Greg Byrne, Alabama athletics director, expressed concern Friday about what he saw as a trend of college coaches leaving for the NFL.
“Yeah, I really am [concerned about the number],” Byrne said in an interview with Tide 100.9.
Byrne specifically mentioned the departure of Boston College head coach Jeff Hafley to become the Green Bay Packers’ defensive coordinator.
“It’s certainly one of the less-resourced [head-coaching jobs out] there, and I don’t say that disparagingly at all — they’ve got a great program at Boston College,” Byrne told reporters. “But he left to work as a defensive coordinator in the NFL. “You would never have considered that before.”
Byrne also mentioned Group of 5 head coaches leaving for assistant jobs at the Power 5 level, including two to Alabama this offseason: Buffalo’s Maurice Linguist and South Alabama’s Kane Wommack. Shawn Elliott, the Georgia State coach, left last week to become South Carolina’s tight ends coach and run game coordinator.
“I think you’re going to continue to see more of that as college football, college athletics is under a very challenging transition in so many different ways right now,” he said. “I think the NFL, from a calendar standpoint, from not having to deal with a lot of the other extracurricular things you deal with in the college ranks — like the NIL area, the transfer portal, and the recruiting calendar — I think the NFL lifestyle is becoming more appealing to coaches in general. And when they have a good chance to get there, some of them take advantage of it.
“In some ways, I cannot blame them. I remind them that if they have to navigate choppy waters, there is no better place to do so than the University of Alabama. But that doesn’t mean we’re immune to choppy waters; we still deal with them on a daily basis.
Byrne also spoke about Alabama’s own efforts to raise NIL funds to pay players.
“NIL is a reality right now,” he explained. “I’m very pleased with the progress we’ve been making with [NIL collective] Yea Alabama. And get involved for $18 per month. Sign up and become a part of that. That is an important part.
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