BCS-Playoff: College Coaches Are in the Way

70 percent of college football fans support are in favor of a playoff system. 

The other 30 percent of college football fans are sad, unenlightened people who hate babies and puppies and like Communism and Paris Hilton. 

Rational people want a satisfying conclusion the college football season, but there are many obstacles in the way.

College football coaches are proving to be one of those obstacles.

In 2005, college coaches begrudgingly agreed to make voting in the final two polls public. Ever since, there has been a lot of chatter about irregularities in the final voting. 

Some coaches alter their polls to benefit their own teams, like Mike Leach who, in 2008, voted his own Texas Tech team second and rival Texas fifth in his final poll. Only Leach and New Mexico State's Hal Mumme thought the Red Raiders should be higher than sixth.

Some coaches vote favorably towards their friends.

In 2007 only two coaches voted Oklahoma number one on their final ballot. One was Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops. The other was Steve Spurrier, who Stoops coached under at Florida.

More often than not, when nothing personal is at stake, coaches tend to vote heavily along conference lines.

Coaches shouldn't even have a poll to begin with.

Coaches have tunnel vision. They only see whats ahead of them. They spend so much time focusing on their own opponents that over the course of the season they don't get to watch games outside of their opposition. 

Several coaches have admitted to letting the Sports Information Director fill out their ballot, but the game day responsibilities are so numerous SIDs don't get to see a lot of games either.

Making the coaches poll one of the determining factors in deciding who plays for a national championship is absurd.

Now, the college football coaches are taking their ball and going home. Collectively among the biggest bunch of thin-skinned whiners, USA Today is reporting that the coaches poll votes will return to secrecy in 2009.

This couldn't be worse news for playoff supporters. Without transparency, the coaches will be able to intensify the already shady voting process without any consequence.  Exploiting the fallacy of the system was one of the few chances playoff supporters had of ridding the world of the insufferably asinine BCS.

There have been several coaches who have voiced support for a playoff system. 

The silence regarding this matter is deafening. 

Actions speak louder than words and while the words of many of the coaches scream "Playoff," their actions scream "Disingenuous!"