Photo: Walt Beazley, UA Athletics
Just hours ago, Arkansas lost its third game in a row (to Rutgers this time). And, once again, the offense couldn’t establish a running game, a key player left the game hurt, the Razorbacks lost the turnover battle and the defense made another average quarterback look like an All-American. As frustration sets in for fans of Hogs football, here are the harsh realities surrounding Arkansas’ terrible start to the 2012 football season:
- Long gone is the BCS talk.
- Gone, too, is the SEC championship talk.
- It’s silly to think there could be Heisman talk.
- At this rate, Arkansas may not be playing in a bowl game after November.
If there’s one thing there will be plenty of frustration and venting towards, it will be talk about firing head coach John L. Smith and perhaps the remainder of the Arkansas coaching staff.
But that’s the absolute wrong talk to have right now.
The decisions that were made by athletic director Jeff Long back in April were the best he could make at the time. The decision to fire Bobby Petrino still remains the right move as Petrino forced Long into that position. And the choice to keep nearly all of Arkansas’ coaching staff in place was the best chance at a run to any sort of championship, no one would’ve argued that in April.
Plenty will argue that, now.
Firing anyone on the staff right now does Arkansas no good for two reasons. A) there are no new candidates out there now that weren’t available in April. And, B) if you fired anyone now, who takes their place and what would you expect from them? When you fire a coach, you’re making a statement that the individual isn’t making a difference or doing what they were hired to do.
Coach Smith was hired to keep things as close as they were to normal. No other coaching change was made. And yet, here sits Arkansas, with the same staff as last year (sans Bobby Petrino and Garrick McGee), floundering away what was supposed to be a magical season. When it comes down to it, Smith doesn’t make decisions for this team, he’s just the bus driver — the guy hired to come in, keep the peace and stay out of the way. That leaves a majority of this season’s shambles on the coordinators (perhaps, ultimately, on Petrino and his mess).
So put your Jeff Long hat on. If you fire Smith, who on this staff has performed well enough to take over as head coach? Who can you elevate right now that could possibly turn this season around?
Regardless of whether any of that is the “right” conversation, it’s exactly what’s going to happen over the next few weeks. Radio shows, message boards and social media will fill with talk about firing Smith, Paul Petrino and Paul Haynes. You’ll even see talk of how much better off Arkansas would be to tuck their tails and bring back Bobby Petrino.
In all reality, those conversations should steer clear of the whole firing jabber and, instead, focus on who can come in as the next head coach and turn things around in 2013 — which, once the season ends, there will be PLENTY of speculation about.
Back to the now. The Arkansas team is in a brutal, physical battle. A battle against themselves to discover their true identity.
It’s clear that Coach Smith isn’t the bus driver that Long hoped for. It’s clear that Paul Petrino isn’t the same offensive genius as his older brother. It’s clear that Haynes isn’t ready to lead an entire defense, much less his applauded position in the secondary.
It’s also evidently clear that for the rest of the season, there are no easy wins in sight for Arkansas. Each game is a game that the Razorbacks can realistically lose.
So, how will the coaching staff and players respond? How will the fans respond aside from calling for firings?
The time for charades is over — no more “smile” talk, no more calling out players after a game, no more bankruptcy chatter. The time is over for how opponents “outplayed or outcoached” Arkansas. The coaches can’t keep moving new — or different — players into starting roles each game. The choice to abandon any semblance of a running game can’t happen every week.
Arkansas football has to put up (we can ignore the “shut up” portion since three teams have effectively shut them up) — coaches and players, alike. And as a coach on the Arkansas staff, even though you probably aren’t trying out for the head coach position anymore, you are still building your resume for wherever you might land next season.
After four games, Arkansas sits at 1-3. A lot can happen over the course of the next eight games. For all of the short comings that the Razorbacks have, something positive has to happen in order for them to make a good season out of a horrible start. It’s going to be a fight to become bowl-eligible, so let’s hope the Hogs can somehow right the ship enough for that extra month of practices.
The harsh reality is that Arkansas is nearly out of answers to the simplest of questions. Those answers, or lack thereof, aren’t what the fans are ready to hear or accept. And it’s certainly not what they feel they deserve.
There is no doubt in my mind that Frank Broyles would have fired Smith after the loss to the Sun Belt school.
Long and Smith must both feel comfortable enough in their positions to change the Razorback football helmets. A change in the traditional Hog Helmet that was a symbol of the Razorback spirit that would fight no matter the odds. Perhaps, they should change them to pink, with matching jerseys.
Smith should be replaced with an interim coach. Possibly, Bozo the Clown would give the Razorback football program a positive change and some much needed credibility.
But if I can quote that great real estate investor John L Smith, “just smile”.
Great article hopefully all the hippies will quit running their mouths
I completely disagree. First of all I’m more mad at Petrino no doubt, but secondly I’m mad at all the coaching staff. I have seen a lack of discipline, a void of leadership, irrational play-calling, poor decisions making substitutions with no real game plan from Smith. I believe the off the field issues with Smith are having a bad effect on the team. On top of Petrino’s lack of ethic character, the head coaching issue is lack of responsibility and leadership. Jeff Long has actually done a good job with hiring and firing. No argue with that. But lets look at it this way.. we need someone who will restore character and dignity as head coach. Smith’s off the field issues effect his emotional stability and that effects the team’s emotional stability. it rubs off. Did the university even know about the financial problems Smith had? I don’t wanna seem hard on the guy, but after we had lying and cheating going on with Petrino we should have made sure that as an interim coach we would have someone who would be honest and not have off the field issues. Was Smith honest? Was Long? I don’t know. Once again, Long should determine what’s best for the future of the team. Smith should be released as coach, put an assistant in, and they immediately hire a big name. We have to have some kind of positive message sent from the administration on dealing with the situation and take responsibility to fix the problem. We still have recruiting for this year. We have to prepare now for next season and immediately get a REAL game plan in.
And for those who say it makes no sense to fire a coach in mid-season with very few coaches available.. Why should we not let go of a coach in mid season? Why if we are bleeding from a huge incision should we just put on a band aid. We need surgery. Think logically here. Put in any of the assistants for the time being and start looking now for a HEAD COACH not an interim. Should we keep bleeding and have complete loss of blood thinking a band aid is gonna help? No we should not. We need surgery immediately to save the life of the program. The sooner we do it the quicker we can be healed.
I honestly think that if there was a candidate that Jeff Long available for Jeff Long to hire, then he would. But, like it was in April, there must not be anyone that Long is too sure of to make that change right now in the middle of the season — all of the worthy candidates are currently coaching.
And if you do fire Smith, and promote one of the assistants, then you’re spreading their workload too thin — and let’s be honest, they haven’t been doing that great without that extra responsibility.
The team has been through a lot since April and there’s undoubtedly going to be more change come January. What good does it do to put the kids through even more turmoil mid-season? I think this is an issue the team has to ride out and then will officially begin the rebuilding in January.
It’s not what most fans want, but Long isn’t an elected official that does what the fans are chanting. I think we have to give Long the space he needs to operate and something good will come out of it.
Seth, in the past I have totally agreed with your position on not firing Smith, until last night. This season is in the crapper, the idea that we need Smith to keep everything on the right path is no longer relevent, we are so far off the path it’s a joke.
You say there are no better options for head coach right now, but I bet there is someone out there who won’t admit to being out-coached week-in-week-out, and I bet there is someone out there that won’t admit to “not having anything to say” about getting creamed. That stuff, even if true, shouldn’t be said. He should at least be faking confidence that he has a handle on this disaster, but he doesn’t even have the sense to do that. That kind of talk has to affect the players, and it just isn’t helping.
Let Paul take over, hell, let either Paul take over, at this point it doesn’t matter. If we are going to have a dud season, can we at least not become a national joke at the same time? All the dumb stuff Smith keeps saying circulates the ESPN airwaves and just pours salt in the wound. Can we just get somebody to come in, lose a bunch of games, and not draw unnecessary negative attention to us? The ramifications of just how awful this season is could have ramifications many years into the future, time to start managing that damage more effectively.
I understand what you’re saying. Smith has definitely not handled himself like a head coach, quite the opposite. Firing him would send a message. But, I don’t think any of the assistant coaches have really “earned” the right to be the head coach. Right now, for the kids, I think less turmoil is better.
I could be wrong, though. Long could make a change tomorrow, all of this would be moot and we could move on to next season.
I might be wrong. Smith just said in exhortation to the fans to not give up on the program, “it’s a state of Alabama program.” This was at the Touchdown Club in Little Rock. Ready for more ESPN clips? And let’s be honest, Jones, ESPN hated us anyway for the whole Petrino hiring from Atlanta — this is probably just karmic icing on the cake.
As a Rutgers fan, I would agree that Arkansas needs to fire Smith. Your team looks terrible and Smith is personally a loser–I can imagine how that would affect me as a player under him. Petrino left you in a tough spot for a season, but if Arkansas leaves this mess as it is, you’re going to lose recruits and turn the mess into a 5+ year mess. I would want recruits to know, “We’re fixing this…Arkansas football will be back.”. Smith needs to be fired and a new coaching staff–that will be able to recruit–brought in…ASAP.
Hey Bill, thanks for chiming in. Yeah, we’re all pretty upset around here. I think the only issue with hiring a new coach now would be a question of who. Petrino left our recruiting in shambles, partly because he was never a good recruiter anyway. His philosophy was to take 3-star kids and turn them into contenders — and he was pretty good at that.
If Arkansas fired Smith today, who would you take that is going to be a legitimate coach that can compete in the SEC, not only on the field but in the recruiting, too.
Interesting thought, when Urban Meyer was hired at Ohio State, he was able to convince the NCAA to allow him to add additional coaches to recruit since he was behind the gun right off the bat. Who’s to say that while Arkansas may not fire Smith, but if there WERE a coach to hire, perhaps they could start recruiting now.
Sigh.
Not only did my family have a terrible time at the game, the university had some kind of parking scam going on after the game. They literally must have towed hundreds of cars from empty warehouse parking lots that were not clearly marked or roped off. This was a parking lot that we have parked in multipe times in the past, yet had our car towed tonight and was forced to pay a 100 dollar fine along with hundreds of other people. The Razorback games are a scam now. I recommend that you spend your money elsewhere. We certainly won’t be going back any time soon.
Don’t park where you’re not supposed to and you won’t get a ticket. Being a skinflint cost you.
First off I am not an authority on football, but watching these games it seems evident that there is an overall lack of leadership. I wonder if there would not be a better result without a head coach, offensive coordinator, and defensive coordinator. The only thing more painful than watching the games is watching John Smith bumbling through the interviews both at halftime and after the games. I’m sure that he cannot possibly be as bad as he appears but it is obvious that he is not suited to be a head coach. Equally obvious is what a incredible coach that Bobby Petrino must be despite his questionable character. I am not advocating for his return but I hope that Jeff Long will use this season to perform an exhaustive search for a truly great replacement. I also hope that after this awful, awful season that we can open the purse strings to afford a great coach, otherwise it is going to be a long hard road trying to repair the damage. These players deserve nothing less.
Fire Smith. Bring another coach that will suck more. Keep Firing coaches and bringing new ones in. Become the Colombian National Team for all I care.
All the constant failures only gets funnier and funnier for us handegg haters.
How about you guys learn to play a sport that doesn’t involve crippling injuries, head trauma, and players committing suicide?
Good point, bro. I mean, it’s not like the UA offers basketball, softball, golf, baseball, volleyball, soccer, swimming, track and field, tennis, gymnastics and a ton of other sports or whatever, which would all probably be constant failures anyway.
I bet you’re just a ton of fun at parties.
Not even Bozo the Clown would be foolish enough to take over this high profile mess of a team. And SG makes a good point about overloading assistants with too much at this point in the season when they are already incapable of performing their own jobs effectively. There’s no way a coaching change is going to make a difference. Yes, its painful to watch. But the thing to remember is that the lives of these kids on the team is far more important than any single season of football.
One important lesson coaches everywhere will demonstrate from the scandals this past year is that character is always more important than wins. Petrino may have brought instant success to our program, but in the end he left it in far worse shape than where it was after Nutt’s tenure. For these boys, finding the will and strength to dig their way out of this pit that Petrino had dug for them will be far more character-building than any BCS bowl game they could have played.
I hope these young men the best, whatever happens. As for me, I think Arkansas should stick it out. Everybody needs to dig deep, get their shick together, and turn this ship around.
Arkansas had enough recruiting problems before this train wreck of a season. The University is relatively small and trying to compete against schools that have better reputations and records in both athletics and academics. Every season that is average or below makes recruiting more difficult, and this season has garnered more negative publicity than the past ten seasons combined! What coach in his right mind would want too try to clean up this mess? Recruiting top players and a name coach will be almost impossible. Arkansas will remain a mid tier program for years after this.
Actually, JW UA academics has been steadily improving over the last two decades. Several departments are among the best in the nation and the UA is very competitive academically to the other schools in the SEC (until we let A&M in, make all the jokes you want, but them Aggies know what they are doing). But, I don’t see many football players really concerned with being a part of an excellent department. Are there any engineering students on the team?
Fire Smith and save some of the $$$ we are paying him. Anyone could do a better job than this! The fans and alumni need something to placate their incredible disappointment!
If you fire him, he’s going to get paid the contract he signed anyway. Season’s a loss. The only important thing now is for Long to find the right next guy.
And Tyler Wilson won’t do this, because he’s a good kid, but he should tell the trainers he’s got a hangnail or something and not cost himself millions getting killed behind that crappy OL.
Have you seen the entire contract? Or are you speculating that he will get the entire amount? I’m sure there are a few clauses in there for underperforming and acting like a buffoon.
Have I seen the contract? No. Have you? I’m guessing the answer is also no. It’s a 10-month contract set to expire either way at the latest in early 2013.
What I have seen are other professional services contracts in the athletic industry, and it’s pretty standard stuff that there is either a buyout or a guarantee for the life of it. Since 10-month contracts are rare — I challenge you to find one of an entire term of less than a year for coach or athlete ever — I’m using my previous knowledge of this field to assert that Smith’s money is guaranteed for the term.
Believe what you want, I’ll know what I know.
It’s all speculation on the 10 month contract. JLS’s gotta go…
So in other words, you don’t think I’m right, but you think you are, even though there’s nothing that shows conclusively either way.
On the upside tickets for the Tulsa game are super cheap.
Please send out a search party for Kniles Davis. MIA.