What's a better head coaching gig, college or NFL?
Both leagues seem determined to sell the narrative that their head coaching jobs are becoming less appealing amidst a rapidly expanding industry.
As we always say here at America’s War Game, football is America’s War game. Since America is a particularly martial culture with both a deep appreciation for fighting and physical prowess AND tremendous wealth and time to devote to various pastimes, the game of football has absolutely exploded into a massive industry.
College football has become primarily a television product, with the networks who own the rights to broadcast games (most notably ESPN) driving the direction of the sport toward consolidation of the top brands and a ratings bonanza playoff structure. All of the changes in realignment can be easily explained by consideration of college football as a television product that’s being optimized for television for the first time in its long history. All of the old structures of football which still persist are relics of a time when the game was primarily a live event. Most notably, choosing champions by polling people who’d seen different teams live rather than having them compete.
The NFL is already there but because it’s such a massive and lucrative business, teams are adding increasing complexity to their organizations and building big bureaucracies entrusted with building and managing their teams.
The generals (coaches) in these arrangements are said to be displeased or marginalized with the evolution of the game on either side of the ledger, leading to some interesting conversations about the future of the coaching profession.
College football lost arguably its two greatest coaches after this last season, Nick Saban to retirement and Jim Harbaugh to the NFL.
The NFL is a better job, right? Well, the NFL’s young offseason is quickly being defined by the firing of Bill Belichik, Pete Carroll, and Mike Vrabel, three of the league’s most accomplished and well-regarded coaches. Interestingly enough, no organizations have stepped up to offer employment to any of them.
What’s going on here? I think under the surface what you’re seeing is a battle for control from “war-time” generals who would prefer to avoid a complicated chain of command while they’re busy trying to defeat the enemy. Allow me to explain…
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