New Staff? Ask These 10 Questions Before You Decide

THE SHORT VERSION

• New staffs are coming. Maryland fired Mike Locksley on Oct. 21, NC State fired Dave Doeren on Oct. 24, and Baylor fired Dave Aranda after a loss to Kansas.

• Know your window. The 2027 transfer window is Jan. 4–13. A separate coach-change window applies only in narrower cases, such as a new head coach named on or after Jan. 2.

• Ask for specifics. Role, evaluator, money, academics and next steps, in writing where you can.

WHY IT MATTERS

A new staff can change your role, your evaluation and your timeline. Clear answers, written down with a date and a source, are how you compare options before you commit time or money.

Before you talk to a new staff

Three Power Four programs have changed head coaches since Oct. 21. Maryland fired Mike Locksley on Oct. 21, NC State fired Dave Doeren on Oct. 24, and Baylor fired Dave Aranda last weekend after a loss to Kansas. If your program is changing coaches, a new staff is coming to you. If you’re weighing a transfer, you’ll meet new staffs too. Either way, the questions are the same.

You don’t need a perfect recruiting pitch. You need answers you can check. Bring these ten questions to a permitted conversation with a new staff. Take notes. Ask who owns each answer. Follow up on anything that stays vague.

Before you contact another program, check your process with compliance. The NCAA directs transfer athletes to the compliance office at their current school and points to guides for each athlete’s specific situation. A conversation with a coach does not replace that review. NCAA transfer guidance

Know your dates. The 2027 football transfer window is one 10-day period, Monday, Jan. 4 through Jan. 13. A separate head-coach-change window of up to 15 days exists, but it applies only in narrower cases, such as when the school names its next head coach on or after Jan. 2 (it then opens five days after the hire or announcement) or names no replacement within 30 days. If your school fired its coach this fall and hires a replacement in December, plan around the regular January window. Confirm your dates with your compliance office.

The 10 questions

1. What role are you evaluating me for?

Ask for the position, package and assignments. Then ask which reps on your film support that view. Write down the proposed role. Don’t turn interest in evaluating you into a promise that you will play.

2. Who makes the evaluation?

Ask who watches your film, who coaches the position and who approves the next step. Get a staff contact for follow-up. If the staff is still assigning responsibilities, write “not confirmed” and ask when you should check again.

3. What do you still need to see?

Ask for two specific things the staff wants to evaluate. Request examples of the assignments or decisions involved. Use your existing film to answer where you can. Agree on what the next conversation should cover.

4. What will this role do in your scheme?

Ask the coach to walk through a responsibility. Request a relevant film example if one is available. Ask which parts of the plan are settled. Separate proposed changes from confirmed responsibilities.

5. How are you building this position room?

Ask for counts of expected returners, confirmed adult arrivals and possible position moves. Ask when the projection was updated. Don’t request private information about other athletes or names of minors. Ask what would change the count between this conversation and your arrival.

6. How would I earn a larger role?

Ask what the staff will evaluate in practice and film review. Ask who gives feedback and when you would get it. Replace “Will I start?” with “What must I demonstrate?” Keep the answer as a description of the process, not an assured result.

7. What financial support is approved?

Ask what is approved, what is being discussed and which office can provide the documents. Request the amount, duration and conditions in writing. Mark anything not documented as unresolved. Have the appropriate institutional office explain the terms before you make your financial decision. If an NIL deal comes from a collective or another party tied to the school, ask whether it has been submitted for review and cleared, and what happens if it isn’t.

8. Who reviews my academics?

Ask who will review your coursework, intended major and enrollment plan. Request a timeline. The NCAA includes academics and eligibility in transfer planning. Get an individual review rather than assuming your credits or status will carry over as expected. NCAA transfer guidance

9. What has to happen before I decide?

Ask for the remaining evaluations, documents and meetings. Separate the staff’s preferred decision date from an institutional deadline. Confirm enrollment and eligibility steps with the responsible offices. If your own deadline is earlier, say so and ask what can actually be completed by then. If your head coach left, ask your compliance office which window applies to you; it depends on when the school names the next head coach.

10. What can you confirm in writing?

Read back the role, open questions, contacts and next date. Send a short recap. Invite corrections. Ask the staff to distinguish an approved offer from something it still needs permission to discuss. Save the reply beside your notes.

After the conversation

After the conversation, compare the answers with your priorities. Use the same questions for every program. Put the answer, its source and its date on one page. Leave a visible blank where you still need confirmation. Before paying for a visit, review that page and decide which unresolved answers you need first.

Bottom line

Ask for specifics while you have time to check them. You should leave knowing what the staff sees in your film, what remains undecided and who will answer next. Keep asking until you can separate the offer from the conversation.

What to do now

• Call your compliance office first. Ask which steps and dates apply to you before you contact another program.

• Make one page per program. Same ten questions, with each answer, its source and its date. Leave blanks visible.

• Track the coaching news. If your head coach left, note the day the next one is named and ask compliance which window applies.