Indiana and Oregon coaches and coordinators juggle transfer portal chaos amid playoff race

ATLANTA — The second year of the 12-team College Football Playoff welcomes a new challenge: It directly coincides with the transfer portal.

In October, the NCAA shifted from two portal windows to one. The 15-day transactional window now spans from January 2-16, giving players and coaches alike just over two weeks to set themselves up for success the following season.

One problem: Four head coaches, eight coordinators and over 400 players are still in the running for a national championship.

Amid a trip to Atlanta, a Peach Bowl appearance and the national title race, Oregon coach Dan Lanning and Indiana coach Curt Cignetti are tasked with optimizing the window and securing top-tier talent. All the while, they have their biggest game of the season ahead.

Both teams last took the field on January 1. Indiana beat Alabama in the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. Oregon rolled past Texas Tech in the Orange Bowl in Miami. The transfer portal opened at midnight, and neither team had set foot back on campus yet.

''(It's) certainly a juggle,'' Lanning said. ''You try to make sure you communicate to the people you're recruiting, ‘Hey, I wish I could pay more attention to you right now, but the reality is, we are really focused on this game, and if you want to be a part of games like this, this is what you have to look forward to, and you'll want my focus to be on this game as well.'"

Both coaches hosted several prospects in the week leading up to the Peach Bowl.

Cignetti and Lanning lean on their coordinators and supporting staff to help with the portal. For Oregon's offensive coordinator, Will Stein, and defensive coordinator, Tosh Lupoi, that means managing two transfer portals for two different institutions.

Stein and Lupoi both accepted head coaching positions at Power Four institutions and will make the full transition after the playoffs. Stein is Kentucky-bound, and Lupoi is headed to Cal Berkeley

The duo is running on fumes, but they're relentlessly focused on the task ahead.

''I was told I look refreshed today, which I have not felt that way, that's for sure,'' Stein said Wednesday night.

''Absolutely wonderful. It's been so awesome. What a great time to have the portal open right now, you know, that makes a whole lot of sense,'' Lupoi added sarcastically.

''One thing I'm not going to do is lack any preparation that I owe to our team and our family here, so that's not going to happen,'' Lupoi said.

Stein thinks the best way to draw attention to Kentucky is by continued success at Oregon.

''I've got a lot of guys back there (in Kentucky) that are helping, but I really just try to stay present. Those guys are doing a hell of a job back there for me, but they also know that the most important thing for that program is for us to be successful here at Oregon because it's a testament to what the blueprint is and how they're going to be successful.''

If Oregon loses on Friday, Lanning, Lupoi and Stein can fully shift focus toward the portal. If the Ducks make the national title game, players will have an extended window from Jan 20-24. In past years, coaches and players would've had another opportunity in the April, but the NCAA eliminated the 15-day spring window in the fall.

"The people that can handle the chaos the best are the people that succeed the most in our sport right now. Is it easy? No, it's not easy for anybody," Stein said. ''But that's what we signed up for. That's why they pay us a lot of money to coach a kids' sport. It's the greatest gig in the world. Somebody told me there's no crying from a yacht, so I'm very blessed and fortunate, and I'm looking forward to this game.''