Oregon's Dan Lanning offers what he views as needed fix to college football schedule

The college football calendar continues to create complications for coaches, and Dan Lanning believes the solution is straightforward.

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The Oregon coach said the sport should move its national championship game to New Year's Day and play College Football Playoff games earlier in December. The goal, Lanning explained, is to reduce the overlap between postseason play and the hiring cycle for coaches and staff.

"Our national championship game is Jan. 19," Lanning said, via Dan Wolken of Yahoo Sports. "That's really hard to envision as a coach that's going out and trying to join a new program and start a staff. It's hard for players to understand continuity, visits, the portal and everything else. The clear way to do that is to bump the season up and make sure these games happen a lot faster."

Oregon is dealing with that reality firsthand. Offensive coordinator Will Stein has accepted the head coaching job at Kentucky, while defensive coordinator Tosh Lupoi is set to take over at Cal. Both assistants plan to finish the season with Oregon, but each has acknowledged the challenges of juggling current responsibilities while assembling new staffs.

The situation is compounded by the transfer portal opening Jan. 2, before the season concludes. Schools want head coaches in place as quickly as possible, which often leads to moves being made while playoff teams are still competing.

Lanning's proposal would likely require teams to start the season earlier. In his view, that tradeoff could be worth it if it brings clarity and stability to a process that has become increasingly difficult to manage.