Of all the issues that currently exist with college football, Georgia head coach Kirby Smart feels one stands out above the rest.
While meeting with the media on Tuesday, Smart gave a lengthy explanation for why he believes the timing of the transfer portal windows has been the biggest problem in college football. There are currently two windows during which players can transfer — one in December and one April. Smart wants there to be only one transfer window, and he says other coaches “unanimously” agree with him.
“The biggest decision that has to be made in college football right now, by far to me, is when is the portal window and is there one or two. … There is a strong contingent, we had an (American Football Coaches Association) meeting. We unanimously decided that there needs to be one portal window — whatever that is it is. It needs to happen sometime in January,” Smart said.
Smart pointed to the fact that teams in the College Football Playoff have to play games while also navigating the December portal window. He said he brought that up and was told there is “no crying from a yacht,” which means teams that are good enough to still be playing in the College Football Playoff should not complain.
“There is an outcry, there is schools, there is different conferences that feel like it should not fall during the playing season,” Smart added. “I would love that. I would love to be able to play the season without it.”
Smart is pushing for there to be one transfer portal window in January. The reason it is currently held in December is because that aligns with schools’ academic calendars. Smart noted how there are instances where high school players enroll early in college, so he believes the NCAA should be able to find a way around that.
You can hear more from the two-time national champion:
Kirby Smart laid out most important thing in the sport right now.
— Trey Wallace (@TreyWallace_) May 27, 2025
"The biggest decision that has to be made in CFB right now, by far to me, is when is the transfer portal window. And is there 1 or 2."
When he brought it up, he was told “There’s no crying from the yacht” pic.twitter.com/3brMreiIoc
You can understand why Smart and others are frustrated over the timing of the portal window. Some players have had to make the difficult decision to leave their school in the middle of a championship run. You can argue that they are under no obligation to do so, but there is only so much NIL money to go around. Those who wait might miss out.
It would not be a surprise if the transfer portal window is moved at some point, but there are no immediate plans in place for that to happen.
