Report: Arkansas Negotiating With Bowden
December 3, 2007 by TipsterHog
The Morning News: Bowden Salary Supplement on Razorback Foundation’s Agenda Today
The University of Arkansas’ attempt to hire Clemson coach Tommy Bowden to replace Houston Nutt hit a snag Monday night, but Bowden could take the job today.
There was no word on what caused the delay, but it’s possible Bowden was simply struggling with the thought of leaving his home of the past nine years.
Also:
Tuesday Noon
- ESPN.com: Bowden spurns Arkansas to stay with Clemson
- Jim Harris: Razorback Foundation Meeting Canceled; No Coach In Sight
Tuesday Morning
- ESPN.com: Sources: Arkansas targeting Clemson’s Bowden
- Jim Harris: All Signs Point to Tommy Bowden for Hogs’ Post
- Tom Murphy: Bowden, Long working on deal
- Nate Allen: Clemson’s Bowden apparent leader in UA coaching search
- The State: Bowden talking to Arkansas
- The Charlotte Observer: Report: T. Bowden offered job
Updated 12/4/07 1:55 p.m.
Comments
35 Responses to “Report: Arkansas Negotiating With Bowden”
-
Network Headlines
- Arkansas Ready To Renew 'Rivalry' With Texas
- LIKE IT IS : Texas' Barnes good at raising bar, eyebrows
- ARKANSAS RAZORBACKS VS. NO. 7 TEXAS LONGHORNS : 'A different animal'Pelphrey : Longhorns SEC-like
- Razorbacks report
- THE RECRUITING GUY : 3 UA recruits on display at all-star event
- KNOCK ON WOOD : Hogs' new winning standard put to test tonight
- Hogs, Horns renew rivalry with fresh faces
- UA Men's Basketball Notebook : Washington earns second SEC honor
- Dick Chooses Central Arkansas
- Scouting Report
- GIMME 5
- Luigs Accepts Senior Bowl Invite
- More Network News Headlines »
- More Recruiting News Headlines »
-
The HogBlogosphere
- Setting the table: No. 7 Texas vs. Arkansas
- It’s Gameday: Texas
- Hooking the Horns
- He Said What? Parrish Wants Hogs' Washington Rewarded
- TIPPING OFF: Arkansas vs. No. 7 Texas
- Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?
- Could Henry be back on court against Texas?
- Pelphrey on the Longhorns
- More From The HogBlogosphere »
Featured Item
Nike Ash 2008 Practice T-shirt
RazorBloggers Network Fan Shop -
Recent RazorBloggers Network Posts
-
Network Links
- 2008 Football Media Guide
- 2008-09 Basketball Media Guide
- Arkansas Razorbacks.com
- Arkansas Sports360.com
- ArkansasOnline Razorbacks
- ARSN Online
- CBSSports.com BlogPoll Top 25
- Hawgs Illustrated
- HawgSports.com
- Hogville.net
- North Street Condos
- Razorback Central
- SI.com Razorbacks Football
- The Slop
- WholeHogSports
- More Network Links »
-
Opponent Sites
The University of Arkansas makes no sense what so ever. Doesn’t this guy have around the same winning percentage as Nutt in conference play… and his conference is the mighty ACC? The more and more I think about it, the more I believe Arkansas football is dead…..
wow, just wow.
i guess the good ole boy network is alive and well.
long wants his old buddie from duke, great.
we are a joke.
at least take a chance on an unknown.
strong, venables, gus, someone, anyone but retreads like this.
heck, wait on the ucla gig to be filled and hire their reject—either leach or peterson.
baylor may have gotten a more valuable coach.
ole miss may have done better—ack!!!
please let this fall through.
[...] a financial package but hit a snag. The Expats aren’t terribly excited. Here’s the Razorbloggers Roundup. AS360 say all signs point to Bowden and it wouldn’t be a bad hire either. Although, [...]
I know on the surface he is not the next Bob Stoops, the next up and comer. Compared to Nutt he is a step up. Considering where we are now he may be able to improve on the program.
He was raised in the top tier of college football. He understands all of the issues inside out. If he can recruit and hire good assistance he may do OK.
No, I’m not excited either. I would rather have Gus or the new flavor of the month 30 year old hot shot. But, if this is what we get lets give him the benefit of the doubt and see what he can do.
What are the chances that he is just running around the country getting raises for his buddies and the guys with Arkansas connections while he continues negotitating with the real candidates? It seems each of these guys drops out immediately after their name breaks as the next coach and they get their new raise and buyout from the home boys.
Are we just being played again or are we playing along too?
None of the candidates so far really met the requirements except maybe Tommy Tub and he was going nowhere for 6 mil. We need a guy who has connnections and can recruit AR, TX, and the SEC. We need a guy with the talent to bring in better schemes and understands competeing in all phases of the game. We need someone who is still a little hungry to make his mark.
CNNSI just published an article that indicates Tommy just agreed to a contract extension with Clemson. High profile candidates are dropping left and right… does this sound familiar?
I’m sorry but you guys who keep calling for Gus just need to stop. If you think we are the laughing stock now just wait till we make that hire. I can see it now “High School Coach Takes Over At Arkansas” Who wants a guy who has only ran a high school operation. I know he is CO offensive coordinator at Tulsa and there numbers look good but he is not proven or even tested for that matter. I would rather keep RH running the program before taking a guy who has only been on the college seen 2yrs. Talk about good ole boy system and fans. The UofA needs a proven winner I don’t see how USC east coast can go get a proven winner at low points but we keep being made fools of by leaking names of big name coach who don’t have a shot in H#%# at coming here. I know that there is a proven winner out there why are they passing over us is the question.
I personnally don’t mind coaches using the power play to get better fac. and more money from their respective schools. However, I am little worried how this makes our beloved program look in the eyes of current and future recruits. I hope we’re patient enough to get a great hire, at the same time it would be nice if the papers didn’t print the first thing they hear from their sources. Anyways, I’m just expressing my concern. I am really curious to read what the authors of this site think of all this. You all have been pretty silent since all this began. As always, your site kicks ass. Happy holidays everyone… GO HOGS!!!
Looks like we will find out who the football equivalent of Pelphry is.
Dieing,
One reason we don’t get a bid dog coach is because there isn’t one out there looking for work right now. USC-east would never have lured the ball coach from another program. I said a month ago that we should consider our options before running Nutt out of town. All in all, I think this is a positive thing. The Razorback Nation needs a little dose of reality and I believe that we are getting it this week. We are hamburger not steak. Now, on occassion we can be a damn good burger but we are not Auburn, LSU, Michigan, Bama or even UCLA. Some of you guys have been arguing for months about how “we’re arkansas and we can get a big time coach”. Yeah, hows that working out for you? I thought it was funny this morning that we were too good for Tommy Bowden. When are we going to wisen up and stop biting on these reports. Qulity coaches are not interested in a program that ran a coach off a year after winning his division and 2 straight new years day bowls.
Now were looking at Malzahn who has two years of college experience and more importantly would keep the fan base divided or Ron English who has coached a mediocre MIchigan D for the last 2 years or perhaps RH who again I think would keep fans divided and probalby doesn’t have the PR skills we need right now. Keep enjoying the circus becasuse its not over.
Ward…thanks for the props.
As of right now, like everyone else we’ve been watching and waiting. As you’ve noticed, we’ve held off on writing until things start to take shape. HogBlogger has been talking to some of his sources and has pretty much confirmed that it’s a mess at the moment. But that’s not exactly a secret, is it?
Having said that…Tommy Bowden wasn’t exactly at the top of any of our lists.
And by the way…darrell(Hog in LA)…you’re cool. Just had to delete some of your stuff to clean up some comment trash.
TipsterHog, my bad if I wrote something inapproiate. It makes me laugh when people just don’ t get it. All I can say about Bowden is that AD Long is shooting somewhat high I just wish he aim somewhere else. Tommy hasn’t exactly set the ACC on fire either. At end of the day this is a SEC job and he should keep that in mind when searching. I would call three candidates Chris Petersen(Boise State), Brian Kelley(Cincinnati) or a high profile coordinator.
Carolina Hog
Good post. The really good hamburger analogy was perfect. And, the part about running off a coach that just took you to back-to-back Jan. 1 bowl games would give any perspective head coach pause.
Carolina Hog, for the record - Malzahn didn’t divide that fan base - Houston did. Does he have enough experience to be a head coach in the SEC - probably not. If he wasn’t previously related to the program (especially the way things when down), would he be a possible up and coming coach that you might be willing to take a chance on - probably (at the least consider).
Carolina Hog, as far as back to back Jan. 1 bown games… maybe if he only won some of these games. Keep in mind that Houston also recently gave us back-to-back losing seasons!
I watched some of that Tulsa/Central Florida game and they lost only because Central Florida’s back Kevin Smith is pretty good, but there where two freshman players from Arkansas on Tulsa’s team AJ Whitmore and Charles Clay catching some footballs. Do you think we could have used them this year? Gus isn’t ready to be head coach but I think he is definitely ready to be on a big boy football school staff.
Hey Tipster how about my tee shirt for the LSU game I called Dmacs stats pretty close of only by 4yrds on the rushing that has to count for something.
Semantics Owasso, Semantics. I didn’t say that Gus divided the fan bese. I simply said that hiring him wouldn’t change the fact that it is divided. It seems that you even make the same point.
Even Florida had to go to Utah to get Urban Meyer. Sure he was the flavor of the month and Notre Dame wishes they had given him the 4 mil but we are not looking in the right places. Only Michigan, Notre Dame, Tennessee, USC, those places, are going to get to pick from the BCS/D-1 schools that are successful. We need to look at a Coord or a mid major.
I wish Gus were ready. I wish the new coach would bring him in but that is back to Houston. What coach wants to hire his replacement?
But, we need to get off wasting time on these “name” coaches and go find a good 5 year HC mid major guy with a good record or the best Coord in the SEC (I like Reggie but he doesn’t strike me as HC material, too irratic.)
I’d like to throw three names out there for discussion who have proven to be outstanding coaches, resourceful with the players they have on board:
Sylvester Croom
Ron Zook
Bobby Petrino
Thoughts on both their availability and willingness to come coach the hogs.
Maybe Bobby Petrino, but the other two have things going on at their schools right now and probably don’t want to walk away. It makes me nervous however that AD Long approached Tommy Bowden, I would prefer Terry instead. I think the hire is going to be out of left field.
Not any more. He just signed an extension with Clemson.
I like seeing Sylvester Croom’s name pop up. This dude can coach——-have you ever been to Starkville? The name is apropos!
My worst fear, is that this fiasco will only get worse. I can’t stand Chancellor White and his “Golden Handcuff - I need to take a shower” BS!! This guy couldn’t clean up a dry terd, much less the fresh steaming pile he’s helped create in the last few months! What your seeing right now is nothing more than White throwing a stick, and telling Jeff Long to go fetch. I don’t believe for a minute that Long is doing anything by himself, and believe me, Broyles still has plenty to say. If he didn’t, the UofA would have retired him back in the Spring. Why else would you let him go ahead and continue to handle the A.D. duties until Jan. 1st? Everyone knew if we went looking for a coach, it would be before that date. How does it change things that someone else is doing the talking? Don’t they call that a puppet? A front? Doing your dirty work? Maybe I’m just high on drugs or something, but I could swear White stated a couple of weeks back, that Frank Broyles would continue his A.D. duties until the end of the year, and also through that time period, Jeff Long would be his (White’s) adviser. Does any of that make sense? Why would we trust any of these people? They (White and Broyles) both had a hand in dismantling this football program, so why wouldn’t they keep everything “hush-hush”? I have a feeling the next head to roll wil be White’s.
Petrino is bad timing. He’s not leaving a first year job before the year is even up. If he does, I wouldn’t want him anyway. Zook just took Il. to a BCS game and has a lot coming back and a great recruiting base. Again, you overestimate this job. Croom maybe.
Croom is probably the lowest paid coach in the SEC, so he would be cheaper, but if this is a second-tier program or less job than Michigan why not just gamble on a coordinator or mid major conference coach. This is feeling like the basketball coach search. Who is next?
I live over here in TN, and let me tell you; we are the laughing stock of the entire conference. I hear it everyday on the local sports talk, rivals radio, etc. The fact that we are in the SEC should make this job appealing by itself, but due to the crap that has taken place off the field it’s going to be practically impossible to get a great coach. The talent that has been WASTED over the last few years is staggering considering how many first round picks we’ve sent to the NFL. We are screwed for no telling how long. Lets see, we have to compete with Tennessee, Missouri, Oklahoma, LSU, Texas, maybe AR State at the rate things are going, for recruits. We’ll get a lot of the in-state kids, but Mustain and McFadden don’t come along that often. Maybe we’ll get lucky and find the next Stoops, but I’m not optimisic.
Mid major? Who?
Does anyone know anything about Univ. of Central Arkansas’ coach? He seemed to elevate that program and is now trying to take it to a higher level. Pass happy folks may like him…he throws it. What mid majors do you have in mind? I never would have believed that UCA would have been successful in Southland Conf. for a few years, but they came in second. That appears to be an amazing year since it was their first year in the conference. Not sure what his background is prior to UCA.
There are many major colleges struggling to be BIG winners across the country this season. When Arkansas entered the SEC, a person from Michigan who follows their conference told me that he saw Arkansas struggling to win more than about seven games, and doubted whether our fans would be happy with that. I agreed that he might be right based on what happened to Hatfield. Our ex-head coach elevated it past that but unfortunately a few loud fans were not happy even with back to back 10-4 and 8-4 seasons while coming out of a recruiting problem caused by the NCAA stringing out the investigation of our AD’s friend in Dallas. And ironically, if you believe the stars, the stars that he had lined up were the highest during his tenure. If a good coach is hired, one that the committed recruits click with, those recruits may stick it out. February is coming fast and we will not have to wait long to see how that all pans out. Actually, if supported, Nutt would have elevated the football even more than he did while coming out from under the NCAA problems..
Many believe that Tulsa OC would have problems hiring a strong staff. I suppose he could elevate some high school coaches to his staff unless he is the only smart high school coach out there..
The hire will probably come together suddenly. It took Alabama a long time to land their coach. Although reportedly they have many fans already unhappy with Saban. That is just the way it is with football being king in the South. Fortunately, most of us have a life and we are busy with other things. Broyles predicted they would have to double the salary paid to Nutt and that it would take longer than this week to identify the new hire. We shall see if that pans out that way.
DieingHog…maybe you could trade BlindHog a Razorbacks floppy hat for a RBN t-shirt. He really wants one of those floppy hats.
DWC, “…saw Arkansas struggling to win more than about seven games” - care to guess what Houston’s 10 year average? 7.5 - he only exceed the “more than 7″ games 5 times out of 10. Sounds like the definition of mediocre to me.
FYI - Out of respect, I didn’t include bowl records for Houston in the averages as this would just push the numbers down!
Dale wasn’t fired for 10-4 and 8-4 seasons. He could have saved himself as late as last August with a few well chosen words resembling an apology and an honest straight forward approach to making his words match his actions. He lied and lied some more to cover his lies and people became sick of it. Like J. Frank and J. White he wouldn’t know the truth if it ran up and bit him on the ass, at least not in public, and could not save himself.
Dale had 5 teams in ten years with the talent to make a run into the top 10. Kansas, Missouri, and West Virginia all made runs at the National Title this year. College football is a TEAM game of emotion and execution. Sure recruiting is important but with an ever expanding population and a static 85 scholarship limit more and more mid-tier teams will find themselves after a couple of re-building years with a large group of juniors and seniors ready to make a run with the help of a little coaching.
This is far from impossible. Yes we look kind of bad right now thanks mostly to J. Frank and partially to Dale and White but, one good hire can put this back on track.
I don’t know if we have anyone on the hill that would recognize a winner if they saw one.
Thinking out-side-the-box:
Read Mike Singletary’s bio. There might be a coach in there. Probably a better motivator than anyone could imagine. Maybe D’Mac and company would stay around for another year?
Charlie Strong or Brent Venables would be out the box as well but this is Arkansas, do you think they would make that kinda of bold step. It would be nice, the latest now is Jim Grobe of Wake Forest.