Dana Altman 8 years ago today.....He Quit.

[TJS]

Can you believe it. He coached 1 day and bailed.  Boy I'm glad he left. It still stick to me that he said "My friends back home might not like that"...hog call.  I new then he wasn't the coach for us. That was a hard press conference to watch.

[Hawg Red]

Never trust a dude's with a girl's name.

[IronMountainHog]

It's disturbing watching his lip licking and squirming during the hog call at his introductory press conference.

[jgphillips3]

Still one of the weirdest debacles in the history of Razorback sports.  Since we now have Mike, it all worked out okay but Altman sure as hell would have been better than Pel.

[PorkRinds]

It's disturbing watching his lip licking and squirming during the hog call at his introductory press conference.

Post a link.  I haven't actually seen it...

[BenDial]

[SONofHAM]

He asked our permission to end his career here:)

[chiefhawg]

Altman was a smart man. He saw what a mess the Heath has allowed to develop and wanted to bring a staff with him to help clean it up. White and company said no so Altman said no thanks.
He turned the money down rather take on the task with existing resources.

Conversely Mike Anderson took the job in spite of the APR and scholarship challenge and has done well. It should be noted that AD Long provided the academic support resources to get it done.

[TheRazorbackGuy]

Can you believe it. He coached 1 day and bailed.  Boy I'm glad he left. It still stick to me that he said "My friends back home might not like that"...hog call.  I new then he wasn't the coach for us. That was a hard press conference to watch.

And then Frank Broyles signs the dufus known as Pelphrey.

[Dwight_K_Shrute]

Altman was a smart man. He saw what a mess the Heath has allowed to develop and wanted to bring a staff with him to help clean it up. White and company said no so Altman said no thanks.
He turned the money down rather take on the task with existing resources.

Conversely Mike Anderson took the job in spite of the APR and scholarship challenge and has done well. It should be noted that AD Long provided the academic support resources to get it done.

This.  At the time most fans just looked at is as Altman having a change of heart and leaving. 

Looking back big picture gives a better perspective.  Altman was indeed smart. 

We didn't have an AD that was past his prime we had an AD waaaay past his prime.  Entire athletic department was dysfunctional.  Nutt was harassing students having textual relations and doing whatever the hell he wanted.  White provided no leadership whatsoever, and the department lacked a good support structure that could "Support" all sports and student athletes.  It was just an outdated GOBN ship. 

People may not like "Carpetbagger" Long but he has brought the athletic department into the 21st century.   There is a support structure in place that benefits all programs and Long appears to support all program wholeheartedly be it Women's Soccer, Basketball or Football.  The support is a big reason Mike was able to right the basketball ship on and off the court. 

I have no doubt if Long was in place when Altman was hired and DA said geez this is a mess I'm going to need X,Y,Z to fix it, Long would have found a way to give that to him, and it would have never been an issue.

We need to move past making fun of Altman and see the situation for what it was.  Any sane adult that had the opportunity to peek at it then go back to his old job most likely would have done the same.

Altman leaving wasn't the problem, it was a symptom of an aging athletic department that was not being run effectively or efficiently and not being lead.   

[chiefhawg]

This.  At the time most fans just looked at is as Altman having a change of heart and leaving. 

Looking back big picture gives a better perspective.  Altman was indeed smart. 

We didn't have an AD that was past his prime we had an AD waaaay past his prime.  Entire athletic department was dysfunctional.  Nutt was harassing students having textual relations and doing whatever the hell he wanted.  White provided no leadership whatsoever, and the department lacked a good support structure that could "Support" all sports and student athletes.  It was just an outdated GOBN ship. 

People may not like "Carpetbagger" Long but he has brought the athletic department into the 21st century.   There is a support structure in place that benefits all programs and Long appears to support all program wholeheartedly be it Women's Soccer, Basketball or Football.  The support is a big reason Mike was able to right the basketball ship on and off the court. 

I have no doubt if Long was in place when Altman was hired and DA said geez this is a mess I'm going to need X,Y,Z to fix it, Long would have found a way to give that to him, and it would have never been an issue.

We need to move past making fun of Altman and see the situation for what it was.  Any sane adult that had the opportunity to peek at it then go back to his old job most likely would have done the same.

Altman leaving wasn't the problem, it was a symptom of an aging athletic department that was not being run effectively or efficiently and not being lead.   

Very well stated!

[WorfHog]

This.  At the time most fans just looked at is as Altman having a change of heart and leaving. 

Looking back big picture gives a better perspective.  Altman was indeed smart. 

We didn't have an AD that was past his prime we had an AD waaaay past his prime.  Entire athletic department was dysfunctional.  Nutt was harassing students having textual relations and doing whatever the hell he wanted.  White provided no leadership whatsoever, and the department lacked a good support structure that could "Support" all sports and student athletes.  It was just an outdated GOBN ship. 

People may not like "Carpetbagger" Long but he has brought the athletic department into the 21st century.   There is a support structure in place that benefits all programs and Long appears to support all program wholeheartedly be it Women's Soccer, Basketball or Football.  The support is a big reason Mike was able to right the basketball ship on and off the court. 

I have no doubt if Long was in place when Altman was hired and DA said geez this is a mess I'm going to need X,Y,Z to fix it, Long would have found a way to give that to him, and it would have never been an issue.

We need to move past making fun of Altman and see the situation for what it was.  Any sane adult that had the opportunity to peek at it then go back to his old job most likely would have done the same.

Altman leaving wasn't the problem, it was a symptom of an aging athletic department that was not being run effectively or efficiently and not being lead.   

I'm going to go on record here and say people that don't like Jeff Long are MOTHO.

[Dwight_K_Shrute]

I'm going to go on record here and say people that don't like Jeff Long are MOTHO.

I agree, it's just stupid.

[rude1]

This.  At the time most fans just looked at is as Altman having a change of heart and leaving. 

Looking back big picture gives a better perspective.  Altman was indeed smart. 

We didn't have an AD that was past his prime we had an AD waaaay past his prime.  Entire athletic department was dysfunctional.  Nutt was harassing students having textual relations and doing whatever the hell he wanted.  White provided no leadership whatsoever, and the department lacked a good support structure that could "Support" all sports and student athletes.  It was just an outdated GOBN ship. 

People may not like "Carpetbagger" Long but he has brought the athletic department into the 21st century.   There is a support structure in place that benefits all programs and Long appears to support all program wholeheartedly be it Women's Soccer, Basketball or Football.  The support is a big reason Mike was able to right the basketball ship on and off the court. 

I have no doubt if Long was in place when Altman was hired and DA said geez this is a mess I'm going to need X,Y,Z to fix it, Long would have found a way to give that to him, and it would have never been an issue.

We need to move past making fun of Altman and see the situation for what it was.  Any sane adult that had the opportunity to peek at it then go back to his old job most likely would have done the same.

Altman leaving wasn't the problem, it was a symptom of an aging athletic department that was not being run effectively or efficiently and not being lead.   

This about sums up the situation perfectly. Remember JFB was up against it on this hire because he was scheduled to be in Augusta, so he quickly made a hire, flew him back, pushed him off the plane, had press conference, quickly re boarded plane to make his way to Augusta. Instead of staying and helping his new coach get settled in he had more important things on his mind. Only to have the thing fall apart while he was away, have to come back, ended up hiring search firm who got him Pelphrey. Great times I tell you................

[Tusks]

hog sports needs to go in a hole April 1 to April 3.

[Pigsknuckles]

Dana who?

[Acehawg]

Never trust a man named Dana...

[latrops]

Still one of the weirdest debacles in the history of Razorback sports.  Since we now have Mike, it all worked out okay but Altman sure as hell would have been better than Pel.

Pretty good chance that the last 8 years would have been quite a bit better than they were had Altman stuck around.  Things are looking up now, but it would have been nice to have started on the right track back then and not have had to go through the Pel debacle.

[Acehawg]

This about sums up the situation perfectly. Remember JFB was up against it on this hire because he was scheduled to be in Augusta, so he quickly made a hire, flew him back, pushed him off the plane, had press conference, quickly re boarded plane to make his way to Augusta. Instead of staying and helping his new coach get settled in he had more important things on his mind. Only to have the thing fall apart while he was away, have to come back, ended up hiring search firm who got him Pelphrey. Great times I tell you................

Broyles and White screwed up, no doubt.  White was stirring up crap to.

[Marshfieldhog]

John White set football and basketball years....how he is still employed at the U of A is crazy. While Broyles needs to take some blame, really John White was the true white haired devil.

[earshot]

John White was in a power play behind the scenes. When Frank left for Augusta after the hire. John and Dana went to dinner. White let him know that he was really in charge since Frank had one foot out of the AD door.

Dana witnessed the disfunction first hand and bolted. White took controll of the coaching search by paying a search firm half a mill to come up with Failphy.

White followed that up with giving Nutt the "Golden Handcuffs" the day before he goes to Ole Miss.

That sealed White's fate and Long took over and cleaned house.

[Mr. Porkleone]

Never trust a dude's with a girl's name.

+1

[HognitiveDissonance]

And then Frank Broyles signs the dufus known as Pelphrey.

No, John White was running the athletic department then. Remember the search firm? We paid who knows how much money to come up with a coach from South Alabama.

Frank Broyles was AD in title only in the later years.

[HognitiveDissonance]

No, John White was running the athletic department then. Remember the search firm? We paid who knows how much money to come up with a coach from South Alabama.

Frank Broyles was AD in title only in the later years.

FYI...that was meant as a negative to White, not Broyles. I would have preferred to let Frank run the dept.

[PonderinHog]

No, John White was running the athletic department then. Remember the search firm? We paid who knows how much money to come up with a coach from South Alabama.

Frank Broyles was AD in title only in the later years.

I thought the search firm made 80K.

[Iwastherein1969]

Let's tap the brakes a bit on this love fest for Jeff Long...while things do look bright for the future and I'm in the line of sunshine pumpers we need to add a few things that happened under Mr. Long's watch....no matter what you say, Jeff Long is in full charge of the athletic department with emphasis on the money making entities, football and basketball...Long should have NEVER allowed the hiring of the volleyball player in the first place...those types of decisions do come across his desk because she was getting paid by the UA...the debacle with John L. Smith...no AD should let the team make the decision on who the next head coach will be, basically at the time of Smith's interim hiring the inmates were running the asylum...once again, Long did little or no vetting of Smith because it became a national disgrace when it was found out Smith owed tens of millions of dollars in bad business deals...then, Jeff, just as TCTWF, raised his skirt for another institution, in Long's case, Stanford but decided better or was told by Stanford "don't call us we'll call you" after being vetted. The Altman hiring/quitting was a national embarrassment but the incoming regime after JFB had it's moments also.

Long, the day he fired Petrino looked like an emotional wreck (no pun intended).  And this emotion along with a certain coach up north who's heart was touched watching the sad ceremony carry out with Long balling on TV, took note of the situation, filed it away in the back of his mind, and when the time was right that Fall, CBB back-channeled Jeff and yet another top shelf coach fell in Jeff's lap. I think we forget how we were reeling trying to find a football coach until Bielema stood up like a granite mountain and said, "I want that job, I want to give those people something they've never had"  As for Mike, I suppose a little credit can go to Jeff Long but Mike saw the opportunity to "come back home to Momma" because she needed him. Say what you please about Mike Anderson, but he loves the UA as much or more than any other coach in any other sport we've ever had.

Now that we've gone through the bad times, the future is bright and yes, Jeff Long is a part of how we got here. Just not the main reason for Razorback Nation's optimism as some would have you believe.

[Pigsfeat]

Great points in1969! Mike Anderson, after spending 17 years in Arkansas with Nolan, felt like the UofA was home. When the opportunity arose he left a very good Missouri team, that he had put together, to return. That was more about MA than it was Long!

[rude1]

Let's tap the brakes a bit on this love fest for Jeff Long...while things do look bright for the future and I'm in the line of sunshine pumpers we need to add a few things that happened under Mr. Long's watch....no matter what you say, Jeff Long is in full charge of the athletic department with emphasis on the money making entities, football and basketball...Long should have NEVER allowed the hiring of the volleyball player in the first place...those types of decisions do come across his desk because she was getting paid by the UA...the debacle with John L. Smith...no AD should let the team make the decision on who the next head coach will be, basically at the time of Smith's interim hiring the inmates were running the asylum...once again, Long did little or no vetting of Smith because it became a national disgrace when it was found out Smith owed tens of millions of dollars in bad business deals...then, Jeff, just as TCTWF, raised his skirt for another institution, in Long's case, Stanford but decided better or was told by Stanford "don't call us we'll call you" after being vetted. The Altman hiring/quitting was a national embarrassment but the incoming regime after JFB had it's moments also.

Long, the day he fired Petrino looked like an emotional wreck (no pun intended).  And this emotion along with a certain coach up north who's heart was touched watching the sad ceremony carry out with Long balling on TV, took note of the situation, filed it away in the back of his mind, and when the time was right that Fall, CBB back-channeled Jeff and yet another top shelf coach fell in Jeff's lap. I think we forget how we were reeling trying to find a football coach until Bielema stood up like a granite mountain and said, "I want that job, I want to give those people something they've never had"  As for Mike, I suppose a little credit can go to Jeff Long but Mike saw the opportunity to "come back home to Momma" because she needed him. Say what you please about Mike Anderson, but he loves the UA as much or more than any other coach in any other sport we've ever had.

Now that we've gone through the bad times, the future is bright and yes, Jeff Long is a part of how we got here. Just not the main reason for Razorback Nation's optimism as some would have you believe.

Basically you are saying any time something goes wrong it is Jeff Long's fault, and any time something goes right it is sheer dumb luck that he has had no part in making happen.

[aar0n]

Basically you are saying any time something goes wrong it is Jeff Long's fault, and any time something goes right it is sheer dumb luck that he has had no part in making happen.

That's more or less what all the Long haters do. 

Nevermind that our athletic department is profiting the most it EVER has and is in the top 10 most profitable in the nation, or that we have a brand new state-of-the-art football facility with basketball on the way, or that we have 2 coaches in our major programs that came from other equally established institutions in their own rights.  Oh, and the whole chairman of the playoff selection committee just fell into his lap too!  Boy he sure has those media types eating out of his hands after the emotional firing of Petrino 4 YEARS AGO.   

[PonderinHog]

That's more or less what all the Long haters do. 

Nevermind that our athletic department is profiting the most it EVER has and is in the top 10 most profitable in the nation, or that we have a brand new state-of-the-art football facility with basketball on the way, or that we have 2 coaches in our major programs that came from other equally established institutions in their own rights.  Oh, and the whole chairman of the playoff selection committee just fell into his lap too!  Boy he sure has those media types eating out of his hands after the emotional firing of Petrino 4 YEARS AGO.

3 years ago?  Seems like an eternity.

[Slater]

It's all good
Both guys are great coaches and perfect fits at their schools
Both guys will have top 10 teams next season
MA has his dream job, that's a great thing for  :razorback:

[aar0n]

This about sums up the situation perfectly. Remember JFB was up against it on this hire because he was scheduled to be in Augusta, so he quickly made a hire, flew him back, pushed him off the plane, had press conference, quickly re boarded plane to make his way to Augusta. Instead of staying and helping his new coach get settled in he had more important things on his mind. Only to have the thing fall apart while he was away, have to come back, ended up hiring search firm who got him Pelphrey. Great times I tell you................

Forgot until the other day (when Bo played the clip on his show) that ole JFB couldn't even remember Dana's last name, instead introducing him to Razorback nation for the very first time as "Dana... the coach." 

THAT sums up how little he was involved in the inner workings those days, and was more or less a familiar face for the athletic department and the boosters.

[TJS]

Let's tap the brakes a bit on this love fest for Jeff Long...while things do look bright for the future and I'm in the line of sunshine pumpers we need to add a few things that happened under Mr. Long's watch....no matter what you say, Jeff Long is in full charge of the athletic department with emphasis on the money making entities, football and basketball...Long should have NEVER allowed the hiring of the volleyball player in the first place...those types of decisions do come across his desk because she was getting paid by the UA...the debacle with John L. Smith...no AD should let the team make the decision on who the next head coach will be, basically at the time of Smith's interim hiring the inmates were running the asylum...once again, Long did little or no vetting of Smith because it became a national disgrace when it was found out Smith owed tens of millions of dollars in bad business deals...then, Jeff, just as TCTWF, raised his skirt for another institution, in Long's case, Stanford but decided better or was told by Stanford "don't call us we'll call you" after being vetted. The Altman hiring/quitting was a national embarrassment but the incoming regime after JFB had it's moments also.

Long, the day he fired Petrino looked like an emotional wreck (no pun intended).  And this emotion along with a certain coach up north who's heart was touched watching the sad ceremony carry out with Long balling on TV, took note of the situation, filed it away in the back of his mind, and when the time was right that Fall, CBB back-channeled Jeff and yet another top shelf coach fell in Jeff's lap. I think we forget how we were reeling trying to find a football coach until Bielema stood up like a granite mountain and said, "I want that job, I want to give those people something they've never had"  As for Mike, I suppose a little credit can go to Jeff Long but Mike saw the opportunity to "come back home to Momma" because she needed him. Say what you please about Mike Anderson, but he loves the UA as much or more than any other coach in any other sport we've ever had.

Now that we've gone through the bad times, the future is bright and yes, Jeff Long is a part of how we got here. Just not the main reason for Razorback Nation's optimism as some would have you believe.

Sounds like sour grapes on your part. Longs been awesome. 

[Mike Irwin]

John White was in a power play behind the scenes. When Frank left for Augusta after the hire. John and Dana went to dinner. White let him know that he was really in charge since Frank had one foot out of the AD door.

Dana witnessed the disfunction first hand and bolted. White took controll of the coaching search by paying a search firm half a mill to come up with Failphy.

White followed that up with giving Nutt the "Golden Handcuffs" the day before he goes to Ole Miss.

That sealed White's fate and Long took over and cleaned house.

Dead on. Everything you need to know about that situation in a few sentences. Depressing wasn't it?

[SooiecidetillNuttgone]

Let's tap the brakes a bit on this love fest for Jeff Long...while things do look bright for the future and I'm in the line of sunshine pumpers we need to add a few things that happened under Mr. Long's watch....no matter what you say, Jeff Long is in full charge of the athletic department with emphasis on the money making entities, football and basketball...Long should have NEVER allowed the hiring of the volleyball player in the first place...those types of decisions do come across his desk because she was getting paid by the UA...the debacle with John L. Smith...no AD should let the team make the decision on who the next head coach will be, basically at the time of Smith's interim hiring the inmates were running the asylum...once again, Long did little or no vetting of Smith because it became a national disgrace when it was found out Smith owed tens of millions of dollars in bad business deals...then, Jeff, just as TCTWF, raised his skirt for another institution, in Long's case, Stanford but decided better or was told by Stanford "don't call us we'll call you" after being vetted. The Altman hiring/quitting was a national embarrassment but the incoming regime after JFB had it's moments also.

Long, the day he fired Petrino looked like an emotional wreck (no pun intended).  And this emotion along with a certain coach up north who's heart was touched watching the sad ceremony carry out with Long balling on TV, took note of the situation, filed it away in the back of his mind, and when the time was right that Fall, CBB back-channeled Jeff and yet another top shelf coach fell in Jeff's lap. I think we forget how we were reeling trying to find a football coach until Bielema stood up like a granite mountain and said, "I want that job, I want to give those people something they've never had"  As for Mike, I suppose a little credit can go to Jeff Long but Mike saw the opportunity to "come back home to Momma" because she needed him. Say what you please about Mike Anderson, but he loves the UA as much or more than any other coach in any other sport we've ever had.

Now that we've gone through the bad times, the future is bright and yes, Jeff Long is a part of how we got here. Just not the main reason for Razorback Nation's optimism as some would have you believe.

Totally agree.  He's had Petrino, BB, and MA fall into his lap.  Negative?  Positive?   I guess we'll see when we need another coach and lucky circumstances don't coincide to make him look like a genius.

Positives -  Def upgraded the entire structure of the Athletic Dept. to make it run like a more corporate entity to the benefit of the coaches and fans.   Minimized the GOBN and PTB.   Made the Hogs more accessible through the internet and modern thinking.

Negatives - Many claim that the operation feels like a corporate picnic.  Looks, tastes, smells, and sounds like a fun picnic but just doesn't have the certain something that can only be found when it's a family and friends affair only.

I'm not a Long hater, but I can't understand how the man is so bathed in ecstatic rapture like a Greek God by so many in this fanbase, who writhe around on the ground in his presence in a state of euphoria.  Granted, and fairly speaking, he had brought some stability and some modern restructuring which has paid immediate dividends. Kudos to him for that.  However, the most important part of his job (hiring coaches and finding talented coaches as replacements) has been a haphazard series of happy accidents.

I'm not comfortable at all with him at the helm when BB leaves unexpectedly and there's no more winning lottery tickets to pull out of his wallet.  When he has to get the next "guy" will we get a BB, a BP, a MA or a Grobe?

[tusksincolorado]

This.  At the time most fans just looked at is as Altman having a change of heart and leaving. 

Looking back big picture gives a better perspective.  Altman was indeed smart. 

We didn't have an AD that was past his prime we had an AD waaaay past his prime.  Entire athletic department was dysfunctional.  Nutt was harassing students having textual relations and doing whatever the hell he wanted.  White provided no leadership whatsoever, and the department lacked a good support structure that could "Support" all sports and student athletes.  It was just an outdated GOBN ship. 

People may not like "Carpetbagger" Long but he has brought the athletic department into the 21st century.   There is a support structure in place that benefits all programs and Long appears to support all program wholeheartedly be it Women's Soccer, Basketball or Football.  The support is a big reason Mike was able to right the basketball ship on and off the court. 

I have no doubt if Long was in place when Altman was hired and DA said geez this is a mess I'm going to need X,Y,Z to fix it, Long would have found a way to give that to him, and it would have never been an issue.

We need to move past making fun of Altman and see the situation for what it was.  Any sane adult that had the opportunity to peek at it then go back to his old job most likely would have done the same.

Altman leaving wasn't the problem, it was a symptom of an aging athletic department that was not being run effectively or efficiently and not being lead.   

This is absolutely correct. +1

[Inhogswetrust]

Never trust a man named Dana...

You're assuming he's a man....................

[Inhogswetrust]

Totally agree.  He's had Petrino, BB, and MA fall into his lap.  Negative?  Positive?   I guess we'll see when we need another coach and lucky circumstances don't coincide to make him look like a genius.

Positives -  Def upgraded the entire structure of the Athletic Dept. to make it run like a more corporate entity to the benefit of the coaches and fans.   Minimized the GOBN and PTB.   Made the Hogs more accessible through the internet and modern thinking.

Negatives - Many claim that the operation feels like a corporate picnic.  Looks, tastes, smells, and sounds like a fun picnic but just doesn't have the certain something that can only be found when it's a family and friends affair only.

I'm not a Long hater, but I can't understand how the man is so bathed in ecstatic rapture like a Greek God by so many in this fanbase, who writhe around on the ground in his presence in a state of euphoria.  Granted, and fairly speaking, he had brought some stability and some modern restructuring which has paid immediate dividends. Kudos to him for that.  However, the most important part of his job (hiring coaches and finding talented coaches as replacements) has been a haphazard series of happy accidents.

I'm not comfortable at all with him at the helm when BB leaves unexpectedly and there's no more winning lottery tickets to pull out of his wallet.  When he has to get the next "guy" will we get a BB, a BP, a MA or a Grobe?

How has any coach "fallen into" the lap of any AD. They have to have an interest in the job certainly. That's true of ANY coaching change. However they don't take it without going through a process of some sort. That's not lap falling into. That's the hiring process just like a lot of times in other industries as well. ALL good athletic departments need to be run like a corporate entity and picnic in today's world. It's not a lot different than ANY brand loyalty in the regular business world today. In some ways it's always been like that on the business side of college athletics.

[SooiecidetillNuttgone]

How has any coach "fallen into" the lap of any AD. They have to have an interest in the job certainly. That's true of ANY coaching change. However they don't take it without going through a process. That's not lap falling into. That's the hiring process just like a pot of times in other industries as well. And ALL good athletic departments need to be run like a corporate entity and picnic in today's world. It's n to a lot different than ANY brand loyalty in the regular business world today. In  some ways it's always been like that on the business side of college athletics.

State of Euphoria perhaps??

[Inhogswetrust]

State of Euphoria perhaps??

That's in Kansas..............and it's a town not a state.