FBS coaches pass an unexpected but important vote at their AFCA convention

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - While we were on the lookout for Fran Brown early Tuesday morning prior to the 8:00 a.m. scheduled start of the annual FBS Head Coaches Voting Meeting on the convention's third and final day, alas, we did not see the Orange boss descend down the escalator to the massive Crown Ballroom inside the equally massive Charlotte Convention Center / NASCAR Hall of Fame building.

Instead, we did see the likes of Clemson's Dabo Swinney, new Virginia Tech coach James Franklin (40 minutes early, BTW), Brett Venables of Oklahoma, BYU's Kalani Sitake, and Bret Bielema of Illinois, joining tens of others of their brethren (No Proxies allowed) for the nearly four hour session (with breaks).

A rare chance to see big name college football head coaches in a most relaxed atmosphere

Sure, big time boosters get a chance to schmooze with big name FBS head coaches over the course of a year, many more well known than the sitting governor in their particular state, but the average fan sees what they see on game broadcasts and press conferences. Tough, fiery, competitive, with sometimes, and depending on the personality, a dash of humor and humanity mixed in.

Watching these casually dressed name coaches making multi-millions in annual salary, some donning big cowboy boots and jeans with a nice blazer, others in standard workout-type attire, and a few going old school donning shirt and tie, mingle with a few national college football media members and convention officials, offered an interesting, contrasting vision of these guys just being an average guy, around colleagues for a few hours.

"You cover Syracuse?" Swinney said in mock incredulity when we greeted him with a simple "Good Morning" and introduced ourselves in the quiet hallway. A neat, relaxed setting.

The FBS coaches' business at hand

While there was a lot of talk about the coaches voting on new dates for the lone transfer portal window being moved up to the day after the College Football Playoff concludes, which this season is next Monday, Jan. 19, that did not transpire.

This year's portal closes Friday, and the three days of the AFCA convention, are "dead" (no contact) recruiting periods set intentionally, so coaches can invest their time to professional development (and job hunting).

So while there was no movement at this event concerning the portal, there was plenty of talk about players currently on rosters, and in particular if freshman should receive more games to play in their first season while still retaining a year of eligibility.

Currently, freshmen can play four games, transfer and still have four seasons of eligibility (i.e.; the Luke Carney situation for SU in 2025). Coaches want more time on the field for the best frosh, understanding in the transfer portal/NIL era they could be "one and done" and transfer. Some coaches think if a player has played four games with a lot left on the schedule, they might not be a peak performance on a daily basis, eyeing the portal at season's end.

According to reports from inside the room, the coaches voted for a whopping nine games for a freshman to play and retain four years of eligibility. That recommendation to the NCAA seems overly optimistic. perhaps five or maybe six would be a compromise, the issue far from resolved.

Side note: Interestingly, next year's AFCA conference dates have been moved up a month to February 14-16, 2027 in Indianapolis, way after the CFP ends and the transfer portal will have (likely) concluded, from coaches feedback. The conference's first day is the date of Super Bowl LXI, with thousands of football coaches all in one city.

SUPPORT THE JUICE ONLINE

Chat about this story and all things Syracuse and Syracuse recruiting on our message board, Cuse Classified!