The effect of removing restrictions on countable coaches on Arkansas football

College football continues to change. Whether it's for the best is arguable, but the dominoes have already started falling, and there is no going back. All coaches can do now is adapt or die, especially when it concerns Sam Pittman.

The fifth-year coach is on the hot seat after a 4-8 season, and things aren't getting easier. On Tuesday, June 25, the Division I Council approved a rule that allows any staff member to "provide technical and tactical instruction to student-athletes," including coaching on the field during games. It effectively removes restrictions on the number of coaches a program can hire.

For years, it's been a grey area in college football. Programs would hire positions like "offensive analysts" or "defensive line consultants," but in practice, they were extra coaches in the shadows, offering a support roles. If they helped with "technical and tactical instruction" behind the scenes, it would be hard to prove. But it was rumored to have happened. Now, there's no need to be secretive.

But what does this mean for Arkansas, specifically Pittman? It means it's just another thing Coach Pittman must worry about in a personally pivotal season.

The rule was meant to be a way for programs to hire more coaches for things like mitigating turnover, according to ESPN senior writer Heather Dinich. "The rule isn't intended to be a green light for head coaches to hire 12 new assistants," wrote Dinich. "Instead, the idea is to modernize the rule and allow for scenarios such as when fired head coaches are recycled onto other staffs in the guise of a 'quality control' coach who previously might have ignored the rule to provide instruction."

However, the spirit of every rule change in this new era of college football has had a wholesome beginning. NIL was a way for student-athletes to capitalize on their name, image, and likeness like every other student in the country. Unlimited transfer portal entries were supposed to allow student-athletes to find the right fit for their future. Instead, it's created a quasi-free agency with little to no regulation.

The spirit of removing restrictions on countable coaches might be to keep programs afloat during turbulent times. But like every other rule, it will be used in some way to gain an advantage over opponents.

What that exactly means is yet to be seen, but Sam Pittman must fall on the right side of this issue. If he makes it past this season (and that's a big if), failing to capitalize on this rule change could be the final nail in the coffin of his career at Arkansas.