More bigtime CFB head coaches much closer to leaving: Josh Pate makes bold claim over college coaches following Nick Saban's departure

According to Josh Pate of CBS Sports, we might be on the cusp of an exodus of top coaching talent in college football.

According to sources close to the pundit, many top coaches are dissatisfied with the way the game is being and might consider temporary retirement. Pate said on the "Last Kick Live" last week:

"I think within the next couple of years a major head coach at, or near, the top of his game and the top of his profession is going to step away from college football, perfect health, not going to the NFL, he just steps away voluntarily and he says, 'I'm stepping away because I don't like college football right now.'

"And then he waits. He goes and sits in a studio or maybe he goes and sits on his back porch and fades a little bit, and just waits. And then you fast-forward five years and maybe college football rights itself. And then the following headline is written in 2028: Coach X ready to get in the game."

Josh Pate also seemed to imply that the sport is a mess at the moment but didn't point out which specifics of the game need to be addressed.

For sure, we are living in a revolutionary era for college football with all the conference realignment and new NIL deals status quo. However, that doesn't necessarily mean that the sport is undermined by it; it's just evolving.

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Who could Josh Pate be referring to?

While Josh Pate straight-out said he would never betray the confidence of the individual who acknowledged might be close to calling it quits, we have a pretty strong opinion of who that person could be.

Our money is on Clemson's Dabo Swinney, a heavy critic of the NIL revolution and the transfer portal. He would also be one of the coaches most affected by conference realignment, with the Tigers being stuck in the ACC, as we move to a clearly Power 2 scheme of the SEC and the Big Ten.

While Pate might say that the person is at the top of his game, it's clear that Swinney's star is on a downward trajectory due to his inability to adapt to the changes in the game.

It was almost an open secret that Swinney, a proud Alabama alumnus, wanted that job whenever Nick Saban retired. The opportunity has come and gone, and he didn't even get a call. Better to call it a career, Dabo.

Sorry Josh Pate, the game is doing alright.