Editor's note: This story originally published earlier in August. Since then, embattled Nebraska coach Scott Frost lost as a 12-point favorite to Northwestern, 31-28.
We are in an environment where college sports can no longer pretend to be considered amateur, a truism obvious for decades but only recently deemed appropriate to say out loud. A flurry of court rulings, the impotence of the NCAA and seismic realignment moves have removed the final layers of the thin veneer of amateurism.
So any notion of a slower season in the industry of hiring and firing college football coaches is as naïve as ignoring the profound impact that the past few years have had on the future of college sports.