Why Houston Dale Had To Go

November 27, 2007 by HogBlogger

I worked with a guy once who would routinely remind me often that, “there’s no such thing as coincidence.” I was never able to prove him wrong.

There are two major ‘coincidences’ that led to Monday’s ‘resignation.’

The E-Mail Situation. December 7th — A day in history that lives “in infamy” — was also the day that Teresa Prewett managed (within a one hour time period, mind you) to talk to both Houston Dale and Danny Nutt, e-mail Mitch Mustain, and then forward the Mustain e-mail to Diana Nutt, Carla Nutt (Danny’s wife), and Lisa Herring (Reggie’s wife). The e-mail contained the following:

“Too bad I’m not Coach Nutt today. If so, I’d be having Tim Cheney sew lace around your jock straps, but that would be after I let you hang out face to face in a private meeting with the offensive and defensive lineman — I think I’d even throw Butu in for the meeting. Did I mention that I want you to transfer?”

December 8th, 2006 — In a ‘players only’ meeting, Sam Olajubutu leads the seniors in addressing Mitch Mustain.

The menu of possible interpretations of this includes: a) coincidence; b) plot; or c) Houston Dale and Danny trying to calm Teresa down.

January 5, 2007 — Houston Dale was asked by John White to investigate his wife’s involvement in any e-mails regarding Mitch Mustain.

January 18th, 2007 – A John White letter to Beck Campbell (Mitch Mustain’s mother) states that: “Nutt and Mr. Broyles said they had not seen and were unaware of Prewett’s email to your son.”

At this point, the menu features the additional selections (available following the main entrée) of: d) a complete lack of pillow talk or other communication between Houston Dale and Diana; e) a similar lack between Danny and Reggie and their wives; f) a complete lack of issue recognition among possibly three coaches and each of their wives; g) a failure of the three coaches to communicate with each other; or h) any, all or most of the above.

“Bring the wood” is apparently a family thing. May 27, 2007 — In an e-mail from Houston Nutt’s personal account, the writer (assumedly Diana Nutt) mentions a July, 2002 attack on Beck Campbell (where she was beaten with a 2 x 4 by some former tenants) and states, “but I wish I were one of them.”

John White said at Monday’s press conference that he had met with Houston Dale in the week following the South Carolina game. At that time, White offered to remove the “golden handcuffs” on Nutt’s contract that paved the way for his eventual ‘resignation‘ to “unite the fan base.”

The contents of Diana Nutt’s e-mail were published later that same week. Two days later at the Tennessee game, Houston Dale was noticeably melancholy before and during the game, and his team seemed ill-prepared to face the Volunteers.

—————

It’s easy to say that the real issue was that a small group of fans were simply out to get Houston Dale…but that is a total cop-out. The things I’ve mentioned above are part of the public record today and have been so for quite a while. These things alone are enough to justify why Houston Dale had to go. No fan caused his, or his wife, or his coaches, or their wives, involvement in the e-mails. Houston and Diana Nutt did this to themselves.

When a coach and his family signs up for the coaching life, an element of ‘trust’ is a part of the deal. There can be little difference found between the actions of the coach themselves and the actions of the wives. The wife of any head coach — much less a major college head coach — should by definition have known better.

It’s obvious that, when this all came to light, the appropriate taking of responsibility and public statements of apology were not made. Some would argue that the real issue with this whole situation is that some dumb fans made FOI requests. After all, many players get hateful e-mails. And the coaches can’t control that. And…you know…Mitch and Gus and that bunch…they were just out to get poor Houston Dale.

While it’s true that players occasionally get hateful or hurtful e-mails and letters from fans, the fact that the wives of the coaches participated in the e-mail circus makes it a much different situation. Whether or not the actual coaches knew about their wives involvement is really a moot point.

Whatever the situation was with Mitch Mustain, it was wrong for the coaches’ wives to participate as they did. It is hard for even the casual observer to believe they did it without the knowledge of their husbands. It is equally hard to believe, considering the mountain of e-mail and text evidence, that Houston Dale and Danny were truly ignorant of what was going on.

The seven deadly sins (in order of decreasing magnitude) are said to be pride, envy, anger, sloth, greed, gluttony, and lust. When you bring several of those into play, things don’t tend to turn out well.

Yes, it does matter whether or not you win or lose. But it also still matters how you play the game.

And it matters more how you represent the game.

Filed Under: Football, Razorbacks
Tagged: danny nutt, houston nutt, john white, mitch mustain

Comments

78 Responses to “Why Houston Dale Had To Go”

OwassoHog on November 27th, 2007 9:38 am

Oh, how true!

I guess another point to taken here is that Houston was hired not only as the Head Coach but as an ambassador for the University of Arkansas (in particular, the Razorback sports programs). As a coach, I believe that he did ok but he wasn’t going to put together a power house program year after year. If fact, Houston’s record of 42-40 wins in the SEC conference speaks for volumes about his abilities to generate much fan loyalty at Arkansas.

However, as an ambassador for the Razorback program (and especially the unhappy fans), he failed miserably! Thus, one of the main problems that led to fan dissatisfaction.

I do wish him well. But more importantly, I hope that Houston learns from his mistakes and gains some life changing experiences from these trials.
BL on November 27th, 2007 9:49 am

Papers in Miss. are already reporting that Nutt will named next Ole Miss coach later today. They obviously had an agreement with him before firing Orgeron. Must be nice to have a coach lined up before you lose one.
T-towner on November 27th, 2007 10:07 am

This is obviously Grand Orchestration from on high. How high depends on your philosophic and spiritual beliefs!

A friend in South Carolina just asked me what happened as the perception was that Nutt did an OK+ job. Here is what I sent him:

“Nutt caused some serious dissension in the ranks by running off his OC from last year that he had just hired to implement a more competitive passing attack to complement our world-class rushing game. The OC and three of his boys from Sprindale, Arkansas high school all left, including the player of the year for all of the USA (according to Parade, USA Today and Rivals) for greener pastures. Not a huge deal until the story broke that there was an email chain involving Nutt’s wife that was very, very critical and vulgar. It was directed from a woman in Little Rock who was a personal friend of the Nutts to Mitch Mustain the freshman QB who had only won his first 8 starts only to be benched when his first pass against South Carolina was intercepted. He is now sitting out at USC West.

Then Nutt claimed that he had no knowledge of these emails until the story broke right after Mustain declared his desire to transfer. This was not credible. And, as a part of the public scrutiny of the email and phone records, it came out that Nutt had sent over 1100 text messages from his cell phone to single woman in Fort Smith who happens to be a news anchor on TV. Nutt and his wife claimed that this relationship was normal!

Then we lost very winnable games to Alabama, Kentucky and Auburn. We got killed at Tennessee. Lots of unhappiness with Nutt’s personal decorum and the on the field results were not as good as most Hog fans believed were reasonable.

Heard enough on this?”

Kinda concurs with this post, which I find to be spot on!
seth on November 27th, 2007 10:44 am

Great post HogBlogger. Great post.
BlindHog on November 27th, 2007 12:14 pm

Nice job Hogblogger. You guys do a great job and I really appreciate your insight and your effort.

Dale was the victim of his own immaturity and lack of character. He brought this all on himself, no one else.

It does feel strange after the big win at LSU. Like all of Houston’s big wins it meant nothing in the big picture but it does cast a pall on what would otherwise be a pretty consistently happy outcome overall.

Frank was right about one thing. Dale was a teacher and a motivator. He was clearly not an X and O guy. Why he wanted be his own OC is a real ego run amok. His play it close and hope for the best style was boring to the extreme and won games mostly against teams that were overlooking us.

Dale was better than Jack Crowe and Danny Ford. He did put the program on a stronger footing and built national respect for the program again but only as a tough over achiever that you did not want to play on the way to a good season. With 5 chances in 10 years to achieve something significant he came up short each time.

The big worry is whether we can get someone as good. If we can’t find anyone better than Nutt then we need a new AD. I suppose it is possible to get someone worse but if you look at Nutt’s actual accomplishments it does not seem likely.
Mike in Magnolia on November 27th, 2007 12:31 pm

Thanks for the Post HogBlogger. As it is in life changes are inevitable. Sometimes Change is good. I believe this to be the case with the Football program. I liken this to Coach Heath leaving. I wish Coach Nutt the best and am excited about the future of the football program. I don’t believe it to be has bad as my wife predicted, “the best 10 years are now behind us.” I take a much more possitvie outlook. “Our best 10 years are ahead of us.”
I just would like in my life time to play for one national championship. This has the potential of happening now.
Reason Rules on November 27th, 2007 12:55 pm

Yesterday’s big goodby was a load of horsecrap. He gets to keep all his money as if he got fired and then takes Ole Miss job in less than a day. All this was a big load of hooey for everybody to save face.

Somebody tell Frank that Saban wasn’t at LSU last year.
HogBaller on November 27th, 2007 1:07 pm

Excellent take as usual HogBlogger. Bravo!
BlindHog on November 27th, 2007 2:05 pm

It does occur to me that there were layers upon layers of power shifting and power struggle between the unseating of Frank and control on and off of the Board and in the Athletic Department and even in Springdale circles of influence. Playing several sides against the middle may have become a real ‘who’s your daddy’ deal for several of the players involved.

I can’t help but wonder how much of the real story in all of this is still missing. Very little of it really makes sense. All of these people can’t be as stupid as they look and hold the power and position that they do, can they?

Dale comes off looking like the mad genius or the luckiest man around considering the pile he was sitting in two weeks ago.
Mike in Magnolia on November 27th, 2007 2:17 pm

Does all the drama matter anymore? How long will it take us to get over all the drama the Uof A created over the last 12 months? I’m reminded of what my children use to tell me when they had a pain, “make it go away Daddy” Maybe the new coach can make it go away.
BlindHog on November 27th, 2007 2:43 pm

Amen Mike. it is time to talk football, watch football, and argue about winning and losing instead of who shot john.
DieingHog on November 27th, 2007 2:56 pm

I wish HDN the best. I must say though having him out does not seem as sweet as I thought it would be. HDN although never made it to the big dance got the most out of the 1and 2 star recruits thats were brought in. I don’t see a big time coach coming into a situation like ours. I mean the program has been frowned upon these last few years and our fans do expect alot out of there coach and if we don’t get it we will do whatevers in our power to have the coach removed with that and the fact that the big time talent will be gone next year who would want to walk right into a loseing season with hostile fans even though we are rebuilding.
BlindHog on November 27th, 2007 3:58 pm

ON the other hand Mike, how about instead of not talking about the steaming pile, how about if there is just not one to talk about. Some want to make this about the fans. It is about those in authority.

DH, I was mostly happy with Dale for many years. It was only when he showed his hind end acted the weasel that I was not willing to put up with his mediocre coaching. Our fans will be 100 per cent behind a good, honest, hardworking football guy who takes care of his kids and gets the most out of them. This is the SEC baby. Miss St won at Auburn, Arkansas won at Baton Rouge. There may not be national champ out of this league again until the playoffs and then we may win it every year.
mike in magnolia on November 27th, 2007 4:12 pm

I agree with you Blindhog. I was to a Nutt guy for many years but when he began to sound like “The Nature Boy, Rick Flair” during interviews it was more than I could take.
GonzoHog on November 27th, 2007 4:49 pm

I think it’s great Nutt is going to Ole Miss. That’s the best news I could have heard! I don’t care what anybody say’s, Ed Orjeron had the Rebels going in the right direction, and should’ve gotten one more year to prove it. His offense was balanced, and his best talent was yet to come. When Nutt and his agent went shopping about 2 weeks ago, they probably found out around that time that Orgeron was on his way out. What a great opportunity! This was exactly what the doctor ordered, with the mess Nutt created in Arkansas. I can’t wait to see what they think of this guy in about 3 more years! I wonder if this so-called “patriot” of Arkansas has talked to, or will talk with some of his top recruits he had coming to Fayetteville next year, about possibly becoming a Rebel? I’ll bet money he does! Speaking of money, does anyone believe The senerio in Fayetteville yesterday didn’t have anything to do with money? Nutt will accrue 3.5 million $$$ to resign. Why? Because the administration didn’t want to fire him, they say. Nutt had already stated last week they would have to fire him, so any nitwit ought to be able to figure out he had this money coming anyway. The only thing different that happened yesterday, was the UofA officials said Houston resigned because this makes him look like a good guy, doing the right thing for the program he loves, and it gives Chancellor White and Frank Broyles the squeaky clean image of the guys that said, here Houston, go ahead and take the money, you deserve it. How convienent! All 3 of these guys are weasels!! They all need to go!!
jc on November 27th, 2007 6:08 pm

blah blah blah…let us reserve judgment until after the new coach is hired. then we’ll know whether it was a good move or not.

everything else is just cannon fodder.
darrell(Hog in LA) on November 27th, 2007 7:32 pm

Mike in Magnolia, that is too funny. The Nature Boy Rick Flair! So true, That Ole Miss hire is simply the dumbest move compound by and even dumber move of letting go David Cutcliff? They finished 10-2 and he got let go and they think we are unrealistic. Let’s wait and see what coach they get and who he hires. I think the in coming recruits are holding judgement until they see who gets to stay on the current staff and what system they will run. I just want someone who can teach the art of the forward pass.
Guinness Snout on November 27th, 2007 8:14 pm

I guess Mike Slive should be happy. If we hire the 8th best coach in the SEC, we have, in essence, improved the overall quality of SEC coaches by moving #8 to the ninth slot.
10KHog on November 27th, 2007 9:05 pm

New T-Shirts…

Erase the Mistake in ‘98!!!

Hire Tommy T.
M Lloud on November 28th, 2007 12:15 am

“Yes, it does matter whether or not you win or lose. But it also still matters how you play the game.

And it matters more how you represent the game.”

Great story; sweet close!
LR.72211 on November 28th, 2007 12:36 am

You guys expecting multiple SEC championships, not to mention multiple national championships, remind me of Texas A&M supporters - the program may never get there, but you can still demand it. What you fail to recognize is that a) if you knew as much as you think you do, you would be coaching in the SEC, not posting to a blog, b) you offer no proof about the Mitch Mustain matter, only conjecture and assumptions, none of which can be proven, c) no good coach is going to put up with some freshman’s mama demanding that a program be built around her boy, no matter how good he is. An 18 year-old kid who did great in high school does not guarantee he will go on to bigger and better accomplishments at the college level. Maybe some of you older guys remember Super Bill Bradley, one of the greatest high school players to ever come out of the state of Texas, d) you don’t even know how to give it up once you have gotten what you want. Now that Nutt is leaving you no longer have to convince your fellow bloggers that you were right all along, and d) in spite of all that has happened, the question remains as to whether Arkansas will be able to compete year in and year out with the power houses in the SEC. We all think they can and hope they will. But you guys have to admit that you have participated in a very public attack on our coach, and that in itself will make it more difficult to get the kind of coach you want. In D1 college football, it is all about winning. The one bright spot is that the Razorback
Foundation has the money necessary to get the best coach money can buy.
GonzoHog on November 28th, 2007 4:41 am

LR.72211: Since it’s only conjecture and assumptions some of the posters have been blurting off, then it must be the same thing when you say it. What makes you the expert on this matter and everyone else the idiot? You make no logic by saying that MM’s “mommie” wanted the program to evolve around her son, when you have no proof that was true. The only thing we know for sure was the fact that there was a meeting between Frank Broyles and 3 parents, that had to do with the direction of the offense. Would you care to offer any proof that you know more about that meeting?
GonzoHog on November 28th, 2007 4:48 am

Speaking of the foundation, is this the same foundation that Nutt doesn’t have to pay $ 500,000 back to, now that he’s the Ole Miss Head Coach? That’s wonderful. I love the sqeaky clean front White and Broyles are putting up for themselves. Now they won’t have to take a shower.
Okie hog on November 28th, 2007 5:32 am

Wow Gonzohog, you guys get what you want and its still not good enough. Broyles is out Nutt is gone and your still gripeing. Was 3.5 million worth what you wanted or is it coming out of your pocket? With all the complaining and whining wanting HDN gone I would have thought you would have paid anything. He is gone try to be happy about it you got what you wanted for Christmas!!!
BlindHog on November 28th, 2007 9:48 am

Personally, I’m glad he is gone under any circumstances. No hard feelings.

Most of the problems on and off the field were really Frank’s meddlin’. Dale was just weasel enough to play that game. But, he was paid handsomely for his trouble. Now they are both gone. Maybe we can get back to coaching and playing and hopefully winning.

He is Ole Miss’ problem now. Wait until next year will become the new Ole Miss battle cry. I know there new big time QB is anxious to see the new offense.

Good riddance and good luck.
Jim Daly Sr. on November 28th, 2007 9:55 am

Whose gripping? Good reply Gonzo. If you are satisfied with mediocrity then mediocrity is what you’ll get. If you aspire to greater heights then at least you’ll have the opportunity to reach those heights. I would suggest that those mediocrocrats blogging here visit Fayeteville and observe the athletic facilites there. They are first class and can compete with any school in the country. We have a passionate fan base and first dibs on in-state talent (the idea that Arkansas doesn’t have the football talent pool is a myth perpetrated to rationalize poor recruiting) and money to back the program.

I for one do not accept mediocrity. As for gripping, I believe it’s the Nutt supporters who are dicombobulated and complaining as well as being the oracles of doom and gloom for the program. If the Hogs have problems winning next year it will be because of the “wonderful” recruiting job that Nutt has done* and that maybe the major factor, other than money, in attracting a head coach. By the way,Arlkansas is not unique in the pressures being put on winning. Even Lloyd Carr saw the handwritting on the wall. One of these days, and it could be soon, Penn State fans will even be calling for Joe Pa’s retirement.

*Maybe the term should be derecruiting given the talent Nutt has run off along with the potential QB and receiver recruits who were discouraged by the Mustain and Williams affair. Regarding the effect on Razorback signees going elsewhere: There is always good to oppose the bad. Where else, the arguement can be made, can you go with the possibility of starting or playing right away? (Not that it would happen, but it makes a good selling point to a young man who thinks he’s ready and good enough to conquer the world). .
Hawgfan100 on November 28th, 2007 12:43 pm

Let me see if I’ve got this straight: you advocate telling recruits they’ll get immediate playing time if it will keep them committed? But thenyou say: “Not that it would happen. but it makes a good selling point…” Hmmmmm, sounds a lot like lying about a recruit’s playing time to get him signed up to me. Isn’t that something HDN was jumped all over for supposedly doing?
Tulane Hog on November 28th, 2007 12:51 pm

The most difficult part about this is that everybody knows that Houston was good for the program. After bumbling in mediocrity for the first part of the 90’s Ark found itself in the same position in which Mississippi finds itself now, and Houston was brought to Ark to do exactly what Mississippi is asking him to do now, bring a program back to respectability. Unfortunately for Ark, and now MS, that is the limit of Houston’s abilities. These limits have been apparent for a several years, but were brought into particularly sharp relief by the on and off field performance of the last two years. Take a moment and ask yourself what Lane Kiffin or Tommy Tuberville would do with Darren Mcfadden, Felix Jones, and Markus Monk, and if you mind goes to the lack of an effective QB, ask yourself if Casey Dick is really that much worse than John Parker Wilson, Brandon Cox, or that boy from SC, the truth is that he isn’t any worse, and Mitch Mustain certainly wasn’t. It is difficult to fault Houston for these failures because without the success and players he brought, the program might have never reached heights to make back-to-back 10-3 and 8-4 season so unbearable. However, AR is no longer a C job, as it was when Houston took it, Its now a B to B+ job, a program in a position to take the next step, similar to LSU before Nick Saban. But make no mistake, the wrong coach could erase all the progress Houston made, and leave the University and State mired in mediocrity for another 5-10 years.
Mike in Magnolia on November 28th, 2007 12:54 pm

One thought and see how the rest feel about this. I was looking at Casey Dicks stats for the season and was rather suprised how well he really did. I understand that it was not a wide open offence but yet they were almost respectible. His pass completion percentage was around 57%. But for some strange reason to me it didn’t seem like it. He passed for only 1400 yards which wouldnt make Coach Leech drool but I didn;t think he even through for that much. I guess my question would be, Is he good enough with proper coaching to be someone to build on for next year even though he will be a senior? What do ya’ll think? Just curious
darrell(Hog in LA) on November 28th, 2007 1:21 pm

Mike in Magnolia, if Mike Leach is indeed the coach then yes I think he could possibly get Casey over 2500 yards in passing next year, his system seems to be fool proof. Unfortunately word out here on the West coast is if Dorrell at UCLA gets blown off the field this weekend(probably so) then UCLA is going after Mike Leach immediately. UCLA believe it or not has just as much talent as USC but they don’t seem to get much out of it. I would have love to have seen if Gus could have stayed and been giving the greenlight, Casey could have been all conference. He seemed comfortable sometimes in the pocket and sometimes not.
OwassoHog on November 28th, 2007 1:57 pm

Anybody watch the Ole’ Miss announcement today? I think there are a number of things said that really confirmed to me that we are headed in the right direction without Houston. Unfortunately, it cost us plenty to take Houston out - thanks John and Frank! It really bothers me that John feels that Houston deserved this payoff. I can understand why you would release Houston from the $500,000 fee to coach elsewhere but paying him to leave - not smart (the total amount that is) in my opinion.
HogBlogger on November 28th, 2007 2:13 pm

Mike in Magnolia - I think the issues with the passing game were more in the coaches confidence in the overall passing game and in what Casey was being asked to do. I think he is pretty capable. The only way to get better in passing in real games is to pass in real games. Things got much better after they ‘let it go’ and had a more diverse offense. A multiple weapons approach was much better than a DMac tailback oriented attack. DMac got a whole lot more yards in less carries by not being the main feature of the offense.

The reason we are 8-4 rather than at least a couple of SEC games better was the defense. The offense was plenty good enough over the course of the Alabama and Kentucky games to win. I think it could have been better, but it wasn’t the issue. Lack of offense was an issue in the Auburn game. For Tennessee, we just didn’t show up except for the 3rd quarter. Casey’s performance in that quarter was excellent - more of a factor of the play selection than anything, as that stuff had been there all day. Giving up on Casey at the end of the 3rd quarter was uncalled for in my opinion, but was the head coach’s right. Obviously that game was really lost to the ‘handwriting on the wall’ that was playing out that week.

Based on record the past two years Houston Dale should have been allowed to stay. Running off Gus - a coach - is actually something that happens in the big leagues. Got to expect those things occasionally. Rub of the green. Having the head coach’s wife seeming to be taking part in attacking a player and the players immediate family can’t be looked past.

This deal was actually not about football. If we were only talking football he should have and would have stayed.
HogBlogger on November 28th, 2007 2:17 pm

Blind - I’m with you in believing that Coach Broyles looking over the head coach’s shoulder and the head coach wanting to please Coach Broyles or having to follow his dictates has been a problem. For Hatfield, Ford, and Houston Dale. Holtz just made him jealous and made the wrong TV commercial.

Both Gus’ friends and Houston Dale’s friends played negative roles in the whole situation as well. While they may have meant well, they both have huge blame in the overall mess. As in most bad situations, there are sins all around.
Mike in Magnolia on November 28th, 2007 3:10 pm

One of the great things about being a sports fan is after the season you can start dreaming about what it might be like next year. I can remember as a kid growing up in Michigan I would get out my tiger baseball cards after the season and think about them winning the world series the next year, which I might add didn’t happen much. But there was always tomorrow. I have found myself getting almost giddy about the possibilities of the next coach and what it could be like. Not to be overly spiritual but to quote the Apostle Paul, ” Forgetting those thing which are behind…….” SO I choose to focus on the future with great anticapation.
OwassoHog on November 28th, 2007 3:20 pm

HogBlogger, you indicated that “this deal was actually not about football.” I agree and disagree both. Going in to the two losing seasons, some fans gave up on Houston. After they came to new terms after the second losing season, there wasn’t much that could be done. Also, the excitement that came along with Gus, Mitch, etc. bought some time. Obviously, the time was short lived as the “soap” opera kicked into high gear and thinks feel about quickly after that.

So, I believe that it started out about football with the boring play that Houston used going into (and including the losing seasons) but it really turned quickly into non-football issues last year.
OwassoHog on November 28th, 2007 3:29 pm

Mike, I totally agree! I’m already thinking about next year. Personally, I felt like Houston should have left sooner. However, once some changes were announced a couple of years ago, I was ok with seeing how things played out. As it turns out, not too good (in my view). Based upon what happened last year and some early actions this year, I was confident that Houston wouldn’t be around much longer. So, I wasn’t worried about the timing too much. Having said that, I also agreed with HogBlogger that 10-4 and 8-4 are probably good enough to normally not worry about a coaching change. It’s just all of the other stuff that finally did Houston in.
LR.72211 on November 28th, 2007 3:43 pm

GonzoHog. Didn’t realize you were so sensitive about the Springdale bunch. I understood from the articles I have read that Mitch’s mama and the parent(s) of the other two players went to Broyles because the parents understood that Nutt would put in place the offense these boys were used to running at Springdale High School. No I was not in the meeting. What I do know is that none of these kids is at UofA now. Nor is their leader. It is plainly obvious that MM and the others did not foresee HDN changing his offense to use these players in a way that was acceptable to MM and the other parents. I did not claim to be an expert on the issue, and I certainly did not say anyone was an idiot. Those are your words.
BlindHog on November 28th, 2007 3:44 pm

I’ve said all along that Gus and Mitch were no fit for Dale’s offense. Whoever sold that mess in the first place had to be crazy. Three local heroes with different agendas and different bans of local followers who knew each other by name, forced together in an unholy marriage. How did anyone think that that was going to work?

But, according to the basic rules of the game Dale was the person responsible for the program and he has to be held responsible for the mess. He played along plenty and possessed none of the skill for that game he showed in kissing Frank’s ring.

So, alls well that ends well.

Dale has a pot full of money. Gus has the number one offense in the nation, and Mitch will play for a national title in TV land. I just hope poor old Arkansas gets a boost out of this deal too.

What do we know about Lane Kiffin?
BlindHog on November 28th, 2007 3:54 pm

The fans were happy when the Nebraska plane left Fayetteville empty and I think knew they were in for a rebuilding effort after the very talented 03 team tanked and left town.

Poor coaching decisions kept a couple of teams that could have easily gone 6-5 out of bowl games and highlighted Dale’s poor game day skills. Sticking with Rojo was a real killer. Dale had more blind spots than most folks but it is hard to see how a D-1 football coach could not understand the importance of the QB position. Especially as a QB himself.

I would love to see you guys do an indepth analysis of that.
darrell(Hog in LA) on November 28th, 2007 4:58 pm

Blind Hog, having been living out here in La La land for 7 years I can tell you first hand that Kiffin doesn’t play nice. USC as you recruits nothing but stars from around the country and he would be the one of the staff treating all of them like crap, but they respected him and their performance speaks for itself see Top 5 rankings and National Titles. That would be a bold move, you probably could get his dad Lane Kiffin to run the defense and old Ed Oregon to recruit. I am not sure what direction they would go to, but I think this one is way down the wish list. I think the going rate for SEC coach just went up, thanks to Nutt. How much are they going to want to pay.
Jim Daly Sr. on November 28th, 2007 5:15 pm

Hogfan100

I didn’t advocate anything. I just mentioned that such a recruiting tool could be used. It’s not necessarily lying because it might come true. In Nutt’s case it was obvious that he wasn’t going to go to a pass orineted offense. And the question arises as to who it was that told the Mustains that the offense would utilize a QB for other than handing off, Frank or Houston?

The quick playing time gambit is the same that the Army uses with new recruits who do not sign papers guaranting them a certain specific school or training program. They put you in advanced basic and let you compete for a spot in the desired program. If you qualify then you get the program. If not, then basic infantryman. Now I’m sure that football and basketball coaches wouldn’t ever promise, or more iimportantly, imply that immediate playing time might be available. No way! I’m sure that all college coaches are honest and will tell a recruit, look kid when you come to our place you’ll most likely be redshirted, but that’ll give you an extra year of college. Good deal, huh?

One thing about the Mustain situation. Nutt goes off into the sunset with about 12 million. Mustain still has to prove he can be a pro in order to make that kind of money. How many of you out there as parents would keep your kid in a program that would not prepare him for the next level, especially if he had shown the kind of talent that Mustain had?
GonzoHog on November 28th, 2007 5:44 pm

LR.72211, I will try one more time to show you the writing on the wall. (1) I didn’t mean to come off as being sensitive to just the Springdale bunch, because I don’t support the toung-lashing of any 18 year old kid, so the whole state of Arkansas can read about it. (2( We are the adults, which means we need to start acting the part. I hold Houston Nutt as the responsible person in this one more than anybody. (3) Other than him, the parents are the one’s who called the meeting, and acted on it. Broyles told Malzahn not to let this meeting happen, because that responsibility belonged to the head coach. They did it anyway, and then made it public what had been discussed. This whole circus was put into place by adults. If these kids demanded too much, fine. They are kids, and they were raised by there parents. Where there’s smoke, there is fire. The E-Mail senerio was the icing on the cake, and everyone involved in that despicable little episode,(adults) should have faced sever consequences for their actions. Enstead, one of the biggest jokes for a HC, not to mention a man in general, skipped off east of the border, taking his posse with him, just to become someone elses problem in a few more years, and in the process, took a hunk of change with him he didn’t even deserve. Houston like’s to kiss the bosses backside, so don’t be suprised if he actually developes a QB at Ole Miss, because if that’s what the boss want’s, that what the boss will get. Too bad the boss didn’t want it at the UofA. I guess it just wasn’t supposed to work in the SEC, according to Frank. One more thing. Ben Cleveland’s parents were in that meeting, and he is currently still here, just to get the facts straight. Your right, you didn’t actually say the word “idiot”, but it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure that one out, and your right, it was my words.
win is a win on November 28th, 2007 9:11 pm

Gawd, BlindHog, etc….let go of the Mustain thing already!!! He was a great player in a small Arkansas town….and he may never play a live down at USC. USC is loaded in the QB dept and you can bet it will recruit more talent at that position, some of which may beat Mitch into the ground.

When you compare Dick to Mustain, I think we’re better off. Casey played against some of the toughest competition in Texas, one of which is considered for the Heisman this year (Chase Daniel was at Southlake Carroll which beat Allen in the playoffs). He played against some of the best defensive players in the nation that are now stars in the Big 12, SEC, and Big ten. Mustain played against small high schools in Arkansas, which perhaps a handful of kids are starting in the mid-level D1 conferences.

My point is that with a good QB coach and o-coordinator, Casey can be a great QB. Just look at his production in the last 4 games? Particularly against LSU, in front of 90K hostile fans on national TV, he came in cold on multiple 3rd down situations and bailed us out by making some great reads and throws. He’s got a great upside….Quit crying about Mustain and get behind our current QB!!!!

And the good news is, his brother Nathan has a stronger arm!
OwassoHog on November 28th, 2007 9:45 pm

Casey finally settled into his groove towards the end of this year. In the 3 years that he has been here, he hasn’t shown anything that leads me to believe that he would be great. It’s possible but I’d be pleasantly surprised if it happened. In reality, I don’t believe that we need to have a great QB to be a great team. Right now, I’d be happy with a “good” Casey for entire season.
Defense Wins Championships on November 29th, 2007 12:23 am

Ole Miss fans are on cloud nine while I am depressed over rogue fans creating havoc in my Razorback program. “Go Rebels! You got a steal of a deal!” We shall see what coach we are able to come up with based upon the fact that we have not too bright fans on talk radio and much of the internet. They better not consider a certain ex-high school coach for the job or there shall be rioting in the streets that will make the over flying airplane look like child’s play. I wish Houston the best for he deserves it. I will be pulling for him to win them all. It is a tough job that he has undertaken but hopefully, he will not have an AD who has a friend that gives jobs to players and that does not make them do all of the work which causes the NCAA investigators to string the investigation out for years that hurts their recruiting efforts and then he gets blamed for it.

If I had an ungrateful ex-high school coach, try to tell me what to do on the football field with my All-American backfield, and on top of that have disgruntled freshmen players meeting while I was away attending to a death in the family, and that ex-high school coach did not tell me about it, I would fire that ex-high school coach on the spot! You are not going to tell me that the ex-high school coach did not know about that meeting! That ex-QB did himself in at Arkansas by making derogatory comments about a person who turned out to be his head coach. At least now that QB can take ball room dancing to gain his higher education, as it has been reported that he is doing on the left coast! What an education! Reminds me of a boyhood friend whose parents moved the family to Newark, California. He returned for a visit with us and we asked him about school in California. He said it is easy for we really do not do anything. I entered the military service and thought that my education in Arkansas was sub-par, as the media repeatedly told us. I took that assumption with me to Seattle, Washington where I worked closely with a person from Bellingham, Washington, one from Fort Worth, TX, and one from Oregon. I soon learned that I had received a far superior education in the Delta than they had in their so called superior schools, especially after the Commanding Officer recommended me for the Naval Academy I did not get it, but it was a nice affirmation of a little ole Arkansas Delta boy!. They would ask me where I learned what I knew. I replied, “In an Arkansas school.” I am sure that our ex-QB is enjoying himself taking such brain-racking courses as Ball Room dancing, if the interview with him is correct that I read on the internet. What is ironic is the young QB was still in high school and had never played a down for his future boss, but he had such awesome wisdom that he was quoted in a book being written that if they fired his future boss they would be able to sign him and reportedly said in so many words that his future boss was stupid.. What utter contempt! Now mind you, his future boss had apparently never heard of the book being written with that high school QB reportedly doing childish bragging. Is that any way to start a new job? I think not and he should have been forthcoming about the bats in his resume. Hopefully, the ex-QB has learned and grown from those high schoolish comments. Most people do. It is obvious that the ex-QB forgot what teamwork is all about… and family. You cannot build trust on such a house of cards. That is a “life lesson”. And for Houston, the “life lesson” is never hire a person directly from high school without their having received seasoning in the ranks for it could go to their head as it did in this case.

I sense unease with the Houston haters now that he is the HC at Ole Miss. It will truly be interesting to watch this unfold. I can’t wait! Let the season began.
BlindHog on November 29th, 2007 8:31 am

Wait until Next year, DWC, wait until next year. All Houston fans do.

Or is it, that is all Houston fans do?

There is some talent left on this football team. Cleveland and Tuck will be back next year, London Crawford should be ready to step up. We have an O-line and good tailbacks. Casey has finally developed despite the roller coaster that has passed for a career. Someone is going to have to patch up the secondary. If we get a good coach people could well see what a football coach can do when he balances an offense to his talent and plays to win.

This could turn out very well if they manage to make a GOOD hire. All the true razorback fans need to keep those fingers crossed. I’m starting to have a good feeling about this.
Jim Daly Sr. on November 29th, 2007 11:14 am

DWC

Your respect for other opinions is ovewhelming (or should that be underwhelming). Being critical of the coaching of the Razorbacks is being twisted into a syndrome that is referred to as Houston hating. I would suggest that you get over your.tantrum and get yourself into the present and the future. What is, is. Live with it and support the new coach and the team. Forget about Nutt until the Ole Miss game (I wonder who you’ll be rooting for?).

Win is a Win:

Casey Dick is more than adequate, but whether he will be very good is still up in the air. My reservations about Casey was his not finding secondary receivers or “reading” the field. I do not know whether this is Casey’s problem or with the coaching, but I did get the feeling that plays designated certain specific receivers, covered or not. Hopefully, it was coaching and that it can be remedied. Dick looks as competant, skill wise, as any QB in the SEC this year, with the exception of Tebow and that freshman at MSU. In fact, I would be more concerned about MSU next year than with ole Miss. Casey and Marcus Shaver graduated with my grandaughter at Allen and she also knows Nathan Dick. My son tells me that Nathan is much more mobile than Casey.

I think your analogy with where Dick and Mustain played is not valid. Lots of good players come from small (smaller) schools. By that logic, then who did McFadden, Jones and Monk play against?. Why the same caliber teams that Mustain played against. DMac played at “huge” Pulaski Oak Grove and is now a Heisman candidate. FYI. In the championship playoffs in Texas, Casey went out with an injury in the semifinal contest, Nathan, as a sophomore, took over and won the game. They lost the championship game but Allen and Nathan did very well. I am looking forward to seeing what Nathan can do next year. He should be good competition for his brother.
mike in magnolia on November 29th, 2007 11:17 am

DWC: Malzan and Mustain have been gone almost a year now..gees get over it. Let’s look to the future. That is not near as depresing as the past. I agree with BlindHog. I think Long may just do something right which would beat the debacle that we have endured that past several years.
Let me start the rumor mill. You can take it for what its worth. Rumor has it that HDN as offered Bo Emry (Warren head coach) a job on his staff to help get the Warren 4. I find this hard to believe because of the Springdal mishap but I thought it makes a good contoversy
twangtownhog on November 29th, 2007 12:11 pm

TV stations Here in Nashville have said Norm Chow with the Titans has been contacted. He was on the selection list in 96 before he went to USC.. Does this have any merit …
BlindHog on November 29th, 2007 12:36 pm

I would love to see Chow get his shot. He has been one of the best in football for years. Now that would get everyone’s attention and hold those recruits in place.

I hope that rumor is true. Do you have a link to that?
Defense Wins Championships on November 29th, 2007 3:41 pm

Indeed get over it. Oh and now a win is a win. Amazing! Tell that to the rest of your cohorts who still have their arms wrapped around chicken town’s few. That is a dumb rumor. If you are going to start a rumor, at least use some ingenuity and then maybe you can get a job with the DemGaz who loves rumors and innuendoes. That is old news that Nathan is more mobile than his bro and was more highly touted. Casey was not very experienced to commence the season. He will likely be much better next year. Anyone who knows anything knows Warren’s coach will tell you that he has no interest in steering a recruit to a particular team. He does not have the power nor interest in doing so. Very few coaches are concerned with anything other than getting their high school talent exposed to all of the opportunities that are available. Those young men will make their decisions with their significant family members be it with Arkansas or another team..

Jim Daly, Sr. appears it may be that you do not read well. I am sure remedial reading is available even at Mule U, perhaps your only claim to fame. You bet small schools produce great players. Witness the one from Hooks, TX (a wide spot in the road), and a friend of mine from the Delta who made All-State at running back and was offered a UA scholarship, and many more. No one said that small schools do not produce talent. They do many times. Long can do the job. I put my money on the coaches who are interested in graduating players. Gotta believe that will be important to Long. Hopefully, Long will bring in someone who will have the education of our young men in mind rather than any other thing. And I have to think that he will do so. However, you could be right in that he may be looking for “diversity” and maybe more than anything else. Schools are BIG into that nowadays. Norm fits that mold for diversity on the staff. And he would please the pass happy fans. They may not like the results but at least some of them would like it for a spell. Although he has no track record as a head coach that I am aware of, Norm Chow just might surprise some folks. You never can tell. You may be onto something there on Chow. And we could go for Willingham at Univ. of Washington…my old West coast team. Good man who would bring diversity.

Does one of the bloggers have an Oregon hat for sale? Smile! When Oregon was undefeated, he said he was ordering one! Sorry they are not in the Rose Bowl!

If you want a good read, go to the Oklahoman newspaper website. Interesting article by Berry Tramel. You would love it. It also fits the tale of Bowden at Florida State.
Defense Wins Championships on November 29th, 2007 3:51 pm

Oh and by the way! There are at least two blogger who do not know the definition of mediocrity. Let me assist you. My thesaurus tells me that mediocrity is defined as “not very good”. Lots of team in the NCAA and SEC would love Arkansas’ “not very good” at 10-4 and West champions..not once but twice and 8-4 and beating the no. 1 team in LSU and in multiple big bowl games during the past 10 years! Wal-Mart has dictionaries if you cannot afford an electronic one. Since you have internet access, google it and it will assist you.
Defense Wins Championships on November 29th, 2007 4:56 pm

Will UA and Tubby come to terms? Gonna cost them.
darrell(Hog in LA) on November 29th, 2007 5:52 pm

DWC, it has been reported that Auburn and Tubby are finalizing the deal and yes he is getting paid close to Saban money, everyone will have to wait until next week when Miles speaks with Michigan, there could be domino effect on every opeining in the country. My LSU friend tells me they are going after Spurrier.
GonzoHog on November 29th, 2007 6:47 pm

I am absolutely so overwhelmed by the expertice, that I am in awe. I mean come on, everyone knows every HS coach in America does what’s best for his players, right?. What are we thinkin Jim? Didn’t we learn that at Mule U? Hey, I have a question for you Jim Daly Jr., If a guy come’s on here blogging for the last year or so, supporting “his” Razorback program, and supporting the guy who is coaching them fully, no matter what he does, then, that coach leaves for another school, (not one week after he said “they’ll have to fire me”), and then that same guy comes back on here and says Go Rebels! and I hope he wins them all! Does that mean he is supporting the Hogs, Rebels, Houston Nutt, or all of the above?? I am confused, you see, because of the lack of education I have recieved. Maybe some of you other posters could help me with my thinking. My head hurts! Corn! can a corn and I’ll be fine.
Defense Wins Championships on November 29th, 2007 7:14 pm

Of course you are confused. “expertice” , “recieved?” “come’s” Come on now. You surely can do better than that! As I suspected you do not read well. I support justice. Justice took a hike within some of the Razorback fan base. Some in the fan base decided to write Ann Landers type gossip. Gossip is sad coming out of people who want to be taken seriously. If you cannot figure that out, go back to Mule U and then re-read the post!
OwassoHog on November 29th, 2007 7:28 pm

darrell(Hog in LA), KNWA just broke into regular programming to announce that it appears to be Tommy. More details at 10PM!
Defense Wins Championships on November 29th, 2007 8:06 pm

And for those who want to paint a picture that the Razorbacks will be void of talent next season, I recommend that you again review your Razorback media guide and there you will discover that the rack is full of players of the talent that Houston used to go 10-4 and 8-4 during the past two seasons. Any coach coming in should be pleased with the talent left provided he adds good incoming talent to the mix such as those Houston had committed to the UA for the February signing. In the media guide you will find an excellent stable of running backs, receivers, linemen, etc.

I give the next head coach credit for being able to coach these players and recruit. Now, I cannot venture a clue as to whether the great running back in Florida will still want to sign since he expressed that the reason he was coming was because of Houston Nutt. Coach Hatfield reported for duty and half of the players under Holtz walked off and he still was able to mold what he had into a good team and to use a passing QB in the wishbone. That QB filled the air with passes.

Some have mentioned Tubby in the mix. One says it is 95% sure he is going to Arkansas. That writer is a Roll Tide supporter and may be trying to assist in killing off Tubby’s recruits within state. Another one says on a scale of 1 to 10, it is a 3 or 4 that he comes. In other words, they do not know because they have no inside information. Long has smartly kept it close to the vest as he should. Some mentions Navy’s coach that I believe runs 99% of the time. Not sure you guys will want that. It would be fine with me. I love the run. Others keep mentioning the Kiffin kid. He of course is very unproven as a head coach. Should be interesting but I agree with one of the sports personalities in the state who said that he does not see any coach being able to come and bring the fan base together. Negative people are unfortunately growing in sports as abundantly as mushrooms in the forest. We shall see what AD Long puts together. It will be interesting. Norm Chow? Interesting thought if he is even interested.
GonzoHog on November 29th, 2007 8:38 pm

I don’t see the fan base coming together either, as long as we have so-called Hog fans saying Go Rebels! As for the recruits, you won’t see 1 coaching change in America, where a recruit isn’t saying he’s coming there because of the coach. That happens everywhere, every year, and it will happen again soon at the UofA, when the next coach comes in. Any idiot that graduated from Mule U could tell you that.
Itsonlyagame on November 29th, 2007 8:58 pm

My son from Dallas called me thirty minutes ago and said Tubbervile is coming. Can anyone give me any additional info?
BlindHog on November 29th, 2007 9:23 pm

I know there is a lot of left over anger, frustration, uncertainty, even doubt after the LSU game.

But, I really believe that Arkansas fans are great fans who love their team. This will sort itself out. The Razorback Nation will be united behind a new team and a new coach. Maybe not on day one but certainly by spring practice. We are going to get back to football and away from all of this CRAP. Not today but soon.

Tommy wouldn’t be my first choice. I like the idea of Norm Chow. I would even take the Navy guy and a running offense if it is a real offense and not 3 plays and waiting for a break. This will pass. What had to be done was done. Alls well that ends well.

This is going to end well.
win is a win on November 29th, 2007 9:36 pm

It appears Tuberville is in according to multiple websites.

It seems likely Felix will stay 1 more year to get out of McFadden’s shadow and make a run for the Heisman next year to pull for a #1 draft pick.

We’ll be loaded on offense and defense next year, so with Tuberville as a coach we’ll be in a good position - considering his great success at Auburn.
GonzoHog on November 30th, 2007 4:58 am

I wouldn’t count on Tuberville to come up here just yet, and I wouldn’t count on Felix coming back just yet either. Both could very well happen, but the Tuberville situation is not over yet. Rumor is that Jerry Jones is very involved in this negotiation, and that money may not be the problem at all, but a deal would still have to be finalized. There is a chance Felix could come back as well, but I’m sure he would still have to talk to alot of people before that happened. If he is projected to be a high to semi-high draft pick, he could be gone. He’s ‘6-0″, 207 lbs, and runs a 4.4. He can run or catch the ball out of the backfield and has shown to be durable. He has also shown to be one of, or maybe even the best KR man in college football. It will all come down to team needs, when talking about the draft, so who knows what could happen between here and April? I’m really not sure how I feel about Tuberville coming here. One thing is for sure, he is definately the #1 guy their going after, it seems.
Jim Daly Sr. on November 30th, 2007 7:31 am

DWC

Check your dicitonary again. Mediocrity’s root is from the latin medius, which means middle. Generally that is where the sports experts usually put Arkansas football in the SEC. Behind Florida, Auburn, Georgia, Tennessee, LSU, and even Alabama. But ahead of MSU, Vanderbilt, Ole Miss, USC and before this last year, Kentucky . Someone blogging here mentioned that Nutt’s SEC record was 77-76. I haven’t checked that but if true I believe that .500 is considered average or ordinary (other definitions of mediocre). Everyone is entitled to his own opinion but I would consider Arkansas’ record in the old SWC to have been good to very good at times. Winning the Sunbelt Conference title this year is not exactly a recommendation for an outstanding or even median record. Nor is being nationally embarrased twice by Southern Cal, once in your own backyard. The LSU victory was a moment of glory and one of the great victories for the Hogs (still dependant upon the results of the SEC championship and LSU”s bowl game). It showed that the Arkansas’ potential was above mediocrity. But the season itself was… I reiterate, mediocre. Lastly, beng better than teams at the bottom and that they would love to have Nutt’s record is not my gold standard for excellence. and being satisfied with just that is, well, being satisfied with mediocrity.
Jim Daly Sr. on November 30th, 2007 7:57 am

correction:

I just read thzst Nutt’s record at Arkansas was 75-46 so 77-76 nust have been a misprint by the blogger (or I remembered wrong). This still does not alter my opinon that Nutt’s record i the SEC was mediocre.
twangtownhog on November 30th, 2007 8:08 am

BLINDHOG … Hope Hines reported the Rumor of Norm Chow Tuesday on Channel five here in Nashville. Have not heard anything since then.
Jim Daly Sr. on November 30th, 2007 10:18 am

just read the newspaper. From their rporter, Nutt’s SEC record was 42-40.

Big discussion this morning on Nutt and “whose lying”. My own take on this is in regards to who is really in charge of this internal cat fight.

A little light needs to be shed here on Chancellor White and Wally Hall. Wally was in the process today of scapegoating White for the Nutt fans who apparently are blaming him (Wally), in great part, for the departure of Houston. Wally must be in panic mode because of all the hate mail and e-mails to Voices that have come in. Looking at some of the bloggers here reinforces that. But first White: He is only a hand puppet in all of this. College Presidents and Chancellors have very little real power. They can’t even fire professors who deserve to be fired, like Ward Churchill at Colorado, without running afoul of the AAUP (professors union) and a big lawsuit. Look what happened at Harvard where a disgruntled group of feminists and other radical faculty forced the removal of President Larry Summers because of what they considered an intemperate remark about women in science. And Larry was a liberal supporter of women’s rights and a former Clinton cabinet member. Or what happened at Duke where the President allowed a verbal lynch mob to condemn the Lacrosse team players when innocent until proven guilty should have been the proper approach for the gutless and spineless head administrator. I am not defending White here, just pointing out a reality. College Presidents in the NCAA go about changing the names of political incorrect mascots, but don’t have the balls to tackle the important issues in collegiate athletics, such as the high level of criminal activity and low academic standards of athletes. Anything White does is with the approval of the powers that be, which I presume previously was Frank Broyles and is now the Razorback Foundation. The assumption by Hall that White was being frivolous with the Foundation money is a red herring designed to distract from those who are making the real decisions. White is a go-between, nothing more nothing less. White might be criticized for complicating the Mustain-Malzahn mess, and for lying or misleading, but that is what politicians do and White is an academic politician and bean counter. This was new territory for White who probably, like any good administrator, tried to reach a common ground between the parties. I’m not sure that anything in White’s background prepared him for this. If things go South then White might be held accountable and fired to save face for others. Chancellors are easier to replace than winning football coaches. Wally Hall, as I said, is trying to deflect criticism from himself and protect the real power brokers behind the scene. I have tried to point this out in the past that Wally’s role is to be a homer for the Hogs. There is a long history of this in Arkansas going back to Orville Henry. When Henry got critical, then it was coming from Broyles. Wally’s criticism is coming from…who? You’re going to get more honest opinion and analysis from this blogg and even from the bloggers submitting comments than from the sports pages of the Demo-Zette. I will say that Wally himself has been very disappointed in this season. When your team is doing well nationally, you get calls from the grand poobahs of the sports writers world. You get invited places and people pay attention to you. Some of your columns get printed elswhere. Much of this disappeared when the Hogs began to lose and especially when McFadden’s Heisman chances were fading. So, Wally may have put more emotion into this than, say. Orville would have. Regardless of all this, it is what it is, and it will be up to the Nutt fans to get behind the team and support the new coach. But then there is human nature. People don’t like to be proven wrong.
OwassoHog on November 30th, 2007 10:57 am

Chancellor White has been big disappointment over the last 1 1/2 years. Sometime back, I came to the conclusion that we needed to remove (in this order): Frank, Houston, and John. Well, we are two-thirds of the way there. After watching John this week, I’m fully convinced that the last third is still critical in the process of moving forward.

Unfortunately, John’s actions cost of much more $$$ than it should have to deal with the second third.
darrell(Hog in LA) on November 30th, 2007 2:07 pm

You guys I can’t believe Tubberville would come to Arkansas at this point, that is crazy and frankly he isn’t my first choice not to mention Auburn has alot more to work with talent wise thatn Arkansas. See two Arkansans on roster. I think this is a ploy because AD Long came out of nowhere and I think the coaching choice will be from left field, at least I hope so. This would be his third school in the SEC, where is the loyalty in that crap. I really think all of the vacancies depend on Miles.
Bill on November 30th, 2007 5:28 pm

At the end of the day, what Houston Nutt plotted against our university, its alumni and the entire state of Arkansas was malevolent! It was evident that he perpetrated a complex and concise plot to “repay evil with evil.” Unfortunately, nobody wins in this situation, not even Houston Nutt.

I actually maintain that he should be charged with vandalism, assault and battery. It wouldn’t be any different if I would walk into the nearest Wal-Mart, reeked havoc amongst those shopping and tore up the store by dumping its contents in the floor and smashing everything is sight…all of that and then receiving a healthy amount of cash as I excited the store. In addition, I would also be granted a pardon from those in authority for whatever reason. It’s a good abalogy and you know it!

Houston Nutt’s actions are unjust…simply not right. Houston Nutt knows it and he has to live with himself everyday for the rest of his pathetic life. What a shame. I hope each of you who take the time to read this spend some time contemplating the extension of “the welcome mat” to the Nutt family in the state of Arkansas ever again!
Defense Wins Championships on November 30th, 2007 11:28 pm

You are NUTS!
Defense Wins Championships on November 30th, 2007 11:45 pm

I am convinced that Tuberville is only marking time hoping that Miles at LSU moves on. That is a plum job, talent wise and he knows it. He might never lose another game if he could get control of LSU talent. His delaying tactic just might work since he now has Auburn waiting an additional week. If LSU loses the SEC Championship tomorrow night, which I believe with them appearing to be in disarray, based on some reports, they very wekk nat lose, it could be that Miles will decide to move on immediately after a loss, but if his team wins, he may want to delay until after the Sugar Bowl. I think that Tenn. is on a roll and LSU was definitely stunned by Arkansas beating them. However, who knows what these guys are thinking. If I were Long, I am not sure that I would wait for him any longer. By Long waiting on Tubby, it very well could indicate that that Tuberville is the highest ranked candidate potentially interested in the job. Personally, I think he is a very good coach, but we have never liked how he handles himself, but that can be overlooked. We could always call Ford or Crowe! Not!

These days you never know who may pop up unexpectedly. We just might see within a week. It sure makes things interesting.
Defense Wins Championships on December 1st, 2007 12:01 am

LA I agree with some of what you say, but I sure cannot agree that Wally is a homer. He is a weasel-wording puppet of the owner of the Dem-Gaz who is desperate to sell newspapers with readership dropping nationally with the print news industry because of two things. (Cut Wally’s sentences up and you will see that he zigs and zags to try and please every opinion that he thinks is out there.) One reason the print media subscribers are dropping is because of the internet and two being that the media has killed themselves prior to the internet by their not being trustworthy. Now Orville was 1000 percent homer, as is that writer in Alabama that bleeds Roll Tide (Finestein?). He is the writer that had Tuberville coming to Arkansas and he very well may have made it up to assist Alabama U. with their recruiting against Auburn. Surely, he would not invent the news, right? Many of them do invent it every day.
GonzoHog on December 1st, 2007 6:21 am

Owasso, I think your right about Chancellor White. This whole mess has probably been going on for some time now, with Jimmy Sexton right in the middle of it. They (Broyles and White) wanted Nutt to leave, but at the same time knew he wasn’t about to do it, because he already blew his cover by saying last week, “they’ll have to fire me”. If everyone is so close, and Nutt has their full support, then why would you have to make that statement? Nutt didn’t make 1 move without his agent ,Jimmy Sexton, and I’m sure since White and Broyles knew the money would have to be paid one way or another, they might as well make it look good. Their involvment in the recruiting / E-Mail scandals left them and the university vunerable. That’s the only reason they kissed Nutt’s backside on the way out. With on going terbulance still coming from the Mustain/Campbell family, what is it they don’t want the public to find out? Surely, Nutt wouldn’t spill the beans on these two upstanding fellows would he, if they gave him the boot? It could certainly have something to do with Broyles, since he believes himself to be a God in the almighty football world. It isn’t every day you have a HS coach forced onto you, just to get his recruits, while at the same time have no interest in running his type of offense what so ever, now is it? The praise that was given to Nutt were the words of liers, simply because he didn’t deserve that much praise. If these 2 manipulators didn’t have anything to lose, then they would have sent Nutt packing like all the rest. (No big fake speaches with all the icing on top) All of these guy’s are nothing more than pure polititians.(crooks)They manipulate each other, so they can get a leg up, and then turn around and manipulate the public together like 1 big happy family. Nutt’s agent (Sexton) evidently had a lot to do with all of this, considering the Ole Miss deal was already in the bag, and having big ties with Ole Miss’s A.D. Sexton is also Tuberville’s agent. Isn’t it a coinsidence that Tuberville was the first guy on the list? Especially since Broyles already gave himself away by saying he wouldn’t be involved in the hiring of a coach, but then came back later and said that he recommended no assistant coaches. Let’s see now, that pretty much knock’ outs Herring and Kiffin doesn’t it? and leave’s Tuberville the #1 man. Isn’t this the guy Broyles wanted all along? Isn’t Jerry Jones and Broyles pretty tight? Isn’t Broyles the next guy in line to handle all private funds coming in to the school? Maybe it’s all just one big coinsidence. Then again, maybe I’m the Pope.
Jim Daly Sr. on December 1st, 2007 9:15 am

DWC

Tennessee is on a roll? Against Arkansas maybe 34-13) At the end they beat Vanderbilt 25-24 and need a missed field goal to do it. They beat Kentucky 52-50 in 3 Ot, but KY had an opportunity to wn it. And earlier it took the Vols OT to beat USC 27-24. Before that they lost to ‘Bama 41-17. The Vols were fortunate to have the weakest part of their scheduale at the end, with only a good ole Sun Belt team to kick up the statistics. It appears that you define “roll” about as well as you define mediocre. (Perhaps lucky is one definition of roll). Insofar as the LSU - Tenessee game is concerned, my own gut feeling is that LSU will win for a number of sports psychology reasons. (1) The team will be far more focused then they were for the Hogs. I’m sure Miles will strongly emphasis out that the Vols beat Arkansas and the Hogs beat them. (2) The overinflated egos of the Tigers have has cold water thrown in their face and they need redemption (3) If Miles is going to Michigan, then his best contract negotiations for him will be if he wins his next two games (4) The Sugar Bowl will be played in New Orleans, like a home game, and this should give incentive for the Tiger players (5) If Miles loses than the Saban legend goes on and the fans will chant “Yankee fo Home”. A loss would dent Miles’ own reputation and Wolverine fans would be wondering just what they’re getting. After all, Carr did win some Big Ten titles and Miles is yet to wn a SEC Championship. The biggest rap on Carr was that he couldn’t win the big ones, i.e., Ohio State and the Rose Bowl. If Miles loses this game, and especialy, the bowl game, Michigan might just look elsewhere. (6) This is now THE game of the season for the Tigers since the National Championship, for all practical purposes, is out the window (7) Lastly, even with an injured Flynn, LSU still has more talent than Tennessee. This could get very ugly for Miles if he loses. I could be wrong, but we’ll see.
Defense Wins Championships on December 1st, 2007 8:50 pm

Re-read it. I did not say LSU would lose. LSU after all has the best talent…even better than Tennessee, although I do like LSU’s coaching and staff because they believe in the pass and run, as does LSU. LSU winning is a plus for the Razorbacks since that at least gives them a chance to be selected for the Cotton Bowl which seems to be the bowl preferred by the fans and perhaps most players. It would be nice for Richardson since he stated that his mom has not been able to attend one of his games, but would be able if in Dallas and maybe another site.

Anyone notice the stats fo the Tulsa vs. CFU game? Tulsa had 438 yards passing and 32 rushing, whereas CFU had 308 yards on the ground and 128 passing, to win by almost an Oklahoma vs. Tulsa score. Final score was CFU 44 and Tulsa 25. Obviously, Tulsa needs to recruit a good running back or an O line that can block not only for the pass but also for the run. One would think that since the O line can literally hold a defensive player, the pass should be more dominant, but it still indicates one needs to at least run decently to win, as Texas Tech has found out. Texas Tech is a good team but struggles with the run.
GonzoHog on December 1st, 2007 9:31 pm

I don’t believe most Hog fans want to bye into the HUNH offense. That is what Gus’s phylosiphy is based around, but I think most Hog fans really just want a balanced offense. Nutt’s phylosiphy is just the opposite, and probably even worse, since we play in the defensive rich SEC. Anyone can stop the run if they put 8 and 9 players in the box, and key on 1 guy. That was proven in the Tenn. Catt. game. How many yards did D-Mac have? Not very many for the leading Hiesman candidate. Maybe now we can get a coach that is somewhere in between. This is worse than trying to vote for a Democrate or a Republican. Your either far to the right or far to the left. It has been said that Tuberville will want complete control of his team if he comes here. This could be difficult to attain with Broyles still hanging around. Broyles is the only reason we are even able to speculate about Tuberville, with his connection to “Mr. Money Bags” Jerry Jones.
Jim Daly Sr. on December 2nd, 2007 1:51 pm

My reaction to the Tulsa - UCF game was that Tulsa couldn’t tackle worth a flip**, which is probably why the Hurricane had to depend so heavily on outscoring their opponents.this season. If you look at Tulsa’s record you’ll see that their opponents scored a lot of points. UCF is in the Liberty Bowl. If Arkansas goes there it will pit the number one rusher (Smith) in the country against the number 2 (McFadden).. It would probably have the greatest national interest of any Liberty Bowl before it. I think that the Hogs would eat Smith’s lunch and that McFadden, in a multiple ofensive set, would look very good indeed..Tulsa’s defense needs to catch up with its offense. DWC, by your yardstick, Navy is the top rushing team in the country and therfore should have made it to a BCS Bowl. Your opinion about concentrating on a running game is directly contradictory to what all of the commentators are saying. In the SEC title game the announcers said they wanted to give Jacob Hester the “Throwback Award” and that today’s offenses are not you’ daddy’s. But, I forgot, these commentator guys, along with the bloggers, might also be “idiots”.. By the way where is the Arkansas running game coming from next year (assuming that Felix isn’t returning)?

**In contrast to LSU’s tackling in the SEC game. Open field defansive players wrapped up the ball carrier and, at the very least, held on for help. Those fundamendals were totally lacking at Tulsa. It wasn’t just Smith they failed to tackle well, but receivers as well.

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