Yeah, I think the Elite system (and the lack of a playoff) is what keeps a lot of coaches out of D1A. I only play in one world, but a lot of the coaches who have been at the Elite schools have been there for a long time and a lot of them are doing a really poor job.
Oklahoma has 0 top 10 finishes during their current coach's 15 season tenure.
Miami has had the same coach for close to 40 seasons and has only one top 10 in the last 15 seasons.
The ND coach has been there close to 60 seasons and has 2 Conference Championships. The last 4 seasons they finished 31,38,26,33.