Head coaches address transfer portal challenges ahead of College Football Playoff

The NCAA transfer portal is tough for any school to navigate, especially this year. Everything is riding on 15 days from January 2 through January 16 as the spring window has been eliminated.

That means teams across the sport are going to be filling out their rosters early in 2026.

The madness is difficult enough for the programs that are sidelined for the year or finishing up bowl games. It's even stouter for those still alive in the College Football Playoff race.

All four quarterfinal games will take place over the next 36 hours, with three scheduled for January 1. The teams competing on Thursday will be able to host transfers on campus the following day.

To make it even crazier, the portal will close three days before the national championship game. What a wacky world of college football we currently live in.

Head coaches around the country are grappling with the challenges.

Major College Football Head Coaches Address Wild West Of Transfer Portal

Kalen DeBoer — Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Kalen Deboer looks on from the sidelines in the first half against the Oklahoma Sooners | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Georgia head coach Kirby Smart has never been too shy to loudly voice his opinions, whether that's during press conferences or screaming at officials on the sideline.

With so much chaos and unbelievable scenarios taking place, Smart doesn't blame anyone for where college football has progressed. He just sees it as unfortunate for all parties involved.

"I told myself before I came up here, I'm not getting up on a soapbox. I can't express all the things that are going on. When you've got kids officially visiting places they're currently at. They're going to go in the portal and then official visit the place they're currently at? It's crazy what's out there," Smart said before the Sugar Bowl, per Dawgs247. "We created a system that only allows you to gain advantage if you want to leave."

"And that's not the players' fault. It's not the agents' fault. It's not our fault. It's not anybody's fault. It's just, you've created a system that inherently rewards what defies a team concept. And in a team sport, it just makes no sense," Smart added. "You tear at the culture of every organization by promoting something that doesn't exist. It's almost like it just permeates what society is now, where it's me, me, me, me, and nothing about the teams. It's very unfortunate."

Lined up to play on the same day as the Bulldogs, albeit in the Rose Bowl, Alabama's Kalen DeBoer feels similar to Smart. It's a lot to deal with, from figuring out who is staying or leaving from the current roster, potential fits in the transfer portal, and trying to focus on a monumental game.

"Trying to build next year’s roster and talk through that, it’s certainly tricky because you have to have conversations right now," DeBoer said on Tuesday, per BamaOnline. "You have to try to have a pulse of what’s happening with your current roster and how that looks next year. You know the graduates obviously, and you have a feel for the guys that might move on to the NFL early.

"But you also want to just really keep the guys focused on the moment we’re in. So there’s that balance," DeBoer continued. "If guys want to talk, I think they know the door’s always open. That’s the relationship, I think, we have now with our players as coaches. And so you welcome those things without trying to let it be a distraction."

Though the Texas Longhorns came up short of qualifying for the playoffs, head coach Steve Sarkisian painted a vivid picture of the wild west, with the rules made up as things go along.

The agent situation clearly needs to be figured out. The lack of standards in place means players are getting taken advantage of, with teams being put in an awkward spot as well.

"I think it's all so strategic, right? It's one about need, it's two about money and the cost, and where's the market and which agent you're dealing with. There's some agents that are rational, and there's some that this is their first time ever being an agent," Sarkisian said. "I don't even know if they're licensed to be agents, but all the sudden they get to be agents because we have no certification process in college football."

"In the NFL, you have to be certified. In college football, it might be their college roommate their freshman year who's their agent right now," Sarkisian added. "And this guy's throwing numbers at you, and it's like, 'we can't even deal with this' and you just move on. It's unfortunate, and we'll get there in college football, but right now it's a tough situation."

A professional sport needs professional standards, and something needs to change in college football.

Major College Football Head Coaches Address Wild West Of Transfer Portal

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