Nick Saban states one transfer portal window in college football is 'probably a good thing'

The NCAA established a single transfer portal window that is expected to be during postseason play after formally eliminating a second Spring window on Wednesday. While the specific timeframe for the postseason window has yet to be finalized, the NCAA Division I Football Oversight Committee previously recommended a 10-day portal between Jan. 2-11.

A longtime critic of the timing of the previous transfer windows, former Alabama head coach Nick Saban reacted to the move Friday during his weekly appearance on The Pat McAfee Show on ESPN, describing the single portal window as “probably a good thing.”

“I think one transfer portal (window) is probably a good thing. I think when you have your team in the Spring, you go through Spring practice, you go through the offseason program, then all of a sudden guys leave, it’s probably not good for them in terms of the next place they go. And it’s not great for you trying to manage a roster,” Saban said Friday. “So, it’s probably a good thing.”

Prior to Wednesday’s decision, there were two separate windows college footall players could enter the NCAA Transfer Portal — a 20-day period in December beginning shortly after the conclusion of the regular season, and a 10-day period in April in the midst of Spring practice.

Nick Saban: College football teams adopt NFL organizational model to handle transfer portal, high school recruiting

Power Four college football coaches were among the loudest critics of the dual-window format, with many complaining the December window created roster issues for teams competing in the postseason. Coaches were equally upset with the Spring window because it allowed players that went through a team’s offseason program and Spring practice to transfer before ever playing a game.

And while there’s sure to still be complaints with the proposed January portal window, Saban believes most modern college football teams have already begun adapting their team personnel to better handle any recruiting conflicts during the postseason, even those that might be in the thick of the College Football Playoffs chase.

“I think that we’re forcing people in college to move more to the NFL model in terms of organization. … Like we had a GM (general manager), we had a personnel department, and I separated it from the portal to college recruiting,” Saban continued. “I had different guys over here evaluating guys in the portal. You had different guys over here evaluating guys in high school. Now you can send different people out to recruit them, it doesn’t have to just be the assistants.

“So you’re actually expanding the staff and operations to be able to manage this type of circumstance. For example, if you’re in the Playoffs, you want to have other people that are not focused on the Playoffs. They’re focused on recruiting, they’re focused on guys in the portal, so that you’re recruiting those guys while continuing to play.”

Matt Rhule wishes one-time transfer portal window was in the Spring

During an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show on Thursday, Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule weighed in on the new NCAA portal window. The only problem is the proposed timeframe.

“It needed to go to one,” Rhule said. “You would negotiate with a player — and all power to the players — but you would negotiate with a player in December, January, and then have to renegotiate three months later when there’s you haven’t done anything. That doesn’t happen in the NFL. It should be once a year, you make a decision, and then you play that year out.

“I, and most of the Big Ten coaches, wanted it in April or May because we pay the guys July 1 to June 30. In the NFL, like the league year ends, you get paid for the year. In college football, we’re going to have players getting paid by two different teams in the same year. It doesn’t make any sense to me.”

— On3’s Grant Grubbs contributed to this report.