I am too lazy to search for the post but I always thought the elite system---if you are going to have a fixed elite system---was implemented in a silly, noncreative way. The Notre Dame, Alabama, USC, etc., etc. of the worlds will ALWAYS have takers. Even if the're "abandoned." I never understood from a business standpoint why you would essentially have customers claim those teams and keep them with even minimal success. And usually play for free off the reward points. $HIT, they could probably charge double for each season at an elite and there would always be takers.
Here's some things that they could do:
(1) Substantially increase the firing standards. If you can't be elite, at an elite, then you shouldn't be coaching an elite. Top 15 every year or you drop. A level five bowl appearance every year or you drop. A level five bowl win every two years or you drop. Whatever those metrics may be. Increased firings will stir the pot and can give some incentive for guys to stick around DIA if they think there is a reasonable chance in the near future to have an elite open up;
(2) Change reward points at elites. Taking ND to a level 3 and taking Kent State a level 3 is not the same thing.
(3) Increase reward points at non-elites. Fill the worlds. Give guys an incentive to coach Montana, Middle Tennesse State
(4) Increase reward points for "rebuilds." Turning around schools adds to the quality of the world. And then someone can come in and cherry pick.
(5) Make offers to successful coaches to switch schools with deals. A coach has a nice run at Georgia and he gets an email offer at the end of the season to take over some dormat or underachiever. E.g., Come take over Purdue and turn this program around. Then give him metrics with reward points tied in. Bowl win in year 2 = x reward points, etc. This, I believe, would increase populations because some coaches would move and others would cherrypick a successful program left behind.
(6) Possibly tweak the firing formula based on the quality of available candidates. In a vacuum, a coach's performance might not be be that bad to get fired. But, if the coach at Boston College ranks #1, wins an NC, and the ND coach loses a level 3 twice in a row in the same season...ND makes the switch. "Sorry coach, a decent run but we have a commitment from a championship-level coach." Coaches, before each season, could list a top three schools that they would commit to switching if an offer was made.