Why We Should Be Glad Jeff Long Will Return as Chairman of CFP Committee

You wanted transparency in the College Football Playoff; you needed transparency in the College Football Playoff; and when you got transparency in the College Football Playoff from selection committee chairman Jeff Long, you complained.

Long, the athletics director for Arkansas and first ever chairman of the committee, appeared on ESPN every Tuesday night down the stretch of the 2014 season and delivered to America not only the top four teams in the College Football Playoff rankings, but reasons the committee ranked teams where it did.

He's back for more.

The College Football Playoff announced on Monday that Long will be back for a second go-round as the front main for the committee. Said Long:

"

I appreciate the confidence that the committee members have shown in me. I am truly honored that they have chosen me to serve in this capacity this coming year. The real strength of this committee is the work that each member does to rank the teams each week and ultimately select the best four teams for the playoff. I am honored to represent them in the role of chair.

"

USA TODAY Sports

College football fans are lucky to have him.

Tim Sharp/Associated Press

Whether you agreed with the rationale of the committee or complained that the members were being hypocritical, Long sat in front of the camera every week and told college football fans exactly what the committee was thinking.

"We thought it would be healthy to tell folks what the committee was thinking rather than hide behind closed doors," College Football Playoff executive director Bill Hancock told B/R in December. "Personally, I still believe that was the right thing to do. What a lot of people missed about this, and Jeff said it every week, this is the way we rank the teams as of today. Because of scheduling, some teams hadn't played the quality of opponents yet."

As B/R national college football lead writer Ben Kercheval noted, Long doubled as America's punching bag on Tuesday nights last fall.

Despite constant criticism from fans who were angry about where their teams were ranked, Long took it in stride knowing that his role was a small one in a much better movement to keep the sport going in the right direction.

"I think it raised the level of interest, excitement and passion for college football a step further than we thought it could go," Long told B/R national college football lead writer Adam Kramer this month. "I wasn’t sure how it was going to move the needle, but it did. We had a successful first year."

See? He gets it.

Long understands the role of chairman, what it means and the inevitable backlash that will come with it.

The committee needs someone to stand up in front of a microphone, take the tough questions, answer them as honest and as forthcoming as possible and then repeat the feat the following week. At times, did Long look uncomfortable during ESPN's standings show? 

Absolutely. 

That's a compliment to Rece Davis and ESPN's crew for asking tough questions that the public wants answers to. 

Long organized and led the voting processes in the way it was designed to operate, gathered the information that was relevant to the public and disclosed it as best as he could.

What more do you want?

Long knew this would be a tough job, performed his duties to the best of his abilities, took the criticism and wants to come back for seconds.

That's the kind of spirit we need in college football.

Barrett Sallee is the lead SEC college football writer and video analyst for Bleacher Report as well as a co-host of the CFB Hangover on Bleacher Report Radio (Sundays, 9-11 a.m. ET) on Sirius 93, XM 208.

Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. All stats are courtesy of cfbstats.com, and all recruiting information is courtesy of 247Sports. Follow Barrett on Twitter @BarrettSallee.