In June, the NCAA did what it does best: it removed a rule no one followed anyway, allowing all coaches to instruct players on practices and game days instead of the designated ten assistants and head coach. Quality control assistants and analysts no longer have to play a game of telephone, telling another coach to give a tip to a player he can’t talk to. 

Larger FBS schools have hired more former head coaches to vague analyst roles in recent years, creating a compliance nightmare. Those coaches could encourage but not instruct, clap but not pat.

“What we had is a lot of really good coaches that basically couldn’t coach,” TCU head coach Sonny Dykes said, who served as an analyst for the program in 2017.

Fall camps across Texas have a few more counselors this year as coaches move around the field with newfound freedom. Former Houston head coach Dana Holgorsen, now a consultant at TCU, can speak directly to linebacker Johnny Hodges.

But the rule has also benefited younger coaches, who now take on new titles. TCU elevated Mitch Kirsch, whom Dykes calls one of the best coaches he’s been around, to assistant tight ends coach. Over at SMU, Sam Dunnam transitioned from quality control coach to specifically working with the edges, and John Bonney is now the assistant safeties coach. 

Coaches say practices run more efficiently after adding more on-field coaches to provide direct instruction.

“When you have groups, the offensive line and safety is a great example, where we have 15 guys per position right there, to be able to split them up and get more work done during the individual drills has been huge for us,” North Texas head coach Eric Morris said.

These elevated titles provide younger assistants with resume builders and also allow time to hone their one-on-one teaching skills.

“Giving those guys the opportunity, they’re young and energetic and believe in what it is that’s going on just like we all did,” SMU offensive coordinator Casey Woods said. “It’s fun to watch them get reps.”

There is, however, a potential problem of having too many cooks in the kitchen, which head coaches must combat by clearly assigning teaching responsibilities.

“I think a lot of people think it’s just a free-for-all now,” TCU defensive coordinator Andy Avalos said. “It can’t be a free-for-all. The people that are impacting our players have to understand what Coach Dykes’s mission is.”

The rule also removes on-field coaching restrictions on game days, which benefits offensive and defensive coordinators who coach from the booth.