Turned over a new Leaf

[Vantage 8 dude]

If you remember correctly he tried but Kirkland went and signed with an agent without giving CBB the chance to lay it out for him.

You ARE indeed correct. On more than one occasion Bret expressed both surprise and disappointment that Kirkland decided to go ahead and hire and agent before CBB could at least sit down and talk with him. In this case the young man was obviously being misled by someone who thought they knew where Kirkland would likely be drafted. As we now know, the information was totally bogus/misleading.

[gchamblee]

Are you seriously making a big deal about back to back consolidation, everyone gets a trophy bowl wins? Battle of the six and sixers. You've put a positive spin on it and things definitely aren't all gloom and doom, but getting beat by 21 against a team that has now beaten us 5 times consecutively with 3-4 different QBs

Why not? Those 6-6 teams are how Petrino got to the Cotton Bowl. If you think he actually did something amazing in 2011 to get to that Cotton your memory is failing...

He played 3 really good teams that year, and only beat 1 of them

Lost to Alabama 38-14 (thats a 24 point loss in year 3)
Lost To LSU 41-17 (thats a 24 point loss in year 3)
Barely beat a 6-6 aTm 42-38
Barely beat a 6-6 Vanderbilt 31-28
Barely beat a 3-9 Troy team 38-28
Barely beat a 2-10 Ole Miss 29-24
Beat a 7-5 Auburn pretty soundly
Beat a 10-2 South Carolina by 16 points (Great Win)
Beat a 5-7 Tennessee soundly
Beat a 6-6 MSU soundly

Petrino had nice records here, but he wasn't God like and damn near blew plenty of the games that should have been easy to win. It happens, which is why they play the games instead of awarding the win to a team over a conference call.

[incHOGnito]

i have said all a long that his style of play will never win us even a sec champ because we can not recruit the players we need with this style of play the big boys will always get the better ath.  we r and will always be an also ran unless we try something new like we did with Bobby.  yes our coach is doing everything rite off the field but on the field we r not even close to the top level in our league.  our coach will never ever get us to the top with his offense and defensive style we must be different in our approach and our def is the worst part of the team maybe time to up grade our asst to someone who can recruit def players that will work in his system. especial the 4 th qrt our def seem to always fall apart

[PorkSoda]

2013 was going to be a disaster with or without BP.

riight, that is why we went into the season ranked in the top ten and loaded with future NFL talent.

[PorkSoda]

No, he had the program on the downswing. We went from 10-2 and a BCS bowl, to 10-2 and the Cotton bowl. 2012 was going to be a lesser bowl than the Cotton. He was regressing and Jeff did exactly what you guys are claiming needs to be done to CBB, who is actually improving every year. I mean, if we want to throw logic out the window and pump sunshine for whichever coach we have hitched our lorry to, lets just be ridiculous about it.

lol, they are both great coaches, the only reason to not admit it is if  you have a personal agenda.  carry on.

[gchamblee]

riight, that is why we went into the season ranked in the top ten and loaded with future NFL talent.

preseason rankings are often wrong. look at notre dame this year. good luck hanging your hat on preseason rankings as proof of our dominance. we were regressing and there was no sign of it stopping.

[gchamblee]

lol, they are both great coaches, the only reason to not admit it is if  you have a personal agenda.  carry on.

look at my post history. i have said numerous times that CBP is an excellent coach. However, he was regressing here and that is undeniable.

[PorkRinds]

Why not? Those 6-6 teams are how Petrino got to the Cotton Bowl. If you think he actually did something amazing in 2011 to get to that Cotton your memory is failing...

He played 3 really good teams that year, and only beat 1 of them

Lost to Alabama 38-14 (thats a 24 point loss in year 3)
Lost To LSU 41-17 (thats a 24 point loss in year 3)
Barely beat a 6-6 aTm 42-38
Barely beat a 6-6 Vanderbilt 31-28
Barely beat a 3-9 Troy team 38-28
Barely beat a 2-10 Ole Miss 29-24
Beat a 7-5 Auburn pretty soundly
Beat a 10-2 South Carolina by 16 points (Great Win)
Beat a 5-7 Tennessee soundly
Beat a 6-6 MSU soundly

Petrino had nice records here, but he wasn't God like and damn near blew plenty of the games that should have been easy to win. It happens, which is why they play the games instead of awarding the win to a team over a conference call.

Great post.

[Hawgar The Horrible]

riight, that is why we went into the season ranked in the top ten and loaded with future NFL talent.

Wrong. That was 2012.

[PorkSoda]

look at my post history. i have said numerous times that CBP is an excellent coach. However, he was regressing here and that is undeniable.

our record denies it.

your opinion is duly noted

[PorkSoda]

Wrong. That was 2012.

sorry, missed that, I still don't buy it though.  its pure speculation.

[Bubba's Bruisers]

I just looked in at 247 sports, and see that we don't have a single 4 star recruit committed in the 2017 class. THAT should get a coach on the hot seat, if not outright fired.

Whatever. 

I will acknowledge, though, that the current class, on paper, isn't all that impressive offer sheet-wise.  Doesn't mean they won't be great, but that's historically unlikely.  We'll just have to see how they shake out in a couple years. 

[gchamblee]

our record denies it.

CBB will be 10-2 for his last 12 games this Sunday. Are you saying CBP at 10-2 was better than CBB at 10-2? CBP had 2 24 point losses in his 3rd season while CBBs worst loss in year 3 was 11 points. You keep wanting to use numbers to make your case, but you arent making it.

[Bubba's Bruisers]

sorry, missed that, I still don't buy it though.  its pure speculation.

BP would have faired well in 2012 IMO.  I doubt he would have repeated 2011, but he'd have done pretty well.  Don't know after that.  He's always been a program builder, but never been around long enough to prove a program sustainer. 

[Sportster365]

Why not? Those 6-6 teams are how Petrino got to the Cotton Bowl. If you think he actually did something amazing in 2011 to get to that Cotton your memory is failing...

He played 3 really good teams that year, and only beat 1 of them

Lost to Alabama 38-14 (thats a 24 point loss in year 3)
Lost To LSU 41-17 (thats a 24 point loss in year 3)
Barely beat a 6-6 aTm 42-38
Barely beat a 6-6 Vanderbilt 31-28
Barely beat a 3-9 Troy team 38-28
Barely beat a 2-10 Ole Miss 29-24
Beat a 7-5 Auburn pretty soundly
Beat a 10-2 South Carolina by 16 points (Great Win)
Beat a 5-7 Tennessee soundly
Beat a 6-6 MSU soundly

Petrino had nice records here, but he wasn't God like and damn near blew plenty of the games that should have been easy to win. It happens, which is why they play the games instead of awarding the win to a team over a conference call.

I wasn't talking about Petrino and haven't really since week 1. Any comparisons at this point is beyond absurd. I'm not wasting any more time discussing Petrino with people who feel like the 2012 season would have been a disaster. That too is absurd to me.

[PorkSoda]

BP would have faired well in 2012 IMO.  I doubt he would have repeated 2011, but he'd have done pretty well.  Don't know after that.  He's always been a program builder, but never been around long enough to prove a program sustainer. 

I'm sure he would have had a rebuilding year at some point.  its hard to sustain 10+ wins every year.  but I don't believe he was on the verge of 4 win seasons either.

[gchamblee]

I'm sure he would have had a rebuilding year at some point.  its hard to sustain 10+ wins every year.  but I don't believe he was on the verge of 4 win seasons either.

so youre ok with regression if its a coach you like, but you dont like slow progress if its a coach you dislike. got it.

[Bubba's Bruisers]

I'm sure he would have had a rebuilding year at some point.  its hard to sustain 10+ wins every year.  but I don't believe he was on the verge of 4 win seasons either.

Agree, not even close to getting down to 4 wins. 

[italian9005]

next year we will say we are rebuilding again when we lose all our recievers. tired of the repetitive excuses

[Bubba's Bruisers]

next year we will say we are rebuilding again when we lose all our recievers. tired of the repetitive excuses

Not sure how big of a deal that's actually going to be.  Don't get me wrong, it'll be felt, but would rather have that than have to replace AA or a bunch of OL or DL.

Recruiting has to continue to progress as well.

[PorkSoda]

so youre ok with regression if its a coach you like, but you dont like slow progress if its a coach you dislike. got it.

lol, you must have me confused with someone else.

I liked BP, and I still like BB.

the two are not mutually exclusive.

I actually thought we should go after BB after firing nutt, but he was still only 2 years into HCing at the time.  we ended up with BP and it worked out for us.

hogville has a habit of hating the ex coach and loving the new coach right up until they become the ex coach.

[Oklahawg]

Easy to cherry pick a 12-game cycle and tout the results. That said, UA/CBB beat good teams in that mix. TCU was a signature non-conference win. Not sure that Bobby had one of those.

2008:
Western Illinois 28-24
Louisiana-Monroe 28-27
Texas 10-52 (L, UT was #7)
Tulsa 30-23 (TU was ranked #18, doubt anyone wants to claim that was a signature win)

2009:
Missouri State 48-10
Texas A&M 47-19
Eastern Michigan 63-27
Troy 56-20
East Carolina 20-17 (OT)

2010:
Tennessee Tech 44-3
Louisiana-Monroe 31-7
Texas A&M 24-17
UTEP 58-21
Ohio State 26-31 (L, tOSU was #6)

2011:
Missouri State 51-7
New Mexico 52-3
Troy 38-28
Texas A&M 42-38 (A&M rated #14)

So, four years and Booby beat a ranked mid-major (barely) and A&M as ranked teams. Four years, and Bielema beat #15 TCU.  Not a huge stretch to say that Tulsa vs 2015 Toledo is pretty comparable.  I realize that is an opinion that props up CBB a bit.

We should not see either career as anything but:
1. rough start, with really bad losses vs good teams in year one
2. ramped up to success, building the program the way they wanted it built
3. Bobby hit a BCS game, Bielema has not (yet).
4. Consensus opinion: Bobby's recruiting failures left the program ready for a fall in year five, while HV has a nice collection of posters who do NOT see the same for CBB. We shall see.

[Oklahawg]

lol, you must have me confused with someone else.

I liked BP, and I still like BB.

the two are not mutually exclusive.

hogville has a habit of hating the ex coach and loving the new coach right up until they become the ex coach.

Agreed.

Hard to admit, but Bobby was a savant with the offense. Cringeworthy at times, but there are folks who feel that way about Bielema.

Biggest difference between the coaches: CBB has some national street cred, and has not exhausted his "get out of jail free" cards. Bobby blew threw those by the return flight from the Cotton Bowl.

[gchamblee]

Easy to cherry pick a 12-game cycle and tout the results. That said, UA/CBB beat good teams in that mix. TCU was a signature non-conference win. Not sure that Bobby had one of those.

2008:
Western Illinois 28-24
Louisiana-Monroe 28-27
Texas 10-52 (L, UT was #7)
Tulsa 30-23 (TU was ranked #18, doubt anyone wants to claim that was a signature win)

2009:
Missouri State 48-10
Texas A&M 47-19
Eastern Michigan 63-27
Troy 56-20
East Carolina 20-17 (OT)

2010:
Tennessee Tech 44-3
Louisiana-Monroe 31-7
Texas A&M 24-17
UTEP 58-21
Ohio State 26-31 (L, tOSU was #6)

2011:
Missouri State 51-7
New Mexico 52-3
Troy 38-28
Texas A&M 42-38 (A&M rated #14)

So, four years and Booby beat a ranked mid-major (barely) and A&M as ranked teams. Four years, and Bielema beat #15 TCU.  Not a huge stretch to say that Tulsa vs 2015 Toledo is pretty comparable.  I realize that is an opinion that props up CBB a bit.

We should not see either career as anything but:
1. rough start, with really bad losses vs good teams in year one
2. ramped up to success, building the program the way they wanted it built
3. Bobby hit a BCS game, Bielema has not (yet).
4. Consensus opinion: Bobby's recruiting failures left the program ready for a fall in year five, while HV has a nice collection of posters who do NOT see the same for CBB. We shall see.

I have a ton of respect for your posts. I was not cherry picking the 12 game data slice because it was beneficial, I simply chose the last 12 games because that is how many games are in a season of football and they are the most recent 12 games. My intentions were not dishonest.

[PorkSoda]

both have been good coaches and won some big games.  I don't understand why people try to make it out to be different.  CBB being perceived as a good coach does not rely on CBP being perceived as a bad coach.  CBB's coaching ability stands on its own merit

[Hawgar The Horrible]

both have been good coaches and won some big games.  I don't understand why people try to make it out to be different.  CBB being perceived as a good coach does not rely on CBP being perceived as a bad coach.  CBB's coaching ability stands on its own merit

CBB is not being fairly judged by a few loud and obnoxious BP proponents. Records do not tell the whole story nor are they an indicator of the programs foundation strength given the small sample size for each coach.

[ATU HOG]

I don't understand the "we won back to back bowl games for the first time ever" crowd.

When you are an average SEC team and you play an average team from another conference... you're going to beat them.  At least you better.  I'm ready to see us go to a new years six bowl, play a top tier team from another conference when both teams are clicking, and win.

Playing Texas where we were 7 point favorites and K state where we were 14 point favorites, you should win those games 100 times out of 100. 

Gotta take the next step as a program and go to a big time bowl.

[Bubba's Bruisers]

hogville has a habit of hating the ex coach and loving the new coach right up until they become the ex coach.

It's no habit.  It's an addiction.

When BB moves on, and he will, we will turn on him too.  All of a sudden any win he ever had will be marginalized and his supposed recruiting prowess will be poo-poo'd too.  It's the vicious cycle of fan bases all across America.

[PorkSoda]

CBP is not being fairly judged by a few loud and obnoxious BB proponents. Records do not tell the whole story nor are they an indicator of the programs foundation strength given the small sample size for each coach.

FIFY

it goes both ways, but yes you are correct.  right now CBB needs to focus on getting his Oline play up to snuff.  its been trial by fire for the new guys, hopefully they come out stronger because of it.

[Hawgar The Horrible]

it goes both ways, but yes you are correct.  right now CBB needs to focus on getting his Oline play up to snuff.  its been trial by fire for the new guys, hopefully they come out stronger because of it.

DO NOT change anyone's quote without indicating the changes made. Bad form that leads to miscommunication. You should know better.

[PorkSoda]

DO NOT change anyone's quote without indicating the changes made. Bad form that leads to miscommunication. You should know better.

lol, just making my point.  you can read your post either way and its still means the same thing.

there are obnoxious people on both side that refuse to be objective.  which are you?

[Boarslab]

It should be EXPECTED to have his best record yet in Year 4.  The bar is set pretty low considering the most he has won is 8 games.  To me, that means a MINIMUM of 9 wins after the bowl game. No more excuses.  This is a results driven profession in which he is getting paid millions to WIN.  Quite frankly, I still feel fairly confident he will win at least 9.  I guess we will see.  My opinion will be based on the final season record. 

You are correct on the getting paid to win part.  Coaches are paid millions---yep, MILLIONS, to WIN.  They aren't being paid that kind of money to turn out good kids, sad, but no one gives a crap about that, they want wins and if they don't they will be replaced.  It's that simple.  Nothing else matters.  That means looking at what you have now and what positions you need to shore up down the road, like next year.  No excuse for not replacing these positions when you are being paid millions to do just that.  Recruiting is the major factor in earning those millions...it means winning now and in the future.  You better be able to get those out of state guys somehow --- someway.  Fans don't want to wait til next year for that kind of money.

[Hawgar The Horrible]

lol, just making my point.  you can read your post either way and its still means the same thing.

there are obnoxious people on both side that refuse to be objective.  which are you?

I'm the guy that lives in the present rather than the past.

[PorkSoda]

You are correct on the getting paid to win part.  Coaches are paid millions---yep, MILLIONS, to WIN.  They aren't being paid that kind of money to turn out good kids, sad, but no one gives a crap about that, they want wins and if they don't they will be replaced.  It's that simple.  Nothing else matters.

not true.  I can guarantee you that BB's contract include things like graduation rates, running a clean program etc.  some fans may only care about wins, but the universities exist to prepare students for their professional careers.

[Hawgar The Horrible]

You are correct on the getting paid to win part.  Coaches are paid millions---yep, MILLIONS, to WIN.  They aren't being paid that kind of money to turn out good kids, sad, but no one gives a crap about that, they want wins and if they don't they will be replaced.  It's that simple.  Nothing else matters.  That means looking at what you have now and what positions you need to shore up down the road, like next year.  No excuse for not replacing these positions when you are being paid millions to do just that.  Recruiting is the major factor in earning those millions...it means winning now and in the future.  You better be able to get those out of state guys somehow --- someway.  Fans don't want to wait til next year for that kind of money.

Coaches are getting paid millions to coach and you're not getting paid anything to watch. I suggest you quit.

[woodhog14]

After starting 0-17 there isn't anywhere else to go but up.

Fans keep boasting our 3-1 record as if barely beating LA Tech in the last minutes of the 4th at home is something to hang your hat on. Or a blocked field goal being the sole reason we're not sitting at 2-2 like LSU right now. Then our blowout of TXST that got 64 dropped on them by Houston while holding them to 3.

It's not all gloom and doom, this isn't a bad team at all. I've enjoyed watching them improve since week one. We lost yesterday simply because we got outcoached in the second half on both sides of the ball. Gaping run holes exposed the gut of our defense. There defensive line nearly annihilated the line scrimmage, harassing Austin and leaving no holes for RW3. If anything we should have worn them down, with our time of possession, we didn't. Why because there system marginalized our game plan on both sides of the ball.

The turnover talk is a little over blown, we coughed up two early ones and they gave them back to us. Its the last turn over on the sack of Austin Allen that really sealed our fate in this game. In fact our fist TD came off a botched catch that led to a fumble recovered by the Hogs. After all the smoke was cleared we were both tied up at 17 all. 

He didn't start 0-17...do people pay attention around here?

[secfan30]

You can look back at all my recent posts, and you will find that I have been VERY pro-Bielema and giving him the time that he needs to get this program where it needs to be and the faith that he would do so. If we do not win 10 games this year, then I believe it's time to move on. His philosophy so far Defensively is getting us killed year after year. I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired. I'm ready to get there instead of the ole "next year is our year" we need a big change. I can handle our offense to a degree. Pro or spread as long as we are explosive but the lac of tenacity on defense is sickening. Last year for CBB if he don't win 10 games. Please. I don't want to wait 20 years for another natty

You're an example of why people make fun of our fan base. He has won more games each year, and there is not a slime ball feel to our program. But fire him when everything is going in the right direction...

[Science Fiction Greg]

You can look back at all my recent posts, and you will find that I have been VERY pro-Bielema and giving him the time that he needs to get this program where it needs to be and the faith that he would do so. If we do not win 10 games this year, then I believe it's time to move on. His philosophy so far Defensively is getting us killed year after year. I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired. I'm ready to get there instead of the ole "next year is our year" we need a big change. I can handle our offense to a degree. Pro or spread as long as we are explosive but the lac of tenacity on defense is sickening. Last year for CBB if he don't win 10 games. Please. I don't want to wait 20 years for another natty

One of the most idiotic things I've ever read.  Please stop posting.

[ricepig]

You are correct on the getting paid to win part.  Coaches are paid millions---yep, MILLIONS, to WIN.  They aren't being paid that kind of money to turn out good kids, sad, but no one gives a crap about that, they want wins and if they don't they will be replaced.  It's that simple.  Nothing else matters.  That means looking at what you have now and what positions you need to shore up down the road, like next year.  No excuse for not replacing these positions when you are being paid millions to do just that.  Recruiting is the major factor in earning those millions...it means winning now and in the future.  You better be able to get those out of state guys somehow --- someway.  Fans don't want to wait til next year for that kind of money.

Last time I checked, we're winning.

[jdlew]

You can look back at all my recent posts, and you will find that I have been VERY pro-Bielema and giving him the time that he needs to get this program where it needs to be and the faith that he would do so. If we do not win 10 games this year, then I believe it's time to move on. His philosophy so far Defensively is getting us killed year after year. I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired. I'm ready to get there instead of the ole "next year is our year" we need a big change. I can handle our offense to a degree. Pro or spread as long as we are explosive but the lac of tenacity on defense is sickening. Last year for CBB if he don't win 10 games. Please. I don't want to wait 20 years for another natty

You do know Texas A&M had better players...he wins some of those games...but we almost have to play perfect to pull off those wins...

[lrcentral]

your expecting ten wins from a team that is replacing:
qb
2 rb
all American te
3 offensive lineman

you might as well call for his firing now

Exactly, I don't understand why people think we should be recruiting at a decent level. We have to find the diamonds in the rough to be competitive. People just don't understand how precious wins really are and how difficult it is to win football games. I have a plan for Jeff Long to help out with expectations.

1. Give two pass to CBB to ease some pressure.

2.

3. Profit

4. Repeat step one.

[HogBreath]

You can look back at all my recent posts, and you will find that I have been VERY pro-Bielema and giving him the time that he needs to get this program where it needs to be and the faith that he would do so. If we do not win 10 games this year, then I believe it's time to move on. His philosophy so far Defensively is getting us killed year after year. I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired. I'm ready to get there instead of the ole "next year is our year" we need a big change. I can handle our offense to a degree. Pro or spread as long as we are explosive but the lac of tenacity on defense is sickening. Last year for CBB if he don't win 10 games. Please. I don't want to wait 20 years for another natty

Ok..it was a game at a neutral sight/on the road (with the refs), against a top 10 team, that we actually had a chance to win.  And you're ready to fire the coach?  Are you crazy?

[GoHogs1091]

Things could change during the rest of the season, but as of right now, Bielema may need to at the end of the season make staff changes at Defensive Coordinator and at Defensive Line Coach.  Based on what we saw last season, and based on what we have seen the first SEC game this season, it looks like SEC Offensive Coordinators have figured out Robb Smith's scheme.

Rory Segrest's Defensive Line continues to be inconsistent.  Really no excuse for that since there was talent on the DL last season, and there is talent on the DL this season.

Kurt Anderson should probably be safe at the end of the season and be back for next season because it is not Anderson's fault that Bielema's recruiting of Offensive Linemen has been sub-par. 

[notavol]

well dang. I was hoping he would be given more time but I guess he must go if RebelW says so. I mean, after all, Rebel thought his opinion was so revered that he thought it necessary to start a new thread to inform us of his decision. I cant speak for others but I know that I for one have been waiting on pins and needles for his decision to come down.
Coach, I guess you gotta go. I hate it but Reb has made his decision. It's 10 wins or youre fired and I just dont see you getting there. Best of luck to you sir.

[kp72204]

You guys waiting on that "natty" would be happier rooting for one of the elite programs around the country.  Arkansas is a middle of the road program.  I don't expect us to win national title ever.  When you come to terms with the truth you'll feel much better.

WOW!!!!! I'm devastated because I think you're right. I honestly believed we could win a title, and I guess its still possible. I guess the question is how do we get more talent in Arkansas (not recruited from elsewhere)? Thats the only thing I can see working at this point and its still years away

[porkrindjimmy]

Yeah, by a pretty salty coach. If Mark Stoops had outcoached us, I'd be a lot more concerned. Sumlin isn't a slouch.

Sumlin is a slouch....and a drunk. No way he should be out coaching us. We were outschemed. And Robb Smith was the one who was on the receiving end of that. We just don't adjust at half.

I think Bret's biggest problem is his stubborness. But he is still going to win 10 games this year as long as Allen stays upright. That kid? Balls...he's got em.

PRJ

[Oklahawg]

I have a ton of respect for your posts. I was not cherry picking the 12 game data slice because it was beneficial, I simply chose the last 12 games because that is how many games are in a season of football and they are the most recent 12 games. My intentions were not dishonest.

Didn't mean it to be so snarky sounding! Hey, a 12-game data slice is a pretty good sampling. I still feel that the trajectory is upward, but it is reasonable for fans to wonder how the "some things stay the same" gets kicked around in the coaching offices.

[plumbhog]

Don't be surprised if this team has already lost the only game they will lose this year.

[sickboy]

Our defense was good until the second half.

Hell, our defense was good until basically the final 16 or so minutes of the game. They just got demoralized by that 92 yard TD.

[Boarmonger]

http://arkansas.247sports.com/Season/2017-Football/Commits

Try again

Not to mention that many of those recruits will be re-evaluated during or after the season.  The number of 4 stars today will not be the same on Feb 1.