Which Coach Divides our Fan base the Most?

[ipigsooie]

I think one important aspect of the coaching search is finding someone who will unify and not divide us.  Look at the stands. It's empty for a reason. We need someone to excite the fan base not divide us. Who is the most divisive?

[ipigsooie]

Also I didn't add Frito Pie because there is nobody divided on that one. (Or coca cola)

[HotlantaHog]

Don't worry about dividing the fan base.

Hire the coach who will WIN and the fan base will be unified. Winning solves the problem.

[ipigsooie]

Don't worry about dividing the fan base.

Hire the coach who will WIN and the fan base will be unified. Winning solves the problem.

Quantify that. How much winning makes someone accept someone they dislike? How many games?

[HotlantaHog]

Quantify that. How much winning makes someone accept someone they dislike? How many games?

Top 25 regularly, regular 8-win or 9-win seasons ... occasionally a bit better than that and competing for SEC or national championships ...  Exact level depends to a degree on how strong the SEC is ...

Not Nick Saban level of success -- but level of success obviously a bit below that ... A high level of success given Arkansas has some shortcomings, especially in recruiting and high school football in the state.

[ipigsooie]

Top 25 regularly, regular 8-win or 9-win seasons ... occasionally a bit better than that and competing for SEC or national championships ...  Exact level depends to a degree on how strong the SEC is ...

Not Nick Saban level of success -- but level of success obviously a bit below that ... A high level of success given Arkansas has some shortcomings, especially in recruiting and high school football in the state.

I would be good with those results. That's Petrinoesque. If we get Gus and he can do that I will be happy. I do have my doubts.

[East Clintwood]

Don't worry about dividing the fan base.

Hire the coach who will WIN and the fan base will be unified. Winning solves the problem.

Only on the surface.

One slip up and the division will return with even more strength.

[HotlantaHog]

I would be good with those results. That's Petrinoesque. If we get Gus and he can do that I will be happy. I do have my doubts.

I think something a little less than what Petrino got would make most folks happy. I think Houston Nutt's actual W-L record -- slightly better than 50% in SEC play, competing for SEC title in Atlanta twice -- would be well received in today's SEC versus the weaker conference where he competed in. The problem with Nutt was all the drama and that he was an egomaniac unable or unwilling to hire or keep good assistant coaches and seemed not to work hard at all at recruiting ... The won-loss record in today's SEC would be well received ... Nobody is looking for perfection... Expectations have been lowered...

[WilsonHog]

The stands are empty (relatively) because we aren't winning.

I believe the whole "divided fan base" argument is overblown.

Truth? We could install a coach who drinks a fifth of vodka every night and who has a wife and three girlfriends on the side; so long as he wins and the news never gets out, the fan base would not be divided.

Here is the other aspect. Quantify "divided?" What does that mean? What does it look like?

[The Boar War]

I'm not sure Gus would be as divisive to the fan base as a whole as it would be to Hogville.  We still have fans fighting an 11 year battle over the Springdale 5 on a regular basis.

[ipigsooie]

The stands are empty (relatively) because we aren't winning.

I believe the whole "divided fan base" argument is overblown.

Truth? We could install a coach who drinks a fifth of vodka every night and who has a wife and three girlfriends on the side; so long as he wins and the news never gets out, the fan base would not be divided.

Here is the other aspect. Quantify "divided?" What does that mean? What does it look like?

I quantify divided as the end of HDN tenure,  the end of Nolans tenure. You can't say winning cures all because those guys were winning. Maybe not enough but certainly Houston was winning more than we have won in the past 5 years. I quantify divided as the drama that circles the program and how it feels as a hog fan when that drama has enveloped your program. It becomes a question of ....is 8 wins a season enough to deal with the bs?

[ipigsooie]

I'm not sure Gus would be as divisive to the fan base as a whole as it would be to Hogville.  We still have fans fighting an 11 year battle over the Springdale 5 on a regular basis.

Was the HDN saga exclusive to Hogville? I'm not sure I agree with this statement.

[The Boar War]

Was the HDN saga exclusive to Hogville? I'm not sure I agree with this statement.

Exclusive?  No.  But it was is much more important on here than it ever was to the fan base as a whole.

[ipigsooie]

Exclusive?  No.  But it was is much more important on here than it ever was to the fan base as a whole.

I agree. But man that was a soap opera. Foia and calls and an internal civil war. Hope we never see days like that again.

[HF#1]

I don't give a damn who divides the fanbase. I care about who wins.

[East TN HAWG]

I'm not sure Gus would be as divisive to the fan base as a whole as it would be to Hogville.  We still have fans fighting an 11 year battle over the Springdale 5 on a regular basis.

I actually agree with this statement.  People on Hogville are fanatics in general.  Everyone of them.  It's why we are on Hogville.   That said they in generally much more informed of what is actually happening then the general population. 

Both sides of the Gus/HDN saga were aired out.  That time in history will go down as one of the most bitter debates in the history of Arkansas athletics.  The fracture of the fanbase was deep.  Gus was ousted before Nutt, and neither were completely clean either. 

80% of the fanbase does not know or have already forgotten what went on behind the scenes.  80% of the fanbase will accept Gus back with open arms.  If Gus wins, 20% of the fanbase will sit quietly until their momemet, and they they will speak up with venom we have not heard since that time.  Gus either succeeds big or he leaves the state like Nutt as the most hated man in AR.   

[HF#1]

If fans were less concerned with be divided and more concerned with winning, we would be better off. This is petty. You either support the program or you don't.

[ipigsooie]

If fans were less concerned with be divided and more concerned with winning, we would be better off. This is petty. You either support the program or you don't.

Awesome! We should hire Art Briles. His record is a lot better than any of our other choices.

[hawginbigd1]

Gus would absolutely be divisive unless he won a lot consistently, even then a loss like Saturday would still create spllinters in an otherwise good year. There are 2 many like me who don't believe in or like the guy. Unlike an outsider who most likely comes in without baggage.

People wake up and realize HV or pick a board is the fan base, and quit acting like it is something completely different.

[King Kong]

None if they win

[woodrow hog call]

I've never gone to a game to watch the coach, I think coach worship is out of control, and pretty silly. I never really got into the "my dad can beat up your dad" stuff anyway, that's about what some of this sounds like to me.

[ipigsooie]

None if they win

That's a lot of pressure to put on a coach inheriting a 4-8 team. One thing we do know is our boy Gud doesn't like pressure.

[B Ray]

The coach who starts losing more games

[WilsonHog]

Two things you can count on:

(1) Hogville will be divided the day our new coach is hired; and,

(2) Hogville will remain divided until our new coach is fired or leaves for another job. The degree to which this division is communicated will depend on how much he wins while he is here.

[hogsanity]

Hog fans, in general? None. Hog fans that take the time to post on message boards, or call radio shows? All of them will divide that group somewhat.

[hobhog]

If fans were less concerned with be divided and more concerned with winning, we would be better off. This is petty. You either support the program or you don't.

Exactly.

Beat the rush! Divide the fanbase now before the new coach is hired!

[Gonzo]

If fans were less concerned with be divided and more concerned with winning, we would be better off. This is petty. You either support the program or you don't.

Do you support your spouse/kids/family? Do you agree with every decision/move they make?

It's the same thing. Supporting the program does not require agreeing with every decision, and vice versa. It's silly to expect blind allegiance.

Regardless of who is hired, one can support the program and think there may have been a better choice.


Go Hogs!

[WilsonHog]

Do you support your spouse/kids/family? Do you agree with every decision/move they make?

It's the same thing. Supporting the program does not require agreeing with every decision, and vice versa. It's silly to expect blind allegiance.

Regardless of who is hired, one can support the program and think there may have been a better choice.


Go Hogs!

Yes, but....

If my wife makes a decision I don't like, I don't take that opportunity to tell her and anyone who will listen how much of a mistake I made in marrying her.

There is also a difference between believing that there was a better coach for us and taking every loss as an opportunity to say why you believe that.

I believe in supporting every coach we hire, regardless of whether I thought they were who we should have hired, until they have an opportunity to get two or three recruiting classes on campus (unless they screw up off the field before that).

[Gonzo]

Yes, but....

If my wife makes a decision I don't like, I don't take that opportunity to tell her and anyone who will listen how much of a mistake I made in marrying her.

There is also a difference between believing that there was a better coach for us and taking every loss as an opportunity to say why you believe that.

I believe in supporting every coach we hire, regardless of whether I thought they were who we should have hired, until they have an opportunity to get two or three recruiting classes on campus (unless they screw up off the field before that).

Not really any "yes, but......" to it since I didn't advocate any of those things. My comments were directed solely at the "you either support the program or not, no questions asked" mentality.

Go Hogs!

[Dwight_K_Shrute]

Don't worry about dividing the fan base.

Hire the coach who will WIN and the fan base will be unified. Winning solves the problem.

I call BS. There are some folks with such a bug up their behind about GM that the only way they would stop b!tchiing about him is if he won the NC and then they would complain about the score. Also they will be nit picking the hell out of him trying to tear him down from day 1 so they can say I told you so.

[King Kong]

That's a lot of pressure to put on a coach inheriting a 4-8 team. One thing we do know is our boy Gud doesn't like pressure.

Please. Gus would win 8 games here next year right it down if he comes

[HawgTide]

I think one important aspect of the coaching search is finding someone who will unify and not divide us.  Look at the stands. It's empty for a reason. We need someone to excite the fan base not divide us. Who is the most divisive?

Whoever we hire will probably divide Hogville but Hogville isn't the real world

[007 License To Squeal]

Invalid poll.  The correct option is:  Any coach who doesn't win games.

[HF#1]

Do you support your spouse/kids/family? Do you agree with every decision/move they make?

It's the same thing. Supporting the program does not require agreeing with every decision, and vice versa. It's silly to expect blind allegiance.

Regardless of who is hired, one can support the program and think there may have been a better choice.


Go Hogs!

Supporting the program is blind allegiance?

[woodrow hog call]

I call BS. There are some folks with such a bug up their behind about GM that the only way they would stop b!tchiing about him is if he won the NC and then they would complain about the score. Also they will be nit picking the hell out of him trying to tear him down from day 1 so they can say I told you so.

Those folks are not really important, in the grand scheme of things, for the very reason you mentioned. The only possible way to make them happy would be to bring back CBP, make him AD, and head coach for life, then they could go around bragging about having the cussingest coach in the land.

[ipigsooie]

Those folks are not really important, in the grand scheme of things, for the very reason you mentioned. The only possible way to make them happy would be to bring back CBP, make him AD, and head coach for life, then they could go around bragging about having the cussingest coach in the land.

You really think the only coach people will get behind is Petrino? It seems like there are a lot of candidates out there that people would get behind. I don't know why you would think most people would only support Petrino? I'd guess his naysayers would be about as high as Gus.

[Locutus_of_Boar]

Don't worry about dividing the fan base.

Hire the coach who will WIN and the fan base will be unified. Winning solves the problem.

That worked for HDN for two years but Nutt did have a small but vocal opposition from day one including even Orville Henry.

Those opposing factions don't disappear.  They may bide their time but as time goes along they get more numerous and more vocal.

Gus's internal Arkansas opposition is about three years ahead of where Nutt's were on a day one.

[woodrow hog call]

You really think the only coach people will get behind is Petrino? It seems like there are a lot of candidates out there that people would get behind. I don't know why you would think most people would only support Petrino? I'd guess his naysayers would be about as high as Gus.

I didn't say or mean most people, it's a very few that are vocal about their undying love for CBP, and any other coach will be nit picked by them.

That's why I said they don't matter, no pleasing them.

[rhog1]

It is simple if you hire Gus you divide the fanbase period. Because the fanbase is already divided on Gus. He will not get a honeymoon period here there will be darksiders and huggers from day one. Any other coach would get a grace period of a few years before results are expected.

[WilsonHog]

It is simple if you hire Gus you divide the fanbase period. Because the fanbase is already divided on Gus. He will not get a honeymoon period here there will be darksiders and huggers from day one. Any other coach would get a grace period of a few years before results are expected.

Really? We had fans on Bielema's ass from the first season on.

[woodrow hog call]

Anybody that won't wait until they see results on the field is not worth caring about.

[rhog1]

Really? We had fans on Bielema's ass from the first season on.

Bret killed his own honeymoon here going winless in conference his first year. We were bad, but not that bad. He deserved a little heat over that.

[ipigsooie]

Anybody that won't wait until they see results on the field is not worth caring about.

Really? You HAVE to like a guy bc we hire him? So we hire Art briles....all is forgiven. You get our full support. Hope nothing bad happens. That is ridiculous. That's like telling everyone they have to support Nutt if we hire him as AD. You don't get an opinion until we are results on the field.

[East Clintwood]

Really? We had fans on Bielema's ass from the first season on.

Bert was a different situation than Gus because Gus has a history with Arkansas.  A lot of poeple don't like him because of that history, regardless of his coaching ability.

Many of us didn't want Bert, not because of past experience with him, but because we couldn't imagine that he could possibly bring his system to Arkansas and be successful with it.

I and many others feel the same way about Gus's potential here.  I see nothing but Hootie level success/failure if Gus is brought in.  Better than Bert but not by a whole lot.

We can do better.

[woodrow hog call]

Really? You HAVE to like a guy bc we hire him? So we hire Art briles....all is forgiven. You get our full support. Hope nothing bad happens. That is ridiculous. That's like telling everyone they have to support Nutt if we hire him as AD. You don't get an opinion until we are results on the field.

Okay so I made too broad of a statement, your exceptions are duly noted, I was  thinking about what I consider main stream candidates.

You right about those two.

[Gonzo]

Supporting the program is blind allegiance?

Insinuating fans who question anything the program does don't support the program,, which is what I took from "you either support the program or you don't", the comment of yours to which I responded is, yes, asking for blind allegiance imo. I have wholeheartedly supported the Hogs for 40+ years and, yes, i have questioned many moves fhey have made.

Go Hogs!

[Gonzo]

I didn't say or mean most people, it's a very few that are vocal about their undying love for CBP, and any other coach will be nit picked by them.

That's why I said they don't matter, no pleasing them.

Reminds me a lot of some GM supporters on here. No one else is in the same stratosphere as him and they're all nitpicked apart. Same story on both sides of that coin, and really my only concern about bringing him back.

Go Hogs!

[Pork Twain]

Two things you can count on:

(1) Hogville will be divided the day our new coach is hired; and,

(2) Hogville will remain divided until our new coach is fired or leaves for another job. The degree to which this division is communicated will depend on how much he wins while he is here.

Same ole, same ole

In all honesty, I think the worst thing we can do is hire a coach that only cares about one side of the ball.  We need balance and a guy that wins.  Even if we have that though, people will still complain, much like I complained about CBP's recruiting failures even when he was winning big.

[Gonzo]

Same ole, same ole

In all honesty, I think the worst thing we can do is hire a coach that only cares about one side of the ball.  We need balance and a guy that wins.  Even if we have that though, people will still complain, much like I complained about CBP's recruiting failures even when he was winning big.

Always find it intriguing that BB's defenses and teams got worse when all those failures departed.


Go Hogs!

[HognitiveDissonance]

Don't worry about dividing the fan base.

Hire the coach who will WIN and the fan base will be unified. Winning solves the problem.

Yes
I'm tired of hearing about our 'divided' fanbase.
What a bunch of snowflakes.
It's a crazy thought anyway because it's not possible to have a 'united' fanbase. There is always some dissension going around.
This implies it's possible to have everyone on the same page, and that's not true. Which is why I'm sick of hearing about it.
Just get the best guy and win enough and the dissenters are small in number.