Transfers and coaching changes should wait until after the season

nutsandbolts12-5

This obsession with worrying about next season before this season ends is a destructive and undesirable trend in college football.

Athletic directors need to stop firing coaches before the season ends.

Coaches need to stop deserting their players and fans before completing the job they were hired to do, and players need to stop transferring or even talking about transferring before the season is complete.

This is particularly true if your team in the hunt for a national championship.

News broke this weekend that Cooper Bateman, Alabama’s backup quarterback and starting holder on kicks, plans to transfer, perhaps before the playoffs begin.

I am always in support of the players in almost every instance. But the idea of walking out on your teammates with the national championship within reach is inconceivable to me.

It’s a bad decision. But it’s one that mirrors what school presidents, athletic directors and coaches have been doing for year.

The NCAA should institute this simple rule: No job hires or transfers are allowed until the season ends. Yes, that could hurt a team looking for a new coach, but that’s a small price to pay in requiring everyone to live up to the commitments they’ve made.

For Threaded Fasteners, I’m Randy Kennedy with Nuts and Bolts of the Game.