The days of the coaching lifer, the guy who gets years to settle in, are gone.
The era of the five-year plan is officially in the dumpster.
If a coach expects a long leash while they “build a culture,” Jonathan Hutton has some bad news.
On “OutKick Hot Mic,” Hutton took a blowtorch to the idea of patience in football, making it clear that the long-term rebuild is a dead concept.
“I think just put the nail in the coffin on the long-term rebuild,” Hutton said.
WATCH:
The Era Of Patience Is Over | Hot Mic w/ Hutton and Withrow
“We have seen teams go from the cellar to the Super Bowl, like the New England Patriots. And you’ve seen a program in the basement of college football just win a National Championship. And they’ve both done it in less time than it takes for the Titans to build a new dome.”
The evidence is everywhere for football fans.
Hutton pointed to Curt Cignetti at Indiana as a prime example. A program that was a complete afterthought is now sitting on an unbeaten national title run. “Cignetti, year two champion. Year one, he’s in the Playoff,” Hutton noted.
Former Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)
The same pattern is playing out in the NFL with Mike Macdonald in Seattle.
According to Hutton, the results are too consistent to ignore.
“They don’t need three seasons. They need 17 games, man. It’s not a fluke. I mean, both of these teams week after week did what they did.”
This shift isn’t limited to bottom-tier teams, either.
Ownership expectations have changed across the board.
Head coach Curt Cignetti of the Indiana Hoosiers hoists the George P. Crumbley Trophy after defeating the Oregon Ducks in the 2025 College Football Playoff Semifinal. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)
In the SEC and the NFL, being merely “good” is now a one-way ticket to the unemployment line.
Hutton noted that even consistent winners like the Bills and Ravens are under constant scrutiny.
“The SEC, it’s not good enough to just be on the doorstep of the college football playoff,” Hutton explained.
“James Franklin, you could win at the level they did at Penn State, not good enough. Mike Gundy was the face of Oklahoma State for 21 years. Brian Callahan didn’t even have a full season with a rookie that he was a part of drafting after a one in five start with one of the worst rosters in football.”
John Schneider, general manager of the Seattle Seahawks, poses with Mike Macdonald as Macdonald is announced as the new Seattle Seahawks head coach. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
The days of the coaching lifer, the guy who gets years to settle in, are gone.
“The patience thing, it’s dead. It’s over. Uh, you don’t need to go buy homes if you’re a coach. Some rarely do anyway, but those with families start to, you know, plan for the long-term, put our kids in school. We’re going to search around, we’re going to build our home. No, I mean, the home will still be built by the time you’re being replaced, and I once thought this was unfair, now it’s just part of the job.”
Hutton argues that ownership has rewritten the rules. They don’t care about a 2028 vision when they want a trophy now.
As Hutton put it: “There is no year number two. If the situation today doesn’t get better by tomorrow within the next 24 hours, not the next 24 months.”
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