Division I Council to vote on unlimited college football coaching staff size

As the college athletics model undergoes massive change with revenue sharing on the horizon, the NCAA Division I Council could expand college football coaching staffs this week.

As part of its annual meetings on Tuesday and Wednesday this week in Indianapolis, the 40-person council from all 32 conferences will vote on a legislative proposal that would expand the role of support staff. Specifically, all staff members would be allowed to provide technical and tactical instruction to athletes during practice and games.

In the college football world, the expectation is the vote will pass. But some are holding their breath after the council initially rejected the move in the spring of 2023. The move would remove the current rules that allow just 11 coaches (head coach and 10 assistants) to instruct athletes.

“In football, any institutional staff member may provide technical and tactical instruction to student-athletes,” the proposal states. “An institution may not make arrangements with an individual outside the institution (e.g., consultant, professional instructor) to provide technical or tactical instruction to student-athletes.”

The guidelines would keep the number of off-campus recruits to 11, including head coaches. FCS would be able to have 12 assistants recruit off-campus. At the FBS level, head coaches could designate any 10 staffers as countable coaches who can recruit off-campus.

With the move, analysts and quality control coaches would be allowed to coach in practice. Former Alabama head coach Nick Saban made the off-field analyst role a signature during his time in Tuscaloosa. Experienced coaches chopping up film and assisting with gameday preprations.

Now those analysts would be able to actually help during practice and provide instruction to players. Specifically, the rule change would allow for more assistants to help with special teams and quarterbacks. Top programs could bring in EDGE specialists.

The future role of graduate assistants is unknown, too. More staff members assisting with day-to-day operations changes the impact of graduate assistants.

“This is probably the most common sense approach that we could make,” Craig Bohl, the executive director of the American Football Coaches Association, told Yahoo Sports in March. “For years, we’ve had analysts and quality control coaches who have had a desire to coach. So much has changed with the landscape with players now being compensated. To be concerned that you’re going to have an assistant quarterbacks coach out there coaching is counter productive. It’s been a compliance nightmare.”

It’s unclear what the impact of the NCAA legislation would mean for the Group of 5. With the NCAA and power conferences agreeing on settlement terms in the House, Hubbard and Carter cases, all 32 Division I conferences will pay some $2.8 billion in damages over 10 years. In addition, schools, at their discretion, will be able to share up to $22 million annually with athletes.

Some believe the unlimited coaching staffs could lead to top assistants in the Group of 5 taking analyst roles with major programs, which will now allow them to work with athletes.

Sources have also indicated to On3 that a short coaching carousel could pop up if the DI Council puts the unlimited coaching staff changes into effect for the upcoming 2024 season. Most upheaval wouldn’t come until the offseason, though.