The rain drizzled off and on before the Arkansas-Alabama game on Saturday — leaving many fans at home, waiting to show up just before game time. The tailgating scene was anemic and there was a definite lack of pep in the air. Perhaps it was because Arkansas lost in overtime to Louisiana-Monroe a mere seven days earlier. In the week since that game, knowing that No. 1 Alabama was rolling into town, Arkansas’ football season outlook had changed from slightly rosy to downright bleak — prompting many Arkansas fans to jump off the bandwagon and stop believing.
Around the tailgates before the game on Saturday, there was quite a bit of talk surrounding head coach John L. Smith’s ability, or lack thereof, to run a program. There were more whispers of Arkansas needing to bring former head coach Bobby Petrino back into the fold (still not going to happen). And there were even fewer conversations talking about how Arkansas was going to bounce back from last week’s loss and give Alabama all they could handle.
Conversations after Alabama’s deafening 52-0 win are focused squarely on Smith, his coaching staff and athletic director Jeff Long.
After the game, coach Smith had this:
Well, I really don’t know what to say. I didn’t know what to say to our team as well. It’s kind of hard to say anything at this point.
Taking a cue from a head coach that didn’t know what to say, quarterback Tyler Wilson took advantage:
As a leader it sucks to see people not do their jobs and to see things go wrong. There have been a lot of things go that way. As a leader, at this point, you have to look forward. There have been a lot of people jump off the bandwagon and it is my job to keep everyone in this organization and this team in that locker room together.
If you ask me, there’s no question who’s leading this team right now. Wilson is doing all he can to assert himself into the leadership role and carry his team through a tough time. With Wilson on the field, Arkansas maybe has a chance to win any game. Without him, Arkansas has been outscored 79-10.
Knowing that Wilson is the unequivocal leader, there’s also no question who isn’t leading the team — Coach Smith or anyone on the coaching staff.
Back in April, when Long was desperately seeking the right coach to hopefully salvage Arkansas’ chance at a championship, there were only a few legitimate coaching names that could keep the program afloat for one magical season. The main issue with hiring a new coach is the changing of the guard when it comes to assistant coaches. New faces and schemes will be put in place — and doing that in April is not good timing.
The solution was to pass over any current Arkansas assistant and bring John L. Smith back in to be the “bus driver.” Smith was signed to a 10-month contract, which implied that Long was planning to do a coaching search for next season. Making that move also implied that all coaches on the Arkansas staff had a 10-month window in which to impress Long and effectively “audition” for the soon-to-be vacant head coach position.
The hope was that by hiring Smith and leaving the staff in place, Arkansas wouldn’t skip a beat and could contend for an SEC and NCAA championship. Three games into the season, it’s clear to all just how much influence Bobby Petrino had over the team’s success. And now, with the Hogs sitting at 1-2, it’s becoming very apparent how none of the current staffers will really have a chance to be Arkansas’ next coach.
Here are some tidbits about each coach and their current exploits:
Head Coach John L. Smith
- “Doesn’t know what to say,” and when he does it’s usually something silly or that Arkansas was out outcoached and outplayed.
- Knew on Thursday that Wilson was ruled out, likely tried to trick Alabama with Wilson’s dressing.
- Decision to change long-snappers was costly and set tone early for Arkansas (missed field goal and punt snap sailing overhead).
- Kept Knile Davis from contact drills throughout entire fall practice.
- Lost to Louisiana-Monroe.
- Lost to Alabama 52-0 — the first time Arkansas has been shut out at home since 1966.
Offensive Coordinator Paul Petrino
- Currently on second stint at Arkansas after failing to secure head coach opening at Illinois after Ron Zook was fired.
- Offensive play-calling, without Wilson in game, has been predictive.
- Classic Petrino-stubbornness — No running out clock against ULM (FYI, Auburn gained 255 yards against ULM, Arkansas gained 96), and abandoning the only offense working against Alabama — the option with Brandon Mitchell.
- 108th in scoring defense.
- 65th in rushing defense.
- 105th in passing defense.
The rumblings are out there that the season is lost and Long needs to set an example by firing Smith. Here’s what Long had to say last Friday:
I’ve said from the beginning I’m conducting a coaching search. That hasn’t changed. Coach Smith has a chance to play, as he said, to make it clear to me he is the right person at the end of the season. So I’m not going to come out … each game and talk about what job he’s doing. That doesn’t do anybody any good in my opinion. We’ll play the season out and then we’ll know at the end of the season what direction we’re headed.
If you feel that Long should send Smith packing, let me ask you this — who on the staff has done anything to indicate they’re ready to lead the team?
From what we saw yesterday after the loss, only Wilson has come out swinging. It appears that only Wilson is doing something, anything, to keep his team together. Perhaps Long should pull a page out of Pete Rose’s book and name Wilson the NCAA’s first player/coach.
There are murmurs that some players are admittedly missing Bobby Petrino’s demeanor after cheering loudly for Smith’s hiring in April. But, according to redshirt freshman quarterback Brandon Allen, the players “have all the faith in the world in our coaches.”
Smith’s 10-month contract is getting closer to its end. So, too, are the 10-month auditions for the assistant coaches. The problem, as I see it, is that while the players may still believe there’s something to achieve (and believe me, there is — even if it’s pride and a bowl game), the coaches are going through the same bandwagon jumping as the fans.
The rain and the loss to ULM kept Arkansas fans from really going all-in for the Alabama game. From what I’ve seen so far this season, I’m starting to fear that the coaching staff isn’t all-in, either.
It’s time for Arkansas fans to re-calibrate their expectations, this “crying in our beers” mentality has grown old. It should have started back in April, but everyone wanted to believe in a championship team so badly that they refused to appreciate the impact of missing Bobby.
The ULM loss shouldn’t have happened, but Alabama is really freaking good, even with Bobby we still lose that game, not as badly, but still lose.
The facts appear to be that the coaching staff will be cleaned out at the end of the year, a new head coach will be named, and we will be starting all over. Until then, not every week will be an Alabama, and Tyler will be back at some point. There a ton of winnable games on the schedule. If your expectations are a national championship, then you will be upset week-in-week-out. Waste of time. It’s time to start thinking crappy bowl, get back to Houston Nutt days’ expectations, and giving support to the players. It’s been rougher for them than anyone else.
Hopefully there is an awesome coach on the horizon.
Jones keepin’ it real.
John L. definitely isn’t head coach material. But I think we would all be doing ourselves a favor if we would drop the expectation that our boys are going to pick back up right where they left off last year. That isn’t going to happen.
An upset, followed by losing to the best team in the nation, doesn’t suddenly mean we’re a horrible team. I think there is still hope we can have a decent year, but like Jones said above, this is not going to be a championship season.
“An upset, followed by losing to the best team in the nation, doesn’t suddenly mean we’re a horrible team.”
While this is a true statement, the writing is on the wall that Arkansas may not even be a mediocre team. The talent is there, that’s for sure, but with how the first three games have been coached (in which we played the #1 team in the country, an Ohio Valley Conference team and a Sun Belt team), I’m not sure how good Arkansas really is:
Offense:
76th in scoring offense.
107th in rushing offense.
48th in passing offense.
Defense:
108th in scoring defense.
65th in rushing defense.
105th in passing defense.
Second to last in the nation in turnover margin.
Yes, things get better once Wilson is in the game. But Wilson can only control what happens when the ball is in his hands. And yes, three games a season does not make.
But, three games in Arkansas should be 2-1, not 1-2 with more questions than answers.
There are some good comments above and I agree with them. I never “drank the Kool-Aid”, if you will and started believing the hype that Arkansas was going to win a National Championship. I do believe that expectations were too high for this team and now we see the impact that Bobby Petrino had on this team. He is an excellent college football coach that is for sure. I do believe that John L. Smith should be fired soon. However, I did not think that they would beat Alabama. The reason I say he should be fired is due to the loss of the ULM game and the way that they lost the Bama game, both setting new records for losses. I was hoping that they would split the Bama and LSU games since they were both at home, but I thought they would lose both of them. I also thought those would be the only games lost though.
I agree that John L. is definitely not living up to expectations. But at the same time, if we fire him, what does that accomplish? We’re right back where we were last spring when Petrino rode off into the sunset. Jeff Long and John L. both acknowledged when he was hired that he was not a permanent solution. If it wasn’t feasible to try and find a permanent head coach back in April, what makes it any more feasible we’ll find someone mid-season? I feel like we need to make the best of the situation that’s been given to us, and making knee jerk reactions that leave us once again without a head coach doesn’t seem like the best solution at this point.
Agreed. Firing Smith does nothing but squelch whatever murmurs there are. But, it COULD set a tone for Long that no matter who the coach is, you always have an answer — you always have something to say to the team when times are tough — you don’t constantly turn to the star quarterback to be the voice of the entire team, including yourself.
That is very true. I feel like right now our team is lost and looking for a leader, and John L. definitely isn’t stepping up to the role.
I like the part where Brandon Allen says the players “have all the faith in the world in our coaches.” He is talking about his dad!! He has to say that.
Coach Smith:
Lost to Alabama 52-0 — the first time Arkansas has been shut out at home since 1966.
An overtime loss to ULM (a Sun Belt team that only lost to Auburn in overtime, mind you) – that I can forgive. But our first home shut-out in 46 years….