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IN THIS ISSUE
Good morning. Mark here.
Stanford just hired a head coach who has never been a head coach.
Tavita Pritchard is a Cardinal lifer, a legitimate QB developer, and exactly the kind of culture-first hire Andrew Luck's GM model was built to make. Everyone in Palo Alto loves it. The press conference was warm and fuzzy.
But fit doesn't win football games. And Stanford just went 6ā18 under Troy Taylor.
We run Pritchard through the CHS five-pillar evaluation.
Also in this issue:
Kenny Dillingham didn't leave ASU for more money. He stayed for more control ā and his amended contract tells you exactly what he's building in Tempe.
YouTube TV launched a sports-only plan. $18 less than the full package, every ESPN channel included. Worth a look if you're still overpaying for cable.
A state court judge just overruled the NCAA on Trinidad Chambliss. Ole Miss gets its quarterback back for a sixth year. The NCAA's response tells you everything about where this is headed.
Let's get into it. (Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Sign up here.)
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ON THE RADAR
A state court judge just told the NCAA it was wrong about Trinidad Chambliss. This one's going to leave a mark.
Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss has been granted a sixth year of eligibility after a judge ruled the NCAA ignored medical evidence, didn't act in good faith, and that denying him would cause irreparable harm.
Here's why this story is bigger than one player's eligibility:
Chambliss transferred from Division II Ferris State as a backup. He became the SEC's leading passer with 3,337 yards and finished eighth in Heisman voting.
He led Ole Miss to its first-ever College Football Playoff appearance, including a comeback win over Georgia in the Sugar Bowl
The NCAA denied his waiver, denied his appeal, and denied Ole Miss's request for reconsideration ā all within five weeks
A state court overruled all of it in a single hearing
The NCAA's response was telling. They called it "an impossible situation created by differing court decisions" and said partnering with Congress is now essential.
Translation: they're losing control of their own eligibility rules, and they know it.
Chambliss is back in Oxford. The NCAA is back on its heels.
Kenny Dillingham didn't leave Arizona State for more money. He stayed for more control.
His amended contract pays him $6.4 million in 2026 ā making him the highest-paid state employee in Arizona history. But that wasn't the point. Dillingham's real priorities were:
Boosting his assistant coaching salary pool from $8.8 million to $11 million
Locking in rollover years that trigger with just three wins or 25,000 season tickets sold
Getting ASU's president personally involved in NIL fundraising
The result? ASU jumped to No. 15 nationally in transfer rankings this offseason after finishing No. 31 the previous two years. The roster's academic GPA hit an all-time high. And Dillingham structured a deal that could keep him in Tempe for a decade.
Most coaches chase the bigger check. Dillingham chased the infrastructure to build something that lasts.
That's a different kind of ambition.
YouTube TV just did something no cable company ever would.
They launched a sports-only plan for $64.99/month ā $18 less than their full package. You get the broadcast networks, every ESPN channel, FS1, NBC Sports, and the upcoming ESPN Unlimited streamer this fall.
Here's why this matters for college football fans:
No more paying for 100+ channels you never watch just to get ESPN and Fox
NFL Sunday Ticket and RedZone can be added to any plan
Six members per account, unlimited DVR
They're also rolling out 10+ total plans across sports, news, entertainment, and family content over the next few weeks. New subscribers get a discount on every tier for the first year.
YouTube TV is betting that the future of live TV isn't one giant bundle. It's letting people pay for what they actually watch.
For anyone still overpaying for cable just to get GameDay on Saturday morning, this is worth a look.
BEHIND THE NUMBERS
Stanfordās New Head Coach Has Never Been A Head Coach. Hereās Why That Matters More Than The Press Conference Wants You To Think.
Everyone in Palo Alto loves the Tavita Pritchard hire.
Heās a Stanford lifer. Former Cardinal QB. Long-time assistant. Most recently the quarterbacks coach in Washington who helped Jayden Daniels win Offensive Rookie of the Year and reach the NFC Championship Game.
Andrew Luck hand-picked him. The institution exhaled. The press conference was warm and fuzzy.
Hereās the problem.
Fit doesnāt win football games. And thereās a difference between being the right person for a job and being ready for it. Pritchard has never been a head coach at any level. His only college OC tenure coincided with Stanfordās slide into irrelevance under David Shaw. Heās inheriting a roster that went 6ā18 under Troy Taylor and 4ā7 under Frank Reich.
Stanford is not a program that needs a culture carrier. Itās a program that needs a rebuilder.
The gap between those two things is exactly where the risk lives:
ā¢Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Zero head coaching experience at any level
ā¢Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā A roster in full rebuild mode in a new conference
ā¢Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā A GM-driven structure that limits his autonomy
ā¢Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā NIL and transfer portal constraints that cap the talent ceiling
The upside is real. The QB development pitch is legitimate. The identity is coherent.
But the PR around this hire will suggest Stanford found its guy. The data says they found a high-upside bet with a wider performance band than anyone in Palo Alto wants to admit.
Time will tell which version of the story gets written.
THATāS A WRAP
That's it for this week.
Friday, we're back with two things:
More new hire evaluations. We're continuing to run every new FBS coaching hire through the CHS five-pillar framework. Who's set up to succeed, who's walking into a rebuild, and who's already on the clock before they've coached a single game.
Updated hot seat rankings. The offseason moves the needle more than most people think. Recruiting classes, portal hauls, staff changes ā all of it shifts the pressure.
If you found this useful, forward it to a friend who lives and breathes college football.
It's the best way to help us grow.
See you Friday.
ā Mark
