With a new early signing period that happens in December, coaches are increasingly under more stress on the recruiting trails.

The recruiting calendar is now nearly a year-round affair. Yes, coaches are compensated by the millions of dollars, and assistants often make hundreds of thousands of dollars, but still, family time is something you can’t put a price tag on.

During a recent appearance at the Texas High School Coaches Association Convention, Fisher and Texas coach Tom Herman discussed how difficult it is to find time to get away from the grind (via 247Sports):

“It’s hard now,” Fisher said. “When do you have enough family time? When are you taking vacation? Do you get a vacation? Do you cut it back? … We’re dealing with official visits in April, May and June. Every weekend there’s official visits so coaches are there. You’ve got them in December and January. You’re playing in the fall. You’ve got spring ball. Every weekend you’ve got unofficial visitors coming.

“You only get three or four weekends, when you get both days off, all year with you family. Think about that. They say, ‘Well, you make a lot of money.’ That’s all great. But you’ve got family and everything else in the world to think about. That’s the schedule we’re dealing with.”

Fisher has a solution to the issue, but it’s a bit radical, and would change the college football recruiting landscape dramatically once again:

“The Early Signing Period I do think is a good thing, I really do,” Fisher said. “But my suggestion was to have it at the end of July. When you’re coming into the season, it takes a heck of a weight off your (coaches). You’re taking a big weight of actual phone calls off your assistant coaches and you can really hone down on the guys who aren’t signed in your class.

“That gives you a bit of time to recover during the season if you’re behind.”

That’s an interesting take. The December early signing period is still new, so we’ll see if the NCAA is open to adjusting it a bit to give coaches a bit more free time.