Loyal to a fault: These 5 teams are paying the price for sticking with familiar faces in 2026

We value loyalty everywhere in our society, from our partners to our pets, but especially within sports.

The players and coaches who stay out of loyalty are beloved. Those who leave are traitors. In college football, the transfer portal and the coaching carousel have especially amplified those feelings. 

But what if loyalty can be … bad? Especially loyalty in the face of evidence that suggests change could be good for all involved?

It's a situation college coaches find themselves in every season. Do they stick with what they know or go for a potential upgrade? There are risks in believing the grass may be greener elsewhere, but there are real risks in not capitalizing on a window to improve the program out of loyalty. 

Misplaced loyalty, in fact, may define two of the bigger disappointments of the 2026 season thus far. 

Oregon and Texas A&M started the season ranked Nos. 2 and 8 in the country, respectively. The Ducks even received 14 first-place votes and were a popular preseason pick to be national champions. It made sense on paper, as Oregon returned star quarterback Dante Moore and other key contributors from a team that reached a College Football Playoff semifinal last season. The expectations weren't quite as high for the Aggies, but they also returned their starting quarterback, Marcel Reed, from a team that made the playoff in 2025. 

Midway through the season, Oregon is 3-2, and Texas A&M is 3-3. The Ducks have already lost to Oklahoma State and UCLA and still must face No. 4 Ohio State and No. 25 Northwestern. It's even worse in College Station, where head coach Mike Elko made national headlines -- he later apologized -- comparing popular fan site TexAgs to a "cesspool" following a 27-6 loss to Missouri.

The common denominator: Opting to promote from within at key positions rather than bring in new voices. 

When Oregon coach Dan Lanning lost his top two coordinators last season -- Will Stein to Kentucky, Tosh Lupoi to Cal -- he promoted two internal assistants to the top spots. From the moment Lanning promoted Drew Mehringer to offensive coordinator, especially, there were questions about whether it made sense. Mehringer had previously had limited success at Rutgers and Texas before bouncing around college football and eventually landing in Eugene. The downgrade from Stein, who is crushing it in Lexington this season, to Mehringer has been apparent. Moore suffering a concussion against USC that kept him out of a loss to UCLA clearly didn't help matters, but the offense looked shaky and out of sorts long before the QB's injury. 

Against Oklahoma State, Oregon was outgained 554-281 and went 5 for 14 on third down and 0 for 3 on fourth down. The lowlight came on Saturday against UCLA, when the Ducks committed a stunning seven turnovers and managed only 272 offensive yards. The preseason popular title pick looks broken, and Lanning's decision to promote Mehringer rather than bring in an outside voice to replace Stein looks like a big part of the problem.

For Texas A&M, it's about more than just promoting an internal assistant (Holmon Wiggins) to replace an outgoing successful coordinator (Collin Klein). Wiggins, who came to A&M from Alabama in 2024, had never been an offensive coordinator or play-caller before Elko entrusted him with the keys to the offense. Through six games, A&M ranks 113th in total offense and 79th in scoring offense. 

The A&M story, however, is not just about loyalty to Wiggins. 

With hindsight, the Aggies' decision to stick with quarterback Marcel Reed rather than seek a more talented option in the transfer portal all but killed A&M's chances of returning to the playoff. 

Through six games, Reed has the worst passer efficiency rating of any Power Four quarterback. Against the Tigers, Reed finished with an 18.1 QBR (that's bad), 187 yards and two interceptions while completing just 19 of his 39 passes. In Texas A&M's three losses, Reed has thrown only one touchdown compared to five interceptions. You expect more from a veteran player making approximately $3 million this season. 

It made sense why Texas A&M stuck with Reed. Elko and his coaching staff were aware of Reed's limitations but loved his leadership and the way he connected with his teammates. Coming off a team that made the playoff with Reed as the starting QB, it would have been bold to go shopping in the portal for a better option. It's what A&M needed to do, however, especially after losing first-round receiver KC Concepcion and four offensive linemen who were drafted in April. The offensive line has taken a clear step back, while Reed hasn't used his legs as effectively as he did in 2024 or 2025.

3 other notable loyalty situations

Steve Sarkisian keeping offensive staff

With an offense that is sputtering and a former five-star quarterback who hasn't taken an expected leap, it's worth another look at Texas coach Steve Sarkisian sticking with his offensive staff. Sark has had three offensive assistants with him from Day 1 in Austin: offensive coordinator/offensive line coach Kyle Flood, assistant head coach/tight ends/special teams coordinator Jeff Banks and co-offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach A.J. Milwee. All three came with Sarkisian from his time working under Nick Saban at Alabama.

The offensive line has been an issue for years at Texas. There are legitimate questions about how Texas develops quarterbacks given the limited growth of five-stars Quinn Ewers and Arch Manning. And the special teams unit has been a disaster this season, especially in last Saturday's Red River Rivalry loss to Oklahoma. The Sooners scored on a blocked punt one game after Texas gave up its first punt return for a touchdown since 2013 in a close win over Tennessee, in which it also botched a recovery attempt at an onsides kick. 

Despite increased criticism, Sarkisian has reiterated his loyalty to his longtime assistants this week. 

"History's the best indicator of the future. We've been good on special teams for quite some time around here," Sarkisian said Monday. "I have a lot of faith in Coach Banks and his schemes and a lot of faith in our players to get that done.

"Sometimes you go through lulls like you do on offense or like you do on defense. I don't question our ability to coach our way out of that." 

That seems to apply to himself, too, as the offensive play-caller. Texas invested significant money in its offense this offseason -- namely receiver Cam Coleman and running back Hollywood Smothers -- and yet the offense still disappoints. Texas manages just 3.66 yards per carry (117th best in the country) and has the worst three-and-out offensive series rate in the SEC at nearly 29 percent.

Perhaps this quote from former president Theodore Roosevelt would be helpful for Sarkisian to consider: "I entirely appreciate loyalty to one's friends, but loyalty to the cause of justice and honor stands above it."

Sticking with John Mateer

Just like Texas A&M, Oklahoma had a decision to make coming off a playoff appearance a season ago. It was even easier to bring John Mateer back, though, given the injury he suffered last season and the way it seemed to derail a promising season. Mateer got jacked this offseason, leading to questions about whether that'd be good or bad for him as a quarterback. 

Thus far, Oklahoma's offense has been a major disappointment. Saturday's electric win over Texas notwithstanding, Mateer hasn't lived up to the expectations this season. In losses to Michigan and Georgia especially, Mateer looked incapable of making the kind of competent throws necessary to win against quality opponents. Oklahoma coach Brent Venables admitted after the Georgia loss that he considered benching Mateer at halftime, though ultimately opted against it. 

The decision to stick with Mateer at this point could be as much about Oklahoma having little to no faith in his backups as it does about the starter. It is worth remembering, though, that Mateer and offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle have a long-standing relationship. While it wasn't a package deal -- OU had to fend off Miami and UNC for the QB -- Arbuckle and Mateer did leave Washington State the same offseason, and both landed in Norman. It's understandable why Arbuckle wouldn't want to bench Mateer given all they've been through together. But OU's win over Texas should actually raise the bar on what is expected of Mateer given the other surrounding pieces; Venables' defense has a knack for scoring on its own and the Sooners' special teams is buttoned-up. 

Dabo Swinney eschews transfer QB

Knowing that Cade Klubnik was off to the NFL, some influential behind-the-scenes figures wanted Clemson coach Dabo Swinney to go out and get a transfer portal quarterback to replace him. 

Instead, Swinney decided to stick with Christopher Vizzina rather than bringing in a veteran option to compete with him. It wasn't a surprise to see Swinney pick loyalty over the transfer portal -- it is a core ethos for the two-time national champion coach -- but it didn't age well. Vizzina really struggled in a 51-10 loss to LSU and was even replaced at one point by true freshman Tait Reynolds.

Vizzina started the following week against Georgia Southern but was replaced after throwing an interception. He was having problems feeling his arm and hasn't played since because of a left elbow injury. His 2026 stat line is 102 passing yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. 

Clemson may have found something in the freshman Reynolds, who has helped guide the Tigers to a 3-2 record. One can't help but wonder what the Clemson offense could look like, though, if Swinney had brought in a veteran option with playing experience rather than trusting in Vizzina, who had attempted 105 total passes as Klubnik's backup. Or if Swinney didn't go back to the friendship well and hire Chad Morris as his offensive coordinator, despite Morris last having offensive success as a play-caller more than a decade ago.