Kirk Herbstreit reacts to Jeff Hafley leaving Boston College for NFL

It was announced that Boston College head coach Jeff Hafley would be leaving the university to take the defensive coordinator job for the Green Bay Packers.

ESPN’s Pete Thamel revealed that his sources believe that Hafley “wants to go coach in a league that is all about football,” and that college football as a whole has turned into mass fundraiser that includes NIL and “recruiting your own team,” to keep them to stay out of the transfer portal.

Many are reacting to the news, and ESPN College GameDay host and Thursday Night Football commentator Kirk Herbstreit explained why the trend of college coaches leaving for the pros will likely continue.

“No CFB in its current state will be seeing more and more coaches heading to the NFL,” Herbstreit tweeted. “Without boundaries and regulation that make sense coaches that get real opportunities in the NFL will be gone. This trend will continue until there is a new governing body and it creates a CBA with a players entity or union that would include issues like NIL-Transfer Portal and eventually revenue sharing.

“The sport is spiraling out of control as we know and many of these coaches are sticking around and waiting. Just a new reality for the sport.”

Hafley becomes the latest coach to leave college in favor of the NFL. However, biggest story revolving around a college coach leaving for the pros this offseason is Jim Harbaugh.

Fresh off winning a College Football Playoff National Championship, the former Michigan head coach opted to leave college football at the sport’s peak to coach the Los Angeles Chargers in the NFL. However, Harbaugh cited the fact that college football had no Lombardi Trophy instead of an imbalance between on and off-field matters.

Regardless of each coach’s motivations, many of college football’s loudest voices have made their position clear of the current landscape of the sport. With the transfer portal and NIL ruling over all collegiate athletics, coaches are having to do more than ever to not only bring in top recruits and incoming transfers — but also fight to keep their own players on their roster throughout the offseason.

Unless something changes or massive NIL and portal reforms are put into place, coaches will likely need to either adapt to its current landscape or move on from the sport altogether. They can rest assured knowing that the NFL model will remain the same.