On Thursday Afternoon, the College Football Playoff committee took a drastic turn as reports came out that Baylor AD Mack Rhoades was taking a leave of absence amid an investigation. The news has a critical impact on the College Football Playoff as Mack Rhoades was currently serving as the chair of the committee. As the leader and the spokesperson for the committee also stepped down from his role with the Playoff, it created an immediate hole.
Heather Dinich breaks down next steps on The Pat McAfee Show
On Thursday Morning after the news of Mack Rhoades resignation broke, ESPN College Football analyst Heather Dinich joined Pat McAfee on his show to break down the next steps.
While Arkansas Athletic Director Hunter Yurachek has been nominated to fill the role of the new chair, it'll be interesting to follow the next few days as Dinich believes it's more likely a Big 12 AD fills the role. The BIg 12 has already nominated Utah Athletic Director Mark Harlan to join the committee.
"The chair is open and the most likely scenario is that Mack Rhoades will be replaced by another Big 12 athletic director."Heather Dinich
The terms around the Mack Rhoades investigation that led to his leave of absence remain unclear, but Baylor confirmed that they don't relate to Title IX, student welfare, the football program, or the NCAA.
"Baylor did confirm to ESPN today that they received allegations on Monday involving Rhoades, but that does not including anything about Title IX, student welfare, NCAA, and does not involve the football program."Heather Dinich
The committee has to move quickly as they'll unveil new rankings in less than a week while Selection Sunday is less than a month away.
"What is going to happen is the CFP is going to replace that seat the seat of the chair and they've got to do it quickly. What will happen is the Big 12 commissioner will nominate somebody and the rest of the commissioners will approve it."Heather Dinich
The change happening so late in the season is the biggest factor in all of this as the committee has already released two sets of rankings and the concern will be that adding a new voice could drastically shift the conversation. It's unclear when the committee will name a new chair or who will be added to the committee, but it likely has to happen before the games kick off this weekend.