"What I value most in my friends is loyalty" We value loyalty everywhere in our society, from our partners to our pets, but especially within sports. The players and coaches who stay out of loyalty are beloved. Those who leave are traitors.
In college football, the transfer portal and the coaching carousel have especially amplified those feelings. But what if loyalty can be … bad? Especially loyalty in the face of evidence that suggests change could be good for all involved?
It's a situation college coaches find themselves in every season. Do they stick with what they know or go for a potential upgrade? There are risks in believing the grass may be greener elsewhere, but there are real risks in not capitalizing on a window to improve the program out of loyalty.
Misplaced loyalty, in fact, may define two of the bigger disappointments of the 2026 season thus far. Oregon and Texas A&M started the season ranked Nos. 2 and 8 in the country, respectively. The Ducks even received 14 first-place votes and were a popular preseason pick to be national champions.
It made sense on paper, as Oregon returned star quarterback Dante Moore and other key contributors from a team that reached a College Football Playoff semifinal last season. The expectations weren't quite as high for the Aggies, but they also returned their starting quarterback, Marcel Reed, from a team that made the playoff in 2025. Midway through the season, Oregon is 3-2, and Texas A&M is 3-3.
The Ducks have already lost to Oklahoma State and UCLA and still must face No. 4 Ohio State and No. 25 Northwestern. It's even worse in College Station, where head coach Mike Elko made national headlines -- he later apologized -- comparing popular fan site TexAgs to a "cesspool" following a 27-6 loss to Missouri. The common denominator: Opting to promote from within at key positions rather than bring in new voices.
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