Update >> On Tuesday evening, the NCAA announced that the Division I Council has approved this rule change.
The decision is not final until the conclusion of the meeting Wednesday, but once official, it will be effective immediately.
The NCAA Division I Council will gather this week to vote on a proposal to formally, finally abolish the limit on coaches who can provide practice and in-game instruction to players at college football's highest level.
The idea is anything but new. The rule was "close to being removed" two years ago, and tabled again last year.
If passed, "any institutional staff member" would be permitted to provide "technical and tactical instruction" to players. FBS teams would still be limited to 11 off-campus recruiters (13 in FBS, and more for service academies), but would not necessarily have to be position coaches and/or coordinators, as is the case today. Off-campus recruiters would be required to "regularly engage in in-campus coaching activities," preventing schools from hiring 10 full-time traveling salesmen to do their recruiting for them.
See the full text of Bylaw 11.7.3 below.
As with many changes sweeping the organization, the NCAA is moving to align with the times and/or avoid lawsuits. The limit on countable coaches has become obsolete with so many Power 4 institutions hiring ever-growing support staff members, guys who weren't hired not to coach.
The Division I Council is comprised primarily of ADs, and chaired by Illinois AD Josh Whitman. Meetings are slated for Tuesday and Wednesday; the full agenda can be seen here.
As alway, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.