Jeff Monken Offers the Logistics Fix College Football Desperately Needs

You look at the calendar for the 2026 season, and you see the national championship scheduled for January 25, 2027. That isn’t a football schedule; that is a siege. By the time you get to that final gun, you’re looking at young men who have been grinding in the weight room since the previous January, running through spring ball, sweating through summer camp, and then battering each other for five straight months. The human body has a warranty, and asking it to perform at elite levels that late in the winter is pushing the expiration date.

That is why Jeff Monken’s comments this week weren’t just interesting soundbites—they were the most sensible logistical adjustment anyone has proposed in years. The Army head coach suggested moving the Army-Navy game from its standalone spot on the second Saturday in December to Thanksgiving weekend. It sounds like a simple calendar swap, but mechanically, it unlocks the entire postseason bottleneck.

Here is the reality of the situation. The College Football Playoff cannot start earlier because the Army-Navy game occupies that second weekend in December. The powers that be are rightfully terrified of moving a national institution and being labeled disrespectful to the academies. So, we sit around waiting, stretching the season out like a piece of old elastic until it snaps in late January.

Monken, a man who understands that sentimentality doesn't win ballgames, offered a trade. He told The Athletic he’d move the game to Thanksgiving weekend—Black Friday or Saturday—if the networks guaranteed a four-hour exclusive block. No other games. Just Army and Navy.

From an operational standpoint, this is the only play that makes sense. If you move Army-Navy up, you clear the runway to start the playoff first round on December 11 or 12. That lets you play the quarterfinals the next week, the semifinals on New Year's Day, and wrap the whole thing up by January 11. That saves two weeks of wear and tear. That is two fewer weeks of keeping a roster healthy, two fewer weeks of tuition costs, and two fewer weeks of asking fans to book flights.

Monken was honest about his motivation, and I respect that. He noted that as an AAC member, Army wants a shot at the playoff. Under the current structure, if Army makes the field, they are looking at a logistical nightmare—playing their biggest rival one week and trying to turn around for a playoff game shortly after. Or worse, having the committee force them to choose between tradition and a title shot.

"We want to do both," Monken said. "So the only way we can do both is to move the Army-Navy game to Thanksgiving weekend."

Some traditionalists will howl about losing that isolated Saturday in December. I get it. Routine is comfortable. But in this sport, you either adapt your schedule or you get left behind by it. The conference championship games aren't moving; the SEC and Big Ten made that clear with their viewership numbers. The networks aren't going to ask for less inventory. The only movable piece on the board that solves the compression issue is Army-Navy.

Monken is looking at the map and seeing the most efficient route from point A to point B. It protects the rivalry’s exposure, it allows the academies to compete for a national title without a handicap, and it saves the rest of the sport from playing football in late January.

Sometimes honoring tradition means ensuring the game can actually function in the modern era. Monken just drew up the winning play.