. Some were I would say lousy humans.

Do I have a HC in the mind? Nope, as a fan I can't really judge the worthiness of a potential candidate unless I was part of the interviewing process.

 

Welcome to the board coach

 

Thanks it's great to be here.

 

So far, every knucklehead that left Pittsburgh has flamed out of the league. The one exception is George Pickens.

If we take the concept that talented players (these are the guys getting NIL money) are often knuckleheads...then every NFL team will have to take in knuckleheads.

I don't understand how you can bash a coach for taking on knuckleheads....because apparently college is full of them....and then having those knuckleheads have more success under said coach than any other place in their often checkered careers.

Is that not a circular argument?

 

I'm all for the players getting paid in college, but it's far too much...
The NCAA went from one extreme to the other...
The transfer portal and NIL have effectively sacrificed education, which is supposed to be the actual reason these kids are in an institution of higher learning

 

It has ruined college athletics. its a sham, many of these young men will not have enough money for life and will need the education they will fail to get. its a joke that athletics are a priority at college anyway. It's all about the money even for the institutions vs education and we wonder why the young men and women coming out of college are lacking the necessary skills they need to succeed in the real world. It's only getting worse.

 

The NFL and NBA ruined college sports long before NIL money came online.

Those two leagues using the NCAA as a de facto minor league system rather than set-up and fund their own is a shame.

 

I too am for players being paid, but it has gotten out of hand.
I hope the Steelers next HC is a leader of men and a teacher of the game
and hope that he can build a TEAM that buys in what Coach mentioned.

 

I blame the NCAA and University Presidents for this mess entirely, they were greedy and selfish. The NCAA was extreme and deserved to lose in court. The notion the NCAA can tell Bobby Bouchet he can't earn money selling his name, face, and image just because he plays football at a University is completely unconstitutional. The school doesn't own the player's name or face. The NCAA's justification of controlling the wallets of their players was the same as the Confederate States of America's justification for secession, namely they want to control the personal lives of their unpaid slaves.

If this is about the spirit if amateurism, get all the money out, no coach can be paid higher than any other public employee, and nobody makes money. I don't see the Presidents, Athletic Directors, Conference Commissioners, or Millionaire Coaches giving up their wealth or billion dollar TV and Rights deals. Amateurism isn't coming back.

Now we have the wild west in College Sports...which was inevitable. Congress isn't doing anything, the Conferences only care about themselves, and the NCAA has been made powerless.

 

Welcome to the board Coach ..Which state did you Coach in ? I Coached in the Mountains of N.C. We had a bunch of Farm boys dedicated and strong as you know what , but not a lot of Team speed.. We dominated on the mat when I was in school we won back to back to back Team state titles...

 

So your problem is that the tiny percentage of players that make millions may result in somebody not having a moral compass that aligns with yours? What that money does is protects these top tier athletes and allows them to have them a full college career if they want. The Ncaa makes Billions off of these kids and they also benefit by some of these guys staying in college longer.

 

Yup. Didn't Carson Beck effectively prove that when he said the quiet part out loud and admitted he wasn't taking any classes at Miami?

 

Beck said it's been 2 years since he has taken a class. He said he graduated in 2023. Also Malachi Toney the U's phenomenal 17 year old WR, "opted out" of his last year of HS and went straight from 11th grade to play for Miami.

 

Did Toney take any courses?

 

I hate to break it to you, but before the NIL deals were in place College would teach their players how to Lie, Cheat and Steal to get a their money on the side. College Athletes were not aloowed to have jobs off campus. Sure the School is paying for room and board, but who is paying for Beer and Pizza???

Funny, I was watching the Manziel documentary and he was explaining during the week he would not be going to class, because the University had him signing autographs instead, so they could send these items out to boosters for donations. On the weekends he would be hold up in a hotel signing items with his friend, so he could make some money himself, because he wasn't getting any of the Boosters Cut.

Mike Tomlin on Ben's show pointed out that these NIL deals are helping players learn about money management before getting to the NFL.


Now on a side note: Mine was called Laundry Money. This was the envelope full of cash you would find at the bottom of your Laundry bag every Monday. Everyone always used to talk about breaking into the Laundry room on Sunday night after a big game Saturday and steeling everyone's money. The fun things we learned in college.

 

I don't know. The announcers during the Ole Miss playoff game just said Toney was 17 at the beginning of the season because he opted out of his last year of HS.

 

The idea that college football is about education is ridiculous, college football is huge business and the players are now able to get piece of the money they help generate. Who cares if Carson Beck hasnt taken a course in 2 years, Carson Beck getting Miami to a National Championship Game did so much more for Carson Beck, University of Miami, and the NCAA than Beck finishing some bs degree could ever do.

 

I knew a guy who played Division 1 basketball and was a starter. He said when he got a test paper he just put his name on it and a sticker that was given him. He then turned in the blank test and would get a C on it.

I remember years ago during the college football games when they were introducing the players they would include what the players majors were and even their GPA. Of course it was a bunch of baloney then but the NCAA tried to go along with the facade that the players back then actually went to classes. At least now the NCAA has dropped that phony facade and now just presents the games as strictly athletic events.

 

More money more problems. The almighty dollar is ruining sports.

 

Not all student athletes can be superstars and make boatloads of money. College football at most schools provide
the money for the whole athletic dept. budget in some cases up to 32 additional sports teams at the larger universities
to be able to compete in. Most of these kids in these non-revenue producing sports go to class and earn their degree to become
productive citizens in our society.

 

It's not NIL per se that is wrecking college ball. It's the portal without constraints. Being able to opt out of a school even after committing, taking money, and then bolting is unfair to coaches, fans, and the colleges. But hey, gotta bend over for those star players.

 

Many schools are now holding these players responsible for reneging on their contact/agreement with the team/school. I have seen where many Universities
are taking legal action to get their money back.

 

Hey coach, where I live in South Florida, the high school coach football can be a 100k+ position. And I suspect the boosters pay some of the desirable football children and coaches off the books. The boosters are mainly college people who in turn get the coach to recommend their schools. This is how recruiting works. It is a dirty business.

A high school football coach is like a 2nd father to many of the children who have none at home.

At any rate, welcome to the board. I look forward to some football conversions with you

 

Duke is actually suing to force QB Mensah to live up to the NIL contract to play on the team. They don't want the money, they want the player. Not sure how that will work out.

 

Well since the overwhelming majority of college players ( 98% ) do not become professional NFL players a scholarship and 4 year degree is a most welcome bonus.