The game of football had to evolve to survive. The amount of litigation by former NFL players has really mounted over the years. Many of those lawsuits pertain to concussions. It is the reason only one insurance company will provide coverage to the NFL...only one. The NFL is literally one insurance underwriter away from being completely out of business. The rule changes that have led to the NFL and CFB becoming more like flag football are all related to that (as well as concern over the health of the players). I highly doubt we'll ever reverse course. Without insurance coverage, there would be no NFL as the concussion liabilities and other injury-related claims would be too great.
Big hits and momentum-changing kick returns were some of the most exciting parts of the game. Unfortunately, they are never coming back.