Strolling Down Memory Lane
December 6, 2007 at 10:04am by TipsterHog
Filed under Arkansas Razorbacks, Football
We’ve been having a lot of fun doing this site for a while now. So now…let’s take just a moment to recap some of our favorite headlines from over the years, shall we?
Report: Broyles Offers Job To Gillispie
Report: Broyles Offers Job To Calipari
Altman Hired As Razorbacks Basketball Coach
Report: Tuberville Will Be Next Arkansas Coach
Report: Arkansas Negotiating With Bowden
And now:
Report: Grobe Will Be Next Arkansas Coach
Not Much Sizzle…But A Lot Of Steak
And the hits just keep on coming…
I repeat. We’re idiots. No man is going to drag his family into the cesspool we have created. But at least six(6) coaches got a nice raise out of it.
Wait…you mean maybe those banners weren’t such a good idea after all???
I feel slightly ill.
http://www.ardemgaz.com/prev/uacoach/coach10.html
Could have had Tubs 10 years ago…. thanks
Piggies…
RazorbackEXpats…………..LMAO!!!!!!
This is getting a bit embarrassing. We can’t even get someone to leave Wake-freaking-Forest???? My guess is that with the way things ended up for Houston (regardless of what side of the argument you we’re on) may be keeping people from wanting to jump into the fire.
I think our best bet right now is to hire a senior level washout of a head coach to coach for the next couple years while at the same time letting a younger coach or small group of coaches gain the experience to be our coach of the future. We’re about to be royally screwed as far as recruits go, we can’t even get a “moderately decent” head coach. The school has negative name recognition and that has and will effects everything across the board.
All that being said I never liked Coach Nutt, and was often frustrated by the fact that he could never develop a passing game. I’m glad he’s gone, but we shot ourselves in the foot by not keeping him around for another one to two years so we can home grow another candidate.
So…I guess I’ll jump on the basketball bandwagon since it appears that we have an excellent up and coming head coach.
I’ve been a Hog fan all my life, but I do get some satisfaction by seeing all of the overzealous, so-called fans that did their best to run Houston out of town start to realize what that silliness did to the program overall.
For the past 20 years, everyone blamed the Hogs program deficiencies on Broyles. You would think that with Broyles leaving coaches would be taking pay cuts to join Arkansas program due to the facilities and strong upside potential. Because of small minded fans that couldn’t see the big picture and our over the top local media, the Hogs are screwed for the next few years.
I just laugh when I read some of the history here where folks thought we would get Stoops, Davis, etc. Heck, even I was misguided to think we would get Tuberville. I think the search committee will downgrade their search to a temporary coach for a couple years until our fan base is stable, then go for a big name.
There is just so much baggage in our fan base that no successful coach would want to set foot in Arkansas, except to kick our buts on the field.
What is most depressing is that we’ll probably get beat by the Sun Belt teams next year….
Hmmm… is ESPN f’ing with us again? They need to stop reporting things and making them NOT TRUE.
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=3143977
Sylvester Croom is looking better by the minute.
They really should go the coordinator route, it is becoming painfully obivious.
Tony Barnhart
http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/cfb/entries/2007/12/06/grobe_to_arkans.html
5. Arkansas is getting a reality check: A lot of people tried to warn Arkansas that if they ran Houston Nutt off, it would not be easy to hire another head coach. The count of proven head coaches to negotiate with Arkansas and then say no is now up to three. Tommy Tuberville and Tommy Bowden got nice contract improvements at their respective schools after flirting with Arkansas. Wednesday night the Arkansas papers were reporting that Jim Grobe would leave for Wake Forest and come to Fayetteville. Thursday morning Grobe decided to stay put. Arkansas is not an easy job and Nutt, who was chased into the arms of Ole Miss, did it pretty well. A portion of the school’s fan base is now getting that reality check.
I bit on the Grobe news and would have gotten excited about it but its not true and we are still fans of the biggest joke in college sports. I know we’ll blame the powers at be but we do we begin to look in the mirror. People wonder what a mess it is behind the scenes. You don’t have to look behind the scenes. We do flyovers and wear black shirts. Who wants to deal with that crap?
The idea of a temporary 2 year coach is a really bad idea. We need to get the best coach we can now and hope to god it works out. The coordintor route is exactly where we need to go but not Gus and not English.
And the circus continues.
THIS IS NOT THE FANS OR THE SOAP OPERA.
This is in fact the administration had unrealistic expectations. Look at all of the head coaching hires in the SEC in the last several years and what do you see?
Coordinators, Mid-Majors, NFL and College retreads or upgrades. LSU was able to get Miles from OSU with a national title team. Florida got Zook off an NFL staff after flirting with Shanahan and Stoops, (more like getting completely rejected,) Tommy moved from Ole Miss to Auburn. Meyer came from Utah for BIG bucks. Alabama ended up with Shula after drunken old Mike Price crashed and burned. Somebody name some more.
If you have coached in a BCS game in the last five years you are not coming to Arkansas for a few extra bucks. Hell, you’re probably not going anywhere, ANYWHERE, for a few bucks. You are already set where you are with an extention, a buyout, and a raise if you leak your name for another job.
It is not the fans who have set their sites too high. Just like Alabama and Florida before them our administration raised expectations way too high with these early pie in the sky searches instead of going straight to a good coord. or mid major who would be on board by now.
Now when they finally do get a clue, unless they go mad like Bama a start throwing money around, the new guy will look bad in comparison to names who were NEVER going to come here.
White has made a mess on the academic side since the day he arrived. He should never have been given any influence in the athletic program. Is the BOT so overinflated that they don’t get this either?
This is why today’s coaches don’t last more than 5 or 6 years. You take a guess and give a guy his shot. If he doesn’t hit he is gone in year five or six. That is just the way it is, EVERYWHERE.
The most successful coach in the SEC in the last 5 years, Mark Richt, coordinator.
BlindHog got it right. The longer it takes to get a coach the more it hurts the U of A. I think the fans will support a coach that has a balenced football team. If you want to get to the next level find someone that can make the other team wonder what play is coming next.
I love the Hogs and while we look terrible right now I am holding on to the belief that the public’s memory is short and soon enough the Hogs hiring troubles will be replaced by some new “hot” story. This search isn’t quite as bad as our recent search for a new basketball coach. I mean that time we HAD a press conference and coach. At least (so far) this time around we haven’t had someone commit and then back out the next day.
I don’t want to focus on what’s happened over this past year – what’s done is done and we as Hog fans, now more than ever, need to focus on the road ahead…
So anyway, here’s my armchair AD idea: Instead of giving a head coach $2 Million why not mix it up and give some “up and coming” coordinator or small school HC $1 Million to be HC and use the extra on the O and D Coordinators. We could bring in some serious talent at the coordinator positions with those salaries. I’m thinking Ron English as HC, Malzahn as OC (of course he would come back for $500K/year) and Ed Orgeron as DC. Each has a contract for 3 seasons with a $200K raise for HC in season 2 and 3 and $50K raise for the Coordinators in season 2 and 3. At the end of the third season the salaries for the HC and coordinators will total $2.6 million for that season. It’s probably a little higher than what we would be paying a “high profile” HC but I think a system like that could work and if not it’s a lot cheaper than a buyout because no big time HC would come to Arkansas for only a three year deal.
Nutt should had been fired and before this year. The fact about Nutt’s coaching is that he was average and other junk just did him in. The fact that we don’t have a replacement coach is complicated by the UofA leadership (White/Broyles) debacle with Stan. This has NOTHING to do with the Nutt’s situation except that it probably has caused others to question the leadership.
Was Nutt treated unfairly by some fans, maybe… but Nutt’s replacement is impacted by Stan’s firing much more than Nutt’s treatment by fans (at least in my opinion).
We are the laughing stock of college football right now. Can we get anyone to come here, and coach?
Right on BlindHog! How soon some of the fans forget. Getting rid of Houston Nutt was one of the best moves ever, but the biggest problem of them all still lye’s ahead. Did you notice how Nutt was let go? The whole house need’s to be cleaned up, if you ask me! This big mess is far from being cleaned up! We need a coach, but the power struggle on the hill will have to sieze immediately! If we don’t secure our recruits pretty quik, then we’ll be paying for this 2 or 3 years down the road. What a big mess that’ll be!
Quit panicking. We’ll get a coach. Pelphrey is turning out well at the moment. I am surprised that UA couldn’t outbid Wake, but it could be that we tried to get him on the cheap. Also, Grobe may have other irons in the fire for advancement. Other schools have had their problems too. Remember Tuberville and the Lousiville job a few years back. Right now there is something of a soap opera going on at Michigan. Miles says he’s not going. Or is he? Maybe after the bowl game. Carr doesn’t like him and that has been put forth as a reason for Miles not going. Are Michgan fans coming apart because they don’t have a coach yet? i’m not conviinced that the UA position has been poisoned that much. Money is a good antidote for almost anything..We will get a decent coach** eventually and we’ll beat Ole Miss next year. Count on it.
**Just a suspicious mind, but is this a maneuver to ease Reggie into the head job? (Last man standing). In academics, a slate of candidates is selected. The powers that be have already chosen the individual who is in the group and they know he will take the job. The other candidates are somwwhat window dressing. Half of the candidates are clearly not competitive and the other half are too highly qualified and will turn down the job even if it’s offered..(If however, one of those does take the job its’s a coup for the administration) Like collegiate coaching, those “star” candidates are probably using the interview as levereage for better goodies back at home. If we don’t get a coach by bowl time, I might lean toward this theory. However, one cannot rule out incompetence by the AD, Razorback Foundation, the trustees, and yes, even White.
It’s time for something to be done about these agents that tease with a coach’s acceptance for a job. Don’t they know – or maybe they don’t care – that these young men on these teams are still kids – only 18-22 – and the agents tease and taunt and then say “oops, he’s staying where he is for more money.” Is it all just a game to them? Of course, it is! they don’t really care about what they’re doing to the team. We – the fans – are adults and most of us anyway can deal with the roller coaster ride, but it’s unfair to the kids who play this game. It’s time for something to be done about these agents!
Chow……………….Chow…………………….Chow………………..Chow!!!!!!
Just got online. WTF!. . . I too bit on this one. What is Price doing these days?
If this is all just a sick game to try to push Gus or Reggie on the fans then we really are the fools they believe us to be.
ESPN says:
“Another coach spurns Arkansas.” Also, says:
“Before starting practice, some Wake Forest players cheered “Sooie!” –a reference to Arkansas’ famous “Pig Sooie” cheer.” Hurts, don’t it? Not nearly as much as what some of you did to our excellent former coach and his family.
I wanted to share this since I knew the negative anti-fans would just Loooove this. Many of you bloggers earned it.
Enjoy!
You can read the entire story on Wake Forest’s website. You know Wake Forest? That little university with less than 7,000 students. They are bright, you know?
I am trying to figure out where all of those coaches who were standing in line for this job have gone! Please call AD Long to let him know where they went. Didn’t learn anything from the firing of Stan Heath, did you? As I have repeatedly stated, negative people just cannot help themselves. Gotta be negative and throw drink containers at the Coach’s wife even after a nice win at LSU! Nice of you to pick on a nice, beautiful lady. Takes a real he-man to pick on kids and his wife, doesn’t it?
It is not hogs that stink in Arkansas and three head coaches have smelled what the odor is since Nutt is Goooooone! Smart coaches! We can hire an assistant that will do well, then leave, hire another, do well, and leave, etc. You can try to run off all of the coaches that you want to but don’t blame the AD or head of the university. The Head is running an educational institution not a pro football league.
That was a lovely post DWC. Maybe you could forward that nice message to Diana, and let her know just how much you think of her. She could forward it to all her friends, and you, my friend, could be the “talk of the town”, and just to make sure that she really know’s how you feel, text message her a few times in between oh, say now, and about 19 minutes before the Cotton Bowl, around say 1100 times, give or take a few. Really, Houston won’t mind, and she will be absolutely thrilled!
Gonzo,
I think you just proved his point. Owasso and Blind keep pointing that finger somewhere else. Its everyone else’s fault. Regardless of who you think is to blame, national perception has swung toward blaming our fan base and perception is pretty important when it comes to getting a new coach or recruiting quality players.
I watched ESPN last night and thought what a great night of publicity for the U of A if we just weren’t a bunch of jackasses.
I know all I have on my side are the facts.
And, even though the huggers would love to blame the anti-nutties and take one last shot, and give old Dale one last hug, this is still not very different than when Alabama, Florida, Georgia (anyone remember Donnan’s last record? 8-4,) Ole Miss (remember the stink about canning a guy one year removed from 10 wins and a cotton bowl?) or Miss St went through this.
By definition, your program is not peaking at the moment of your coaching search.
Sure our little tale is the one being told right now but the minute we fill our vacancy the focus will shift to the next messy hire. There are plenty yet to come in just the next month.
Daly Sr. is right. Let’s leave off the panicking for a few more days. Does anyone have any new information on Petrino? Is it possible that he is really interested and we have not talked to him? Someone please explain to me why we haven’t contacted Chow. He is only one of the best minds in football for the last 30 years. There are still plenty of good candidates left, actually better ones than we have been wasting our time on.
And, it is also very possible that this is another Pelphry situation. Arkansas is not the worst job in football. But, as long as Michigan is still open (just like Kentucky in basketball) enough dominos have not fallen for us to know where we stand in the order. We should have gone straight for a young hot coordinator or mid major 2 weeks ago (yes before Dale announcement) like Ole Miss did. If we keeping messing around we may have to wait our turn until after the bowls.
It just makes you wonder back to when Nolan was canned and all the things he had to say people could not believe it now here we are years later and everything is coming to the light about the Uof A administration no one wants this job has that sunk in to any of you people still pointing fingers at coaches or fans. HDN has moved on so why waist time pointing out his flaws people in Ole Miss love him and he could care less at this point about what we are doing. If we can bounce back I will be glad but just listening to the guys on espn cracking there jokes like ” hey Arkansas why not offer me the job so that I can say yes while negotiating a better deal for myself here” just makes me sick. Then lets think about Stan someone who came to a program with nothing improved each year built a team of talented players and then was canned and now someone else has come in and taken his thunder with his players he recruited. Who would want to come into that situation again.
Did you really just use Ole Miss as a fact to prove your point. How did that work for them? And we really need to stop talking about the Pelphrey hiring as if it were a strategy that worked out. It was a hail mary that landed in our laps.
I would appreciate it to if everytime someone speaks out agains some of you guys we didn’t have to labeled as ‘huggers’. I am not attached to anyone coach. I was born a Razorback fan (an unfortunate curse at times) and what I want is to stay relevant and competitive in the toughest conference in the country. I remember the 90’s all too well.
Petrino? I’ll eat my shorts if Petrino has any interest in this job. Petrino can write his own ticket in college ball. Why would he choose this. Besides, we can’t wait until after the NFL season unless we want this to be a 5 year rebuilding project when it doesn’t have to be.
The only thing that worked for Ole Miss was that they filled their vacancy 3 days after it opened with no search. I can’t comment on their choice. It may be a good one for them. A lot will depend on what kind of talent Mississippi produces in the next 5 years. If they have a Matt Jones or a Darren McFadden in high school right now they are in good shape.
I only asked about Petrino. I would love to know more about Chow. What is the skeleton there? He should have been a head coach years ago. What is the secret? Same question about Charlie Strong. Is that just a racial thing or is there more information there that people don’t want to talk about?
Whoa… remember that I said that the fans “piled on”. Things were already going downhill BEFORE the fans became so vocal. White, Broyles, and Nutt are the real problems that led us to this point. The figure point really does go into this direction but others can be included!
Am I surprised that we’ve had issues getting a new football coach? No, again – look at the history with Broyles and coaches Holtz, Hatfield, Sutton, and Richardson. Most were run off by Broyles. Richardson imploded on his own prior to being run off. However, Broyles did what he could to get rid of him first.
Broyles firing Stan who rebuild the program from the Richardson shambles and established back to back 20+ games and NCAA invites is a major factor in the image we have now. Why do you think they didn’t want to fire Houston?
Having said that… Schiano turns down Michigan to stay at Rutgers so we aren’t the only school having trouble with replacing our coach.
I didn’t say Pelphry was a stratagy. My point was we had about as much business talking to BCS coaches as we did talking to Gillespie. Pelphry was dump luck to be sure.
I hate to get on White and certainly Long is not fairing well in all of this either. I hate that they believe that secrecy is the answer to every question. It just makes them look even worse, which is pretty hard to do. I thought with Grobe I was going to be wrong and that we dodged a bullet but, I think I may have to go back to my original prediction. We may be in for another Jack Crowe/Danny Ford era just to get rid of White and Long and put this program back on a decent footing. Who hired White anyway? Does that belong to Sugg?
Hey the talk has been we might not have to get rid of Long because he is looking at the Nebraska AD position now wouldn’t that be a slap in the face.
So you’re going after Long now?! He’s been on the job, what, a few months, if that? Why? Because he doesn’t feel the need to announce every little thing he’s doing? Or that he was hired by who? White? And you even want to go after the guy who hired HIM! (Who is this Sugg fella, anyway?) Why does anyone wonder that we can’t get someone to come take the HC job right off the jump? I know I don’t wonder, not one bit.
I think we need to go with the firm doing the hireing again atleast that helps us save face a little. Long seems to have to many leaks in his operation already.
“Hey the talk has been…”
Man, I hope you’re wrong on this. Imagine how much fun the search for a new HC will be if we also have to find a new AD after the first one didn’t last six months.
“Long seems to have to many leaks in his operation already.”
What? You mean having every little grubworm in (and out) of the state trying to find out and publicly critique his every move ISN’T a good idea?
I just think that after the first offer went south we should have been more tight lipped about the rest but no we go and help 2 or 3 more coaches get raises and publicly make our program the laughing stock of college footbal and I know some of you feel we had already become that.
I’m just saying after months in the wings Long finally has his first public assignment where he is interviewed by the press, responsible for organizing and explaining the search and this is finally, 4 months later, his first impression.
Does he come across as an honest, straightforward, stand-up guy who is open to questions and confident about the kind of program that he is going to run? I admit that there is not much information here but that is partly by design.
We have known plenty about White for a while now. He has done a better job of hiding his successes (although he has brought in the cash if you don’t mind a few strings) than he has of hiding his controversies. Maybe he needs a PR firm. One thing we do know about him is his preference for working and spinning the press and by extention the public. That didn’t work for Frank and Dale and I fear it will not work for White either.
I suggest that Long try to look a little more open and independent. Just a thought. If he is smart enough to jump to Nebraska then good for him. Maybe that means we are closer to finding a spot for White in the ACC where he so wants to be. Maybe not.
This can be very simple. It is about college sports, boys and girls playing games.
And, $50 million dollars a year give or take, and a $200 million dollar piggy bank with lots of investments and loans. Tough stuff evidently.
So maybe it is about leadership. Maybe not.
No talent left? Just reviewed the Razorback Media guide again. And now, I see where the SEC picking four freshmen as All Freshmen SEC. Tejada, Ambrose, Burton, and Williams. And just think there are more excellent players returning, a few who were injured this year and if they hang on to the commitments, that will make a nice bunch of players.
Long hasn’t even officially started his tenure as AD yet. That would be a disaster if he left. I think its hard to jump on the guy and blame him for all of this. That’s pretty rich. It seems on here that at one moment we beat him up for having leaks and then for having press conferences and not giving enough info. All we do is bitch.
I would be surpised if after firing their last AD from Pitt and sending him back to Pitt, Nebraska went and hired the guy that replaced Peterson and that Peterson is now replacing. Huh?
I don’t know who said ‘no talent left’ but I agree with you DWC. This team returns enought talent to compete if they can shore up the secondary. Casey is looking ready to go. We have an O-line, recievers, good backs. If this recruiting class holds on this could be a good team next year, if a little young.
There’s a lot of people still bringing up Gus’s name for the HC job, but I’m afraid, even if Gus was ready to make that jump, he would still not come to the UofA, as long as Broyles is still hanging around. Malzahn has too much class and integrity for this administration. When he left, he took the high road without saying a word. I have always respected that and alway’s will. Lord know’s he could have said plenty. His focus is one thing; being the very best coach he can possibly be, and good things will come his way. He knows how to win, and I garentee you he will do it at the div. 1 level one day, wheather it’s with us or without us.
Gonzo, I am afraid Gus will probably end up coaching somewhere other than Arkansas, he could eventually become a Razorback head coach or maybe oc under the new regime. Let’s hope the adrministration keeps their mouths shut and we don’t hear anything until a news conference is being scheduled, this is getting silly.
I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m sick and tired of this “dog and pony show”. (John and Frank) Razorback football will be hard pressed to ever be the same again. We may have raised enough hell, to force them to send their monkey down the road, but the circus is still in town. How many of you bought the story that Frank isn’t involved in this coaching search? The power struggle on the hill continues, and the future of 18 year old kids are caught right in the middle of it. Then again, When Gus was forced on to the “Nutt,” by “the white-haired devil,” the kid’s futures weren’t a major concern then either.
darrell, I think it would be a stretch to say Jeff Long is in control of this situation. As far as we know, he’s been pretty quite, but for some reason word has leaked out twice now, by some idiot, or idiots that is, about possible candidates being a sure thing to be the next coach, only to back out the next day, and now we’ve been made fools of on the national sceen, only to make future big-time recruits look the other way. If this is the best we can do, then surely they will go somewhere else, and for all of the Nutt-lovers who can’t wait to say we told you so, don’t use that cop-out, it only makes you look stupid. I’d rather have no coach at all, than put up with his shit one more year!
Not sure where the leaks are coming from, but bet they are from the University Board of Directors…not Long, and he has to keep them informed. Funny some complain if they do not tell us that they are getting on the airplace and others want it quiet. Quiet would of course be the correct stance since all that it does is cause the negotiators problems and some fans angst.
I suspect that it will turn out well just as it appears to have turned out with the basketball program. If it turns out that well, I believe fans will be pleased until the first loss comes and then within a year so, these same complainers will complain again since they have obviously have the knowledge and ability of a seasoned college coach. In fact, they do not even need the playbook to determine what should have been run on each play. They even do not have to see one practice or train one player to know exactly what each player is supposed to do on every play. Amazing ability. Kinda spooky that they can hear and see through walls.
Deep Throat says that Broyles is the leaking source!
Maybe he’s giving Jeff Long his entrance exam.
DWC, I’m sorry you are upset with the loss of the blessed nutt. But, please make some sort of argument that makes sense. After ten years of nuttie you expect us to believe that it was really all a magically secret plan that was somehow smarter than regular football, that he was winning with weaklings because he knew how to call that third down off tackle play just that extra time that no one was expecting.
Nutt played it as close to the vest as possible without punting on 3rd down and hoped all game that Darren would break one or the other team would fumble. Excellent game plan but we all tired of it, sorry. All things considered I would rather watch football.
Most of the people here are pretty upset with Nutt and glad he is gone. That is fine. The problem is the way everything happened (IMHO). Is seems to me like everyone is blaming FB, HN, and the rest of the administration while the rest of the country sees that the fans the used the FOIA to pull phone records and flew banners. Even if you believe in you heart the HN was wrong (and you may in fact be correct) the way everything happened makes the fans look like the rabid idiots. You have to remember that all everyone around the country are not coming to razorbloggers.net to get their info. It’s all about the perception that the fans now have with the rest of the country.
Not sure if anyone really looked/listed to the statement that Davis put out when he turned down the HC job. It was almost solidarity with HN. If you haven’t read it….read it again and tell me if you think I am incorrect.
I have a friend that is a Georgia alum who cannot understand for the life of him how some “idiot fans pulled his phone records, attacked his marriage, and fored him out. He was doing well”. Now, he may be incorrect…..but again…that is the perception that others have of us right now.
This is just my opinion. I was quite upset how everything went down (and still am). Does that mean I’m a “Nutthugger” and an Ole Miss fan now…of course not. I am and will always be a Razorback. I just think people should look at the BIG pictue everyone in a while….rather that screaming at the top of the lungs to prove they are right even though no one is listening. In case you haven’t noticed….look at Coach Davis…no one is listening…they are just hearing the screaming.
Sorry for the incorrect grammer and spelling in the above post. I’ve had a bit of wine and it’s late at night (morning). My apologies.
I’m afraid the mis-handlelings of the football program by Broyles, since the days of Lou Holtz, have finally caught up with us. Back in the day, we pretty much only heard what Frank wanted you to here, using Orville Henry as his own personal type-writer. That’s just the way it was back then. When Houston Nutt was hired in ‘97, even Henry was a little confused with the reasoning of this hire. He basically thought Houston could turn out to be a decent hire, but at the same time, had not proven himself to be a big winner. In his mind, Henry thought the best route for this program was to go with someone who could win, and win now, and everyone knew he would win now. That was pretty much the Golden Rule of Thumb for hiring a coach at a university like the UofA. When Houston came on board, he had already done pretty decent with Murry St., for a few years, and then went on to Boisie St. for a year to win with someone elses players. That was pretty much it. He had no real proven ability as far as recruiting in this region for top notch SEC talent. If the last 10 years doesn’t tell Hog fans that the “buddy” system just doesn’t work when it comes to building a winning program, year in and year out, then obviously nothing ever will. Nutt ran this program the way Broyles wanted it. That’s the ONLY reason he lasted as long as he did. Don’t be suprised if Nutt passes the ball a little more down at Ole Miss. Orjeron had a balanced attack last year, and was pretty close to putting together a good ball club. Once again Nutt enters the door smelling like a rose, acquiring enough talent to make himself look pretty good his first year. That, in itself will keep the Arkansas fanbase divided, because all the Nutt supporters will proudly stick out their chest and say “see? we told you so!” while here at Arkansas, our new coach will acquire decent talent, but probably not enough to make a real dent in the SEC his first year. Again, the Nutt supporters will say “see? we told you you were running off a good coach!” This will only deteriorate the program even more. Until we get rid of Broyles completely, and convince White he isn’t at Vanderbilt, the suffering of this program will continue. If Mr. White want’s to discuss hancuffs, then maybe he ought to take a good hard look in the mirror. He might see he need’s to take another shower.
Blind one: I quit giving you details whenever I got nothing back from you and a few others but nonsensical anger toward a very disciplined, nice, prircipled man and toward his nice family. Makes you feel good to attack them, doesn’t it? Wisdom is not something that one can explain to losed minds. Either you have it or you do not and as you know there has been no wisdom coming out of the Nutt haters just deeply crude behavior.
The strange thing is that negative fans never learn. I feel sure that you approve of the true statements being made on ESPN and other sports outlets regarding the bad fans that Arkansas has grown. Nice recruiting plug wouldn’t you say? A new coach will be hired and regardless of his credentials it will not be long in his career before you and others, without the benefit of a play book, practice, etc. will be setting yourselves up as all knowing when this new gee-whiz coach does not do as you and others think that he should think. I for one am ready to turn college football back to intramural sports and not vote one dime to its continuation. And it will have the benefit of getting some butts off couches which is a good thing according to the fat council. Maybe if the brain fat desolves these folks will be able to think rationally.
Several things bother me about what’s been posted here (or written elsewhere). First I would like to say that it’s refreshing to see someone mention that Nutt won with Ford’s recruits. Now whether Ford could have done as well is another matter, which can’t be proven one way or another. It was, however, a positive type legacy left by Ford for the football program. Now, I too have read the media guides and I am not impressed with the talent coming back next year. The degree of success for a program is dependant upon players in skill positions. I would like to know who these running backs and receivers are that have experience and who have proven themselves to have outstanding ability. Dick is the only returner with that kind of resume. Wishful and hopeful thinking does not necessarily translate into reality. Maybe Grobe took a cold hard look at what he was going to have to work with and had second thoughts. Of the four all SEC freshman selections, three were lineman. The fourth was a place kicker. Now, no one, especially Nutt after last year’s bowl game, can discount the importance of a consistent kicker but the kicker is not going to move the ball for you on the field. Couldn’t google it up quickly, but it wasn’t clear to me if the three linemen were first, second, or even third team selections
I wish that some fans and posters would get off of the Arkansas AIC pity pot, woe is us, we is (sic) so much less than anyone else (Arkansas Inferiority Complex) attitude. Aside from my (and others) poor prognostication for the Hogs next year, the Arkansas job is a very good one. Read the article on recruiting in Fridays Demo-Zette. Arkansas is in an excellent geographic position for recruiting talent. It has outstanding athletic facilities and a strong fan base with alumni and boosters who’ve got money to put where their opinions are. Northwest Arkansas is also a very nice place to live. As far as being a national embarrassment, get over it. Maturity brings with it the ability to handle criticism and brush it off especially when the motives of the critics are suspect. Many Arkansans, besides having AIC also have a streak of self absorbed thinking where everything evolves around it, like this is the only program to be bad-talked about in the major media. An example of this self absorbed attitude was the header for a column in the Demo-Zette that said Nutt’s job at ole Miss was to beat Arkansas. Not it’s not. It’s to win SEC games, whether it’s Arkansas or whomever. Secondarily, it is to beat MSU and LSU, Ole Miss traditional rivals. The coaching search at UA is merely a minor discussion topic with the hot stove crowd. Just give the critics a symbolic middle finger and remember, this too will end (everything does).
You heard it folks, if your a negative fan, that also makes you stupid. This isn’t the first time we’ve heard it, and it won’t be the last. I hope computer chairs don’t contribute to brain- fat as much as that ‘ol couch does. We all know as well that if you here news on ESPN, it has to be the truth. Surely, it also means Tim Tebow is the best player in college football. Who else could be that good?
Dallas Hog—-good post.
DWC—-you remind me of the Clinton-Lewinski fiasco. The Republicans were saying, hey, he’s a liar. The Democrats would respond this is about politicizing sex. The two sides were talking about the same issue, but not responding to the allegations.
I, and others, have said several times that Nutt’s problem’s were primarily related to his inappropriate personal conduct and dishonesty, more than his record. You indicate that his “nice family” has been besmirched by others. Such is clearly not the case for Diana who has been involved in scathingly distasteful emails. For my part, I cannot see that Houston Nutt has been mistreated by the University of Arkansas. As for fans, please remember the root of the name, which is fanatic. Many fanatics are foolish and unreasonable.
“Many fanatics are foolish and unreasonable.”
That’s no excuse. Besides, what fans are supposed to be fanatic about is school spirit and support for their team. Not trying to insert themselves into a process they were never intended to be a part of. Not trying to be the arbiters of ‘morality’ where the coach, staff, and their families are concerned. Not by showing their collective ass on the national stage thus embarrassing the team they profess to support, other fans across the nation, not to mention prospective recruits and hires.
I’m tired of this crap. I’m tired of trying to explain to my friends just what the hell is going on over there. I’m tired of trying to make sense out of this just for myself. HDN is gone. Instead of being emboldened by apparent ’success’ and calling for even more heads, the haters should just quietly rest on their laurels and prepare for headhunts to come. Huggers: no crowing because the worm always turns. Both sides should be trying to get behind whomever takes this thankless job and see if they can’t spur the players on to greater exertions and glory. Somehow I don’t think that’s whats going to happen…
It is those in charge who have let this develop for at least 4 years now. For at least four years they have ALL lied and spun the truth and remained silent in spite of simple facts that deserved basic honesty, dignity, and respect for the fans and taxpayers of this State. It is finally becoming clear now that Dale was more a victim of this sickness than a perpetrator. Yes, he looked as bad going out as he did good coming in but this distasteful mess belongs to those above him.
Dale was a motivator, an organizer, and a teacher. His teams played hard consistently and he rarely lost a game he was supposed to win although he tripped up to Ole Miss and South Carolina a couple of times. He played not to lose and, running your 5 best plays and waiting for a break is a good way to do that. Of course that does make it easy to win the big one and he never did. He had some very big wins and some very inconsistent recruiting. And, like every other coach before him to work for Frank Broyles he left town in the midst of controversy. The pressure exposed a mean spirited, childish side in Dale and his friends, coaches, and family. You can say it was his undoing but, it was those who put in that position instead of supporting him or letting him go that created the mess he could not handle.
So that is all said and done. Hug him, hate him, let him go. The fans are as crazed as Dale and his friends became at the last and, it is not their fault either. They have been lied to and used for years and it has finally all become too much.
No coach good enough to do what needs doing should take this job as long as Frank is alive, White is in charge, and Lindsey is on the board.
Dale might have taken this team to the next level if he had not been driven mad. He did a good enough job to leave the next guy with a real position to uphold and build on in the SEC West. We sit ready to take off for the right coach and administration.
Who is the latest candidate? Skip Holtz?
I rest my case. Stop the madness!! Or better yet, START THE REVOLUTION. This is not the fans doing. People won’t stand for abuse forever. Frank has run his course but we still have to clean up the mess left behind. Let’s get at it.
Hawgfan 100, You might want to break it down a little farther than that. When you say “fans”, are you mentioning all fans, most fans, just a few, or could it be in reality that it was just 1 fool that actually thought he was going to sue the school, and 1 other fool that actually went as far as going for Nutt’s phone records. I hope when you explain this to your friends, your bringing up these people, along with the corruption in the university’s administration. If you’re bringing up those 2 names, along with Broyles, White and Nutt, you pretty much explained the national exsposure right there. I do agree that we need to get behind our next coach, and try to put this mess behind us, but blaming the Nutt-haters is pretty much a cop-out by the administration. When your trying to get the monkey off your back, what else would you say?
Those two fools and anyone who supported them. Anyone who paid for or supported a banner being flown. Anyone who wore a black shirt or supported same. How much ground does that cover? I don’t know for sure but offhand I’d say a lot.
I don’t mention corruption in the administration because, frankly, I don’t believe anyone has made a convincing case for this. I can’t very well offer up as proof something I myself have no faith in.
Regarding ‘monkeys on the back’, as far as I’m concerned this one needs to starve to death. So if we can all agree to stop feeding the little beastie…?
I agree Hogfan. I don’t think banners, black shirts, marching with signs, or any of that crap helped anything but bring more controversy to the program, but at the same time, I also know where the frustration came from too. Ignoring the head of the monkey and blaming the tail is exactly what I was talking about. We had problems dumped on us from this administration, and we were exspected to just lay down and say nothing, according to them. The only thing I wish we would have done different, instead of getting tied up in all of that crap, is just not attending the games. You could make a case that we wouldn’t be supporting the players, but at the same time ticket sales will make or break a coach. If we truly wanted Nutt gone, then why didn’t we just do that? If the Razorback faithful would have just given up a couple of games this year, that they normally attend, the deed would have been done. Wearing black shirts to the games is the same thing as Union members carrying signs out in the parking lot of thier employer for a few hours, and then going to work. In my opinion, your either in or out. You can’t have it both ways.
Gonzo: You and a few other fans would certainly not have been missed. We never miss those who chose to boo the players and coaches and who do such uncivilized things such as throwing drink containers at the coach’s wife after a great win over LSU. We like people at the game who are Razorback-rabid about the Hogs instead of rabid about having their way based upon absolutely nothing but their fantasy fiction. I realize I am asking a lot from the “me” generation, but try it you will find it is a better way of living. That would have been better for the program if you and the few had done that rather than wear the black shirts, fly airplanes with banners, etc. Sad thing is you will repeat it all over again with the new coaching staff.
And by the way, cyber fat? Hardly. My neighbors have never accused me of that! Doing hard work that I choose to do from before sun up until 9 pm at night very often produces no cyber fat. In fact, my time on the computer is not very long since I can put out a post in just a few minutes time. We have a life around here! Try it! You will find it to be healthy living.
We see eye-to-eye on a lot of things Gonzo. I’m reminded of a Japanese saying: “Fix the problem, not the blame.” You believe that there is rot at the highest levels and I can appreciate this. However, Nutt and Broyles are probably as far as the changes will go. I see no evidence that White will leave or be removed anytime soon. Long is dealing with a tricky and difficult situation as well as I imagine anyone could (I mean no one, Grobe included, knew what he was going to do the next morning…until he did it). The problem is as fixed as its going to get; all we’re doing now is stirring the pot of blame over and over.
Someone’s got to turn the heat down; why shouldn’t it be the fans? Back off, dial down, take a deep breath, and get ready for a tough Cotton Bowl.
Thanks Hawgfan 100. It’s nice too know, even when disagreeing on some things, there is still lots of common ground to be shared. DWC, It is obvious you know absolutely nothing about me, as a Razorback fan, or what my work ethic is. I raise 1 daughter and 2 sons by myself, while working 40 hrs a week, and I have never booed any player, in any sport. Period! Never threw a drink at a women either. Never helped pay for a banner, and can’t stand people like you that would go as far as include me in that bunch, because of your own arrogant blindness. Exscuse me, I’ve got to go to work now.
Erra, Gonzo, nice to finally know that you do not agree with your own comments!
There is nothing left to argue about here anymore boys. The administration will either come up with a Skip Holtz, Reggie Herring kind of hire or they will come up with a Muschamp, Kiffin, Chow kind of hire. Until then it is all just much ado about nothing. Every program has their fat cats who think they own the program. Auburn has Bobby Lowder, Alabama has Bryant Jr.; We have Lindsey and Frank. Our mess is pretty dysfunctional but, Frank has stepped aside, Dale has been sent packing, White will soon have enough rope to hang himself and Long.
The huggers like DWC that couldn’t save Dale from himself will continue to fuss until a new coach is named and sometime there after. I like fighting with them some because they make very little sense and are easy to defeat. But, I also get tired of it some because they make no sense and don’t care if they are defeated. As far back as August when they predicted 11-1 and an SEC title they have lost every argument they made. Dale never gave them much to work with or he would still be here.
I never had a chance to boo this year. I sold my tickets. I just didn’t have the heart to watch any longer. It was not fun anymore. But, If I had been there and seen something worth booing I might have. I’ve have booed the refs before, just for fun mostly.
I remember when this was just about having fun. When the fans stop having fun they should be allowed to be heard. They pay for the program. If it doesn’t belong to the fans then I don’t know who it belongs to. DWC thinks it belongs to Frank and Dale, that’s fine. I know he will always be positive about everything except ‘fans’ he doesn’t like. He expects fan to have fun and keep their mouths shut. Ain’t goin’ to happen, but keep on fussin’ DWC, we’re listening.
I thought Neinas was a recent addition to the search but I found this in a recent article posted here:
“Long’s search is being aided by Chuck Neinas, the most renowned college athletics consultant. Chancellor John White said Long had a previous relationship with Neinas at Pittsburgh. Neinas has been working with Long since the search began on Nov. 26.”
Note that last sentence. If accurate, it puts a new perspective on things…
The program is floated by the top 10 percent of boosters and most of them could care less who the coach is. Take them away and you have Arkansas State type of financing. So, don’t try to take credit for floating the program. I suppose the Nutt haters will dig down and give anoher $5 when they hire their type of coach. Big deal! Keep the money and buy yourself another hot dog with chips!
I will admit that you can pat yourselves on the back for doing a wonderful job in giving the Arkansas program a black eye on ESPN and the rest of the country. Way to go!! That is called back woods progress!! Such superb critical thinking! You can now hire a top coach and pay them a ridiculous salary or you can pick an underling and hope for the best. If they pick the right underling, then the Hogs rise until you bring out your black shirts and airplace banners for once again you will be acting like a hooked flounder for years to come. Hope you like roller coasters and roller coasters can be lots of fun!
Who said this is not fun! Sure, it is fun. Negatives will never have fun for very long. Positives always have fun. We invented fun! We cannot help but have fun! Join us and you will learn that it opens up a whole new way of life. Unfortunately, negative people will always be negative and will be back here again or just drop out because the “me” generation just cannot handle life as normal people live it. I love all of life! There is a great big fun world out her.
I was thinking. Could not save Dale from himself.? Let’s see: left with around $3.5 million, received .5 million raise not to mention an extra car, moved to the top state in the nation with gentile people. Now who would want to save Nutt from all of that? Now would you? Have you ever made a job change such as that? I say top state because they are with Arkansas no. 2. The most defining character of a state is not recognized as so by the national media. What could that character be that Mississippi has? They are no. 1 in giving to charity in the nation. Arkansas is second. Year after year this has been reported as true. For the “me” generation, they never give anything…not even themselves because “me” is the only thing that they love…not even the Hogs. That defines their lives. Guess who gives the least? The richer states.
Dale earned his promotion. He is where he belongs. I know that is one thing that we can agree on, we are all happy for Dale in his new position.
I wouldn’t worry too much about ESPN. Aren’t these the guys who elected Ttebow? They will be all excited about somebody else next week. Arkansas is a good target. Always has been, always will be. The only way to conquer that is to win. But, even then, like Nebraska and West Virginia, and some others, we will always just be Hillbillies and hicks to the boys in LA and NY. You can wait longer than Dale waiting on an SEC title before you will get a square break from those guys. Besides Frank and the boys are spinning it as the fans fault to keep the heat off of their mismanagement and malfeasance.
Word from a Colorado source indicates: Auburn Defensive Coordinator Will Muschamp will be the next head coach.
Stay tuned tomorrow for the announcement that he was just promoted to Assistant Head Coach of Auburn and given a “nice” raise!
OwassoHog, ESPN is saying Petrino has resigned from the Falcons and is on his way to Fayetteville! Let’s wait on the news conference I would be happy with either coach.
Rats… they are dropping out quicker than overnight now!
But did Will get the $200K raise?