Hey there,

There’s no doubt that the NIL/Transfer Portal combination has affected things off the field. But has it changed how coaches coach on the field? Surely, NIL hasn’t made coaches… softer. Or has it?

Today we’re looking at whether or not the combination of player-payment and player-movement have forced coaches to alter their coaching style, as Nebraska football’s Matt Rhule indicated not too long ago. Using transfer portal data, we’re seeing if there’s any relationship between “tough coaching”, NIL, and transfer portal departures. Let’s get into it.

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Has NIL and the Transfer Portal forced “Softer” Coaching?

There are lots of topics to argue about within the NIL world, and seeing as though I’m a pretty opinionated guy, I generally lean one way or the other pretty strongly. There are, however, some topics that I’m completely undecided on. One of those topics is whether or not coaches are being forced to coach “softer” because of NIL.

Very few people have outright said that NIL has forced coaches to ease up. It’s more of a general sentiment – first and foremost discussed by the media. There are very few concrete “examples” to work with, which makes the topic more conjecture than anything. Until now.

Here today, with the help of a little data, we’re going to find out once and for all: Have NIL and the transfer portal forced coaches to ease up? 

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