John L. Smith leads the team into the stadium before the Arkansas-LSU game on Friday, Nov. 23. The Razorbacks lost the season finale versus LSU 20-13.
University of Arkansas Athletic Director Jeff Long has informed John L. Smith that his contract will not be renewed as head coach of the Razorback Football team, it was announced on Saturday.
Smith finished 4-8 in a single season as the Hogs head coach. He was hired to a 10-month contract last April after the firing of former head coach Bobby Petrino, and his employment agreement runs through Feb. 23, 2013.
According to a statement released on Saturday, Smith will remain in the department as a consultant through the completion of his 10-month contract. During that time, he will be reassigned to assist with the transition to the new coaching staff once a new head coach is named.
The rest of the assistant coaches will have the option to remain a part of the football staff pending the hiring of a new head coach.
Long is expected to announce the hiring of a new head coach sometime in the next few weeks.
Statement from University of Arkansas Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics Jeff Long
With our 2012 football season concluded, I met earlier today with Coach John L. Smith to inform him we would be making a change in leadership within our football program. I have great respect for Coach Smith and I thank him for the sincere commitment he has shown our program. He made a difficult decision in uncertain times to return from his alma mater to guide the young men in our football program, and I will always be grateful for his efforts.
I would also like to express my gratitude to our assistant football coaching staff, and our support staff. They have shown remarkable professionalism and a true commitment to the student-athletes in our program. They demonstrated great character in maintaining their commitment to our program.
Last April, when I appointed Coach Smith for the 2012 season, I indicated I thought this would provide us the opportunity to take the time necessary to identify the right coach for the future and to do so in a time that would allow us to attract quality candidates. Our new coach will be an individual who shares the passion for success our fans do and who is willing to work relentlessly to achieve our goals. It will be someone who embraces the expectations of winning a national championship and succeeding in the classroom with discipline, honesty and integrity. The leader of our student-athletes will continuously stress academic accountability and the value of earning a degree from the University of Arkansas. Our new coach will embrace what this program means not just to the university, but to the entire state of Arkansas and will share the vision for the future success of Razorback Football.
Statement from University of Arkansas football head coach John L. Smith
I am very grateful to Chancellor (David) Gearhart and Jeff Long for the opportunity they gave me to return to the University of Arkansas and coach this football team. I have enjoyed guiding this group and I am extremely proud of how everyone in our program stuck together and showed tremendous character by competing throughout the season. Everyone on our staff has my appreciation as they all believed in our goals and stayed committed to the development of these young men. I would like to thank the Razorback fans for demonstrating their support for these student-athletes and this coaching staff during a challenging time. I enjoyed every day of this experience and this profession has been and will continue to be rewarding to me. During my time here, it has been incredible to be a part of helping this program grow and I wish everyone involved nothing but success in the future.
Should never have been in position to begin with… his mind was never in the game… bankruptcy court yes. Football… not once this season.
I agree, Sherry. He seemed to be way out of his element. Poor choice by Jeff Long. Its a shame for those young men who put in effort only to have foolish adults ruin things for them.
Good riddance. Sad? Yes. But all Big L’s fault? No. There were many, many reasons that this season turned out the way it did. It was doomed the day Petrino wrecked his motorcycle. Jeff Long made the best decision he could in a terrible situation. Even though I had my heart ripped out by countless coaching mistakes, I still think his hiring was the right choice to make. The players made just as many mistakes this year as the coaches but everyone involved in the program still fought til the last pass sailed over McKay.
The Razorbacks just went through a very weird time in their organization’s history. I think both of these statements are very sincere and positive. I esp. want to commend Jeff Long for this: “…succeeding in the classroom with discipline, honesty and integrity. The leader of our student-athletes will continuously stress academic accountability and the value of earning a degree from the University of Arkansas.”