Your athlete just committed. The family group chat is celebrating. Then, three weeks later, you see the headline: the head coach is leaving for another program.
Now what?
Coaching turnover in college sports is at historic rates, and it creates real consequences for recruited athletes who thought their future was settled. This article explains exactly what happens to a commitment when a coach leaves, what rights your athlete has, and how to build a plan that accounts for this possibility from the start.
What a verbal commitment actually means legally (and what it doesn't)
A verbal commitment is a public declaration of intent. It is not a contract. It carries no legal weight, no NCAA enforcement mechanism, and no guarantee from the school.
Either side — the athlete or the program — can walk away at any time, for any reason, with no formal penalty.
This has always been true, but the distinction matters more now than ever. Prior to 2024, the National Letter of Intent (NLI) served as a binding step between a verbal commitment and enrollment. That mechanism no longer exists (more on this below). Today, the only document that formally obligates a school to provide athletic financial aid is the financial aid agreement signed at enrollment.
What a verbal commitment does:
It signals to other programs that your athlete has chosen a school and is no longer actively recruiting. Most coaches will stop recruiting a verbally committed athlete out of professional courtesy — but they are not required to.
What a verbal commitment does not do:
It does not guarantee a roster spot, a scholarship, playing time, or even that the offer will still exist next month. It is a handshake, not a contract.
For the full guide to verbal commitments, including why coaches sometimes pull offers, see our complete verbal commitment breakdown.
What happens to your offer when a coach leaves
This is the core question, and the answer is straightforward: a new coaching staff is not obligated to honor verbal commitments or scholarship offers made by the previous staff.
Here is how it typically plays out:
The new coach evaluates the incoming class.
When a new head coach is hired, one of their first priorities is assessing existing commitments. They will look at every verbally committed recruit and decide — independently — whether that athlete fits their system, scheme, and roster needs.
Some athletes are re-recruited.
The new staff may reach out, reaffirm interest, and essentially re-offer your athlete. This is a good outcome, but it is not guaranteed.
Some athletes are quietly released.
The new staff may communicate — sometimes directly, sometimes through vague signals — that the scholarship offer is no longer available. This can happen through a phone call, a lack of communication, or a staff member suggesting your athlete "explore other options."
The transfer portal complicates things further.
New coaches now have immediate access to the transfer portal, which gives them a parallel recruiting market of college-experienced players. A new staff building quickly may prioritize portal additions over high school recruits, even committed ones.
Your rights when a coaching change happens after a commitment
Because a verbal commitment is non-binding, your athlete's "rights" are practical rather than legal. Here is what your family can and should do:
You can decommit immediately and reopen recruitment.
Your athlete can decommit at any time, for any reason, with no NCAA penalty. A coaching change is one of the most common and well-understood reasons to decommit. No one in the recruiting world will view this negatively.
You can wait and evaluate the new staff.
There is no rush. Your athlete can stay verbally committed while the new coaching staff settles in, then make a decision based on how the new staff communicates and whether they re-extend the offer.
You can contact other programs immediately.
Other coaches understand coaching changes. If your athlete reopens recruitment after a coaching change, programs that previously recruited them will often re-engage. The key is acting promptly — roster spots and scholarship dollars are finite.
You should request a direct conversation with the new staff.
Do not wait for them to come to you. Have your athlete (or their club/high school coach) reach out to the new staff directly and ask where they stand. A clear answer — even an uncomfortable one — is better than weeks of uncertainty.
| Scenario | What typically happens | What you should do |
|---|
| New coach re-offers your athlete | Commitment continues under new staff | Re-evaluate the fit — new coach means new culture, scheme, and development plan |
| New coach is non-committal | Vague responses, delayed communication | Set a deadline for clarity; begin contacting backup programs |
| New coach rescinds or doesn't re-offer | Your athlete's spot is gone | Decommit immediately and reopen recruitment |
| Coaching change happens after financial aid agreement is signed | The school is obligated to honor the aid for that year | Understand that the aid is annual — renewal is not guaranteed |
How to evaluate coaching stability before you commit
You cannot predict every coaching change, but you can assess risk. Before your athlete commits, ask these questions — and take honest stock of the answers.
How long has the head coach been at the program?
A coach in year one or two of a rebuild is statistically more likely to be fired (or to leave for a bigger job) than a coach in year eight of a stable tenure. First- and second-year coaches also carry the highest risk of bringing in transfer portal players who displace incoming recruits.
What is the coach's contract situation?
This is often public information for state-funded universities. A coach entering the final year of a contract with no extension talks is a red flag.
Is the assistant who recruited your athlete likely to stay?
In many sports, your athlete's primary relationship is with a position coach or recruiting coordinator, not the head coach. Assistant coaches change jobs frequently. If the assistant who built the relationship leaves, the dynamic shifts even if the head coach stays.
How does the program perform relative to expectations?
Programs that consistently underperform are more likely to make coaching changes. A program that has missed the postseason for several consecutive years may be approaching a transition.
What is the athletic director's track record?
Some ADs are patient; others make changes quickly. Research recent history at that school.
For a complete list of questions to ask during this evaluation process, see our guide on questions to ask before committing.
The NLI elimination (2024): how it changed commitment dynamics
In 2024, the National Letter of Intent was eliminated. This was a significant structural change that directly affects how commitments work.
What the NLI used to do:
The NLI was a binding agreement between an athlete and a school. Once signed, the athlete was committed to that institution for one year, and the school was committed to providing the agreed-upon athletic aid. Breaking the NLI carried penalties, including sitting out a year of competition at a new school.
What replaced it:
Nothing, in the binding sense. Today, the commitment timeline looks like this:
- Verbal commitment — non-binding, either side can walk away
- Financial aid agreement — signed closer to enrollment, this is the document that obligates the school to provide aid for that academic year
- Enrollment — the athlete arrives on campus
The elimination of the NLI means there is now a longer window of uncertainty between a verbal commitment and a binding agreement. For families worried about coaching changes, this cuts both ways: your athlete has more flexibility to walk away, but the program also has more flexibility to change direction.
The practical impact:
Without the NLI as an intermediate binding step, the verbal commitment period is essentially a prolonged handshake. This makes it even more important to keep backup options alive and to evaluate the full picture — academics, campus fit, financial aid — rather than relying solely on the coaching relationship. When comparing scholarship offers, look at factors that survive a coaching change: the academic program, the conference, the financial aid structure, and the campus itself.
The bottom line
Coaching changes are not rare. They are a normal part of college athletics, and they will continue to be. The families who navigate them best are the ones who planned for the possibility.
Keep backup programs warm.
Until a financial aid agreement is signed, maintain relationships with two or three other programs. You do not need to be actively recruiting — just stay in contact, respond to messages, and keep the door open. This is not disloyal. It is prudent.
Commit to the school, not just the coach.
If your athlete would still want to attend that university even without the current coaching staff, a coaching change is manageable. If the only reason they chose that school is the coach, the commitment is fragile by design.
Understand the financial aid timeline.
Know exactly when the financial aid agreement will be signed and what it covers. Until that document exists, nothing is guaranteed on paper.
Do not panic if it happens.
A coaching change after a commitment is stressful, but it is not a dead end. Athletes decommit and find excellent landing spots every year. The transfer portal, expanded rosters, and increased scholarship limits across many sports mean there are more opportunities available than ever before.
The recruiting process asks families to make high-stakes decisions in an environment with very few guarantees. A coaching change after a commitment is one of the hardest scenarios to face. But understanding the landscape — and building a plan that does not depend on one person keeping one job — puts your family in the strongest possible position.