Ohio State fans are rightfully livid this morning about how the team acquitted itself in Dallas last night, and part of the discussion has landed on the deleterious impact NIL and the transfer portal have had on roster management and player development. And those criticisms are fair and valid.

But one of the things I've been thinking more and more about is that the hundreds of millions of dollars driving the modern coaching carousel each offseason has totally upended the typical development timeline for a head football coach.

Consider Jim Tressel and Urban Meyer versus guys like Ryan Day and Lincoln Riley, as relevant examples. Tressel and Meyer both had years and years of experience as head coaches before they were tapped to lead the Buckeyes. Day was promoted from within as an offensive genius, but he had zero CEO experience when he was handed Meyer's whistle. Ditto Riley at Oklahoma, who took over from another legendary national title-winning coach in Bob Stoops.

And both younger coaches have struggled mightily. Yes, Day has won a truckload of games, but almost none of the ones that matter most, and it feels like the program is trending in the wrong direction. Yes, we can rightly criticize the "wild wild west" of the modern college football landscape, but I think part of that has to be an examination of the wisdom of tapping brilliant young coordinators to be the head coach of an elite program, rather than finding an experienced CEO who can handle the pressure and navigate the ins and outs of leading a $100 million organization.

This isn't the kind of gig that lends itself well to on the job training, as the Buckeyes have shown for three years and counting.