NCAA D-I Council passes unlimited college football coaching staff size for 2024 season

The College Football Playoff is expanding to 12 teams starting with the 2024 season. The gap between the Power 4 and the other 28 Division I conferences is only growing in terms of the House settlement and revenue sharing.

Now college football coaching staffs will have a new look in the 2024 season. The NCAA Division I Council voted Tuesday to expand college football coaching staffs, allowing an unlimited number of assistants to instruct athletes.

At its annual meetings in Indianapolis, the 40-person council representing all 32 Division I conferences moved to allow all staff members to provide technical and tactical instruction to athletes during practice and games. For years, analysts and quality control coaches have been limited to assisting off the field through watching film and providing expertise in creating gameday strategy.

Now they can help athletes grow on the field. The decision eliminates the NCAA’s 11-countable coaches policy, allowing just 10 assistants and a head coach to provide on-field instruction. The rule has become antiquated as top programs now employ a variety of analysts, quality control coaches, recruiting coordinators, player personnel directors, general managers and scouts. The move also ensures the NCAA doesn’t face any future legal action from college football coaches.

Certain positions will benefit from decision

Speaking to sources in the college football world this week, optimism was high with many expecting the vote would pass. Still, some were nervous after the Division I Council initially rejected the proposal in the spring of 2023. The proposal has garnered support from the American Football Coaches Association.

Sources have indicated to On3 that quarterback, middle linebacker and special teams are key positions to watch where programs will look to leverage the rule.

The decision is the latest change to the college football game. The NCAA’s Playing Rules Oversight Panel approved adding helmet communication for FBS games and two-minute timeouts at the end of each half in April. FBS programs will have the option to use coach-to-player communications through the helmet of a player in the upcoming season. Communication will be shut off with 15 seconds left on the play clock or the snap of the ball — whichever comes first. 

Win for college football coaching development

The new policy will keep the number of off-campus recruits to 11, including head coaches. FCS would be able to have 13 assistants recruit off-campus. At the FBS level, head coaches could designate any 10 staffers as countable coaches who can recruit off-campus.

Industry sources believe the unlimited coaching staffs could lead to top Group of 5 assistants taking analyst or assistant roles with major programs. College football staffs will have similar titles to their NFL counterparts.

The future role of graduate assistants is unknown, too. More staff members assisting with day-to-day operations change the impact of graduate assistants, however, the new policy allows younger assistants to start coaching earlier.

“It’s going to be beneficial. I love that everybody that’s inside the building, hopefully, this thing gets passed, and these guys can go coach,” Mississippi State first-year coach Jeff Lebby told On3. “It helps the development of coaches. For me, having these guys in the building right now as analysts, and freeing them up will be will be awesome.

“At the end of the day, everybody’s still going to be very similar from the standpoint of being a GA and then being an analyst and that kind of being the transition into getting your first one [job]. There’s still going to be a bunch of similarities in people’s paths.”