College football coaches now in a win now, or else, world

Football coaches are known for the sometimes quirky ways to help players keep perspective on a season.

The usual is "there are three seasons each year, non-conference, conference and post (bowl) season."

Quirky, but effective at getting the point across to take things in stride, and find the true priority of a year to help set goals.

But I'd like to add a fourth part to this: Hiring/Firing season.

Just like with Christmas carols on the radio, the season seems to start earlier every year.

Florida State kicked things off earlier this month firing Willie Taggart and Arkansas joined November 10 when it announced it was parting ways with Chad Morris. 

Both coaches were in the middle of their second seasons, and both had losing records.

In the past, coaches had the security of their contractual buyouts as a shield to give them time to instill a program, recruit and develop some talent before an employment decision was made by administration.

And both Taggart and Morris would have been right to think that way. Florida State now owes Taggart roughly $17 million while Arkansas owes Morris around $10 million.

Keep in mind, both schools will also have to pay their new coach while paying their former coach, and each school may also have to pay the new coach's buyout from their previous school as well.

Granted, that potential large dollar amount may be a drop in the bucket to these athletic departments, but the fiscal side of your brain is thinking, "that is still a lot of money."

Morris and Taggart will undoubtedly just be the start, as season's end and other schools look to make changes. You imagine at the very least, two more schools will be looking once their coaches get scooped up by Arkansas and Florida State, respectively.

(Just for guessing, I can see Southern Cal, Michigan State and Vanderbilt also making moves)

Coaches now have found themselves in a win now or else culture in major college football. From the outside looking in, it is easy to see the justification for the mindset.

Athletic departments are investing more money than ever in coach salaries and facilities while also battling falling attendance. You have to stay relevant to get/keep butts in seats, and people are not going to watch losing products in today's culture.

From a business standpoint, and that is what major college athletic departments are despite their tax exempt status, the "give a guy four years to build and develop" era is over.

Money is also not as safe a protector as one would think, made apparent by the Taggart and Morris firings. Your coach has an $18 million buyout? He is not safe.

This does not correlate to all schools, really only the Power 5 programs. For the blue-blood, juggernauts of college football, you have at most two years to show progress and win.

For the middle of the road programs, you may have four years, but it depends on not necessarily how many losses you have, but what program those losses are to.

Personally, I still believe a coach needs five years to truly implement a program, recruit to fit that program and develop players. After the fifth year if things aren't going well, it is probably a sign the school needs to go in another direction.

But, the explosion of the transfer portal, instant eligibility and the proliferation of talent at the junior college level, coaches can now flip a program much faster with immediate impact players to allow time to develop younger players.

It really all goes back to program brand and exposure. You win to stay relevant with prospects, and getting those prospects helps keep you relevant. Fortunes can change much faster in college football than ever before.

And the support from athletic department administration for coaches can change equally as fast.