Realistic replacements for Bielema

[The_Iceman]

We are in a league with a bunch of big programs (bullies). To best them, you don't go get a smaller bully, you get that wirey kid that outsmarts the bully and gets the bully out of his comfort zone.

We tried to hire the smaller bully. We need to be smarter than that. We have severe disadvantages as a program in the SEC that will keep us from ever being an consistent contender. But, we can do a better job fighting, and take advantage when an opportunity presents itself.

[The_Iceman]

Let's make a couple of short lists here.

Bob Stoops
Bobby Petrino
James Franklin
PJ Fleck

Those guys aren't coming. Neither are these:

Lane Kiffin
Kevin Kelley
Blake Anderson
The coach at UCA

Roughly about as likely as monkeys flying out of my ass.

Thank you. You can add Mike Gundy and Gary Patterson to those lists as well.

[WilsonHog]

Thank you. You can add Mike Gundy and Gary Patterson to those lists as well.

I agree with you on Patterson, but I'm not quite ready to put Gundy in that category.

[The Hawg Marshal]

Skip Holtz has been a solid coach but not great. We need someone with a higher ceiling than what he can provide. imo

[The_Iceman]

I agree with you on Patterson, but I'm not quite ready to put Gundy in that category.

I would be shocked if Ok State let him go anywhere. He has a great gig, and is loved there. This decade, he is 72-19 at Oklahoma State with a Big 12 championship, a 2 BCS bowl appearances, and a consistent Top 25 ranking.

He already makes almost $4 million there. They will build a statue of him there is he stays, and they won't fire him. Hard to turn that down.

[WilsonHog]

Instead of just throwing out names, think about the "why." Or the "why not."

For example...consider coaches like James Franklin, Gary Patterson, Justin Fuente, and Mike Gundy. All coaches who are experiencing success at their current jobs, making plenty of money, etc. Why would they leave where they are to take on a mid-level job in the SEC West? What's the "hook?"

PJ Fleck and Jeff Brohm? They're both in their first season at new schools. Leaving after just one year would attach a stigma that opposing coaches could easily use in recruiting.

Dana Holgorsen might leave West Virginia, but he's 28-26 in conference play at Morgantown. Still, he just received a nice salary bump to around $3.5 million a year.

Mike Leach? He was 84-43 at Texas Tech and 23-9 (.719) over the last three years. He's making around $2.95 million a year, so he might be enticed by a raise of $1 million or so. Aside from money, how does the Arkansas job at present compare with the Washington State job? Is he a good fit for the SEC? Would he be considered a good fit for us, given his baggage and his personality?

Charlie Strong might be enticed to come home, but would his results at Arkansas approximate those he had at Louisville, or at Texas?

[KlubhouseKonnected]

I never thought Les Miles was that good at LSU with all that talent. He would fail.  Charlie Strong could not make it at Texas in a weaker league. I would cross those 2 off the list and add Jeff Brohm.

I agree as to Miles, think Strong and Texas were a doomed match from the start but would add that I have my doubts that Strong has any desire to return to Arkansas so he is probably a non factor anyways.

[KlubhouseKonnected]

Dowell Loggains

Kevin Kelley

Ken Niumatalolo

Mike Yurcich

Jeff Brohm


my submission for realistic list

The idea of handing the reigns to Dowell frightens the holy beejeezus outta me.

[hogsanity]

Instead of just throwing out names, think about the "why." Or the "why not."

For example...consider coaches like James Franklin, Gary Patterson, Justin Fuente, and Mike Gundy. All coaches who are experiencing success at their current jobs, making plenty of money, etc. Why would they leave where they are to take on a mid-level job in the SEC West? What's the "hook?"

PJ Fleck and Jeff Brohm? They're both in their first season at new schools. Leaving after just one year would attach a stigma that recruiters could easily use.

Dana Holgorsen might leave West Virginia, but he's 28-26 in conference play at Morgantown.

Mike Leach? He was 84-43 at Texas Tech and 23-9 (.719) over the last three years. He's making around $2.95 million a year, so he might be enticed by a raise of $1 million or so. Aside from money, how does the Arkansas job at present compare with the Washington State job? Is he a good fit for the SEC? Would he be considered a good fit for us, given his baggage and his personality?

Charlie Strong might be enticed to come home, but would his results at Arkansas approximate those he had at Louisville, or at Texas?

And Strong is in his 1st yr at USF.

[DLUXHOG]

1. Barry Switzer
2. Jimmy Johnson

both have a few years left in them, both of them are absolutely awesome recruiters, both have deep Arkansas ties, and both have won NC's at other schools (and Superbowls).    Either of them could get the program back on top and ready for the next young eager beaver to be HC............   neither would want the job, but $$ talk and everyone has their price and the HOGS can afford anyone.............

[TheJoeyBucketz]

1. Barry Switzer
2. Jimmy Johnson

both have a few years left in them, both of them are absolutely awesome recruiters, both have deep Arkansas ties, and both have won NC's at other schools (and Superbowls).    Either of them could get the program back on top and ready for the next young eager beaver to be HC............   neither would want the job, but $$ talk and everyone has their price and the HOGS can afford anyone.............

I hate to be the one to break it to you; I should probably leave it to one of your grandkids, or great grandkids. I just cant let it go, though. You deserve to know the truth. Its not 1987 anymore. Its 2017. Jimmy Johnson is 74 years old and Barry Switzer is freaking 80.

Im glad you finally came out of your coma, but you should make one of your great grandkids bring you a newspaper.

[smb]

I would like to see some big time offensive coordinator who wants a HC job. I think you have to lean this way considering the recruit poole.

[KlubhouseKonnected]

Why the Frank does Less Miles, Butch Davis or Mark Richt make any list?

If I could go back in time and hire Butch Davis as a real head coach instead of bringing in John L. Smith as an interim I would do it in an instant. Now I think it is too late for Butch. He is too old and the task is too large. But the guy has proven that he knows how to be a program builder which is what we need. That was the reason I did not like hiring Brett originally, he was only proven as a coach taking over an already successful, healthy program and ours was one that needed a total remodel. I decided to get on board and be positive. I believe in the same core principles of team building that Brett has largely always espoused, but the writing seems to be on the wall.

Proven. Program. Builder.

That is what we need and who knows if we can afford to miss again.

[KlubhouseKonnected]

1. Barry Switzer
2. Jimmy Johnson

both have a few years left in them, both of them are absolutely awesome recruiters, both have deep Arkansas ties, and both have won NC's at other schools (and Superbowls).    Either of them could get the program back on top and ready for the next young eager beaver to be HC............   neither would want the job, but $$ talk and everyone has their price and the HOGS can afford anyone.............

We need to build a college football team not sell boner pills.

[WilsonHog]

Fan bases almost always over value their program. My all-time favorite was when Ole Miss fired Nutt and the talk on their board was that they could go get Tony Dungy. Wound up hiring a high school coach from Memphis instead.

[TheJoeyBucketz]

Fan bases almost always over value their program. My all-time favorite was when Ole Miss fired Nutt and the talk on their board was that they could go get Tony Dungy. Wound up hiring a high school coach from Memphis that allegedly molested High School girls instead.

FIFY

[DLUXHOG]

I hate to be the one to break it to you; I should probably leave it to one of your grandkids, or great grandkids. I just cant let it go, though. You deserve to know the truth. Its not 1987 anymore. Its 2017. Jimmy Johnson is 74 years old and Barry Switzer is freaking 80.

Im glad you finally came out of your coma, but you should make one of your great grandkids bring you a newspaper.

Bobby Bowden, Joe Paterno, Bill Snyder and Frank Solich say "hello".... (that's just football, you want me to list baseball, basketball, and pro team coaches?)

[COACHINTEXAS]

guys, anyone is realistic with money!!!!!  It's not rocket science; we could get Chip Kelley if the money is right!

[TheJoeyBucketz]

Bobby Bowden- retired at 80, Joe Paterno- fair enough. Homeboy coached forever, Bill Snyder- only 78 now and he looks like he died yesterday. and Frank Solich- currently only 73. May coach into his 80's, but probably not. say "hello".... (that's just football, you want me to list baseball, basketball, and pro team coaches?)

You sure showed me. A grand total of 1 coach that has coached into their 80's. Nice list.

[DLUXHOG]

guys, anyone is realistic with money!!!!!  It's not rocket science; we could get Chip Kelley if the money is right!

know this..... Arkansas has the $$ (yes, more than Mississippi, Missouri, Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, South Carolina, Florida) to get anyone... anyone... anyone... and everyone has their price...

[texasdvm]

I believe Brent Venables would be a great addition to our program as his first head coaching job.  He has proven he can defense a variety of offenses.  He has the persona that radiates confidence and competence.   He is a strong recruiter with ties to Texas.   He has been a big part of beating Alabama and winning national championships.  He is humble and I think would represent us well.   He called once when he was at Oklahoma and we had sent tape on a young man from our town here in East Texas.   He said he was full at LB but wanted to call and say this kid could play for him all day.  He got an offer to La Tech and went there.  I just think he is a really good man.  Much the way I see Coach Broyles. Just a lot to like about him.

[TheJoeyBucketz]

know this..... Arkansas has the $$ (yes, more than Mississippi, Missouri, Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, South Carolina, Florida) to get anyone... anyone... anyone... and everyone has their price...

http://sports.usatoday.com/ncaa/finances/
Where do you get this stuff? I know, we can use WalMart money to hire Barry Switzer, and then let Warren Stephens pay to keep him alive, or have him cryogenically frozen when he dies in 6 months.

We don't have more money than alot of those schools you listed. We aint poor, but we aint balling like you said.

[The_Iceman]

I believe Brent Venables would be a great addition to our program as his first head coaching job.  He has proven he can defense a variety of offenses.  He has the persona that radiates confidence and competence.   He is a strong recruiter with ties to Texas.   He has been a big part of beating Alabama and winning national championships.  He is humble and I think would represent us well.   He called once when he was at Oklahoma and we had sent tape on a young man from our town here in East Texas.   He said he was full at LB but wanted to call and say this kid could play for him all day.  He got an offer to La Tech and went there.  I just think he is a really good man.  Much the way I see Coach Broyles. Just a lot to like about him.

I agree. Pair him with a good OC, and it might just be the right fit.

Does a name like Greg Schiano still excite anyone? What he did at Rutgers was just incredible.

[DLUXHOG]

http://sports.usatoday.com/ncaa/finances/
Where do you get this stuff? I know, we can use WalMart money to hire Barry Switzer, and then let Warren Stephens pay to keep him alive, or have him cryogenically frozen when he dies in 6 months.

We don't have more money than alot of those schools you listed. We aint poor, but we aint balling like you said.

Alice Walton - Arkansas billionaire, currently ranked 13th in the US... (net worth $41 billion)
S. Robson Walton - graduated from the UofA, Arkansas Billionaire, currently ranked 12th in the US... (net worth $41.1 billion)
Jim Walton - graduated from the UofA, Arkansas Billionaire, currently ranked 11th in the US...  (net worth $41.2 billion)
Jerry Jones - Arkansas billionaire, currently ranked 91st in the US ... (net worth $5.6 billion)

What other states in the SEC have this amount of potential financial backing? 3 of these are UofA graduates and are Razorbacks and one of them played on the UofA only national championship team.......

[311Hog]

those folks care about AR football why?

[DLUXHOG]

those folks care about AR football why?

you must have missed it, but I have now bolded my last sentence............

[TheJoeyBucketz]

those folks care about AR football why?

Yeah, I wasn't even gonna reply to that. "We've got some rich people that went to school here" is not the same thing as having a lot of money.

[311Hog]

you must have missed it, but I have now bolded my last sentence............

you do know that each of them have already given millions and millions to the UofA and the area right?

[zebradynasty]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_by_the_number_of_billionaires

[DLUXHOG]

you do know that each of them have already given millions and millions to the UofA and the area right?

do you fail to understand that each and everyone of them probably line their waste baskets with $50MM per person each year?    I know they are not wealthy for giving $$ willy nilly to the UofA at all times, but, if approached correctly (that is an AD issue/job), 3 of them for sure could, and probably would pony up the best collegiate contract in the US....   my point was simply, what other states have this much potential firepower?     

[DLUXHOG]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_by_the_number_of_billionaires

I only see one other SEC state in this list that has more billionaires than Arkansas, and that is Texas...   I don't know that Texas billionaires have more billions than Arkansas born and bred billionaires and you do have to take into account that two of the Texas billionaires are from Arkansas (Alice Walton and Jerry Jones).     

[WilsonHog]

So, how much is too much?

If I was a guy like Chip Kelly, who will have his pick of jobs, my answer would be short and to the point: "I want $10 million a year for five years. I can leave anytime I want to with no buyout, and if y'all fire me at anytime you owe me $20 million. Each time I win 10 games, my salary increased by $1 million. Just fax that contract over and call the presser."

I mean, we're sitting on all this money, right? Surely none of us would find fault with an AD who negotiated such a contract, right?

[TheJoeyBucketz]

So, how much is too much?

If I was a guy like Chip Kelly, who will have his pick of jobs, my answer would be short and to the point: "I want $10 million a year for five years. I can leave anytime I want to with no buyout, and if y'all fire me at anytime you owe me $20 million. Each time I win 10 games, my salary increased by $1 million. Just fax that contract over and call the presser."

Deal. Just call Walmart and tell em to stroke a check!

[WilsonHog]

Deal. Just call Walmart and tell em to stroke a check!

Why go that route? Just make every fan who wishes to buy season tickets donate a minimum contribution of $1,000 to the RF, and increase the cost of tickets themselves by 100%. Why have the rich folks foot the bill?

[311Hog]

So, how much is too much?

If I was a guy like Chip Kelly, who will have his pick of jobs, my answer would be short and to the point: "I want $10 million a year for five years. I can leave anytime I want to with no buyout, and if y'all fire me at anytime you owe me $20 million. Each time I win 10 games, my salary increased by $1 million. Just fax that contract over and call the presser."

I mean, we're sitting on all this money, right? Surely none of us would find fault with an AD who negotiated such a contract, right?

sounds totally reasonable ! i am sure the richest people in the world will have no qualms what so ever with this plan.

[WilsonHog]

sounds totally reasonable ! i am sure the richest people in the world will have no qualms what so ever with this plan.

See my post above.

[311Hog]

See my post above.

indeed but but the walton's can find that change in their couch...

[TheJoeyBucketz]

Why go that route? Just make every fan who wishes to buy season tickets donate a minimum contribution of $1,000 to the RF, and increase the cost of tickets themselves by 100%. Why have the rich folks foot the bill?

I was just going along with the "let's spend other people's money" crowd.

I personally think we should pay for a coach from our budget and foundation, but I'm old school like that.

[WilsonHog]

I was just going along with the "let's spend other people's money" crowd.

I personally think we should pay for a coach from our budget and foundation, but I'm old school like that.

Agreed. As I was told this week, "those people give us enough money as it is."

[peakhog]

Tommy Tuberville!
Camden, AR native.
Took Auburn to 13-0
Beat Bama 5 times.

[GoHogs1091]

Gibbs absolutely sucked as a HC at OK!  Why do you think they fired him?

Gibbs did an extraordinary job as the Head Coach at OU.  His winning percentage was 64% during his tenure at OU.  To put that into perspective, Bielema's winning percentage here is 48%. 

Gibbs won 64% of his game at OU and he produced 25 NFL draftees during his tenure despite the fact OU was under severe NCAA sanctions.  During Gibbs' first 2 seasons as OU's Head Coach, the Sooners were barred from bowl games, and were also banned from live television in his first year.  More seriously, they were only allowed to give out 18 scholarships rather than 25.  He wasn't able to field a team with a full complement of scholarships until 1994, his last season.

Gibbs was forced to resign after the 1994 season.  The OU fanbase and OU Athletic Administration were still blinded by Barry Switzer's success (Switzer's success was probably NCAA illegal success).  Forcing Gibbs to resign was a huge error on the part of OU.  OU paid a tremendous price for forcing Gibbs to resign i.e., the Howard Schnellenberger tenure and the John Blake tenure.

Gibbs cleaned up the OU football program and he saved the OU football program.  It can be argued that Gibbs is the most important person in the history of the OU program, even more important than Bud Wilkinson.  Switzer created a real mess, and Gibbs kept OU from receiving a very possible NCAA Death Penalty.

[DLUXHOG]

Tommy Tuberville!
Camden, AR native.
Took Auburn to 13-0
Beat Bama 5 times.

"In 2005, despite losing the entire starting backfield from the unbeaten 2004 team to the first round of the NFL Draft, Tuberville led Auburn to a 9–3 record, finishing the regular season with victories over rivals Georgia and Alabama."

[WilsonHog]

Gibbs did an extraordinary job as the Head Coach at OU.  His winning percentage was 64% during his tenure at OU.  To put that into perspective, Bielema's winning percentage here is 48%. 

Gibbs won 64% of his game at OU and he produced 25 NFL draftees during his tenure despite the fact OU was under severe NCAA sanctions.  During Gibbs' first 2 seasons as OU's Head Coach, the Sooners were barred from bowl games, and were also banned from live television in his first year.  More seriously, they were only allowed to give out 18 scholarships rather than 25.  He wasn't able to field a team with a full complement of scholarships until 1994, his last season.

Gibbs was forced to resign after the 1994 season.  The OU fanbase and OU Athletic Administration were still blinded by Barry Switzer's success (Switzer's success was probably NCAA illegal success).  Forcing Gibbs to resign was a huge error on the part of OU.  OU paid a tremendous price for forcing Gibbs to resign i.e., the Howard Schnellenberger tenure and the John Blake tenure.

Gibbs cleaned up the OU football program and he saved the OU football program.  It can be argued that Gibbs is the most important person in the history of the OU program, even more important than Bud Wilkinson.  Switzer created a real mess, and Gibbs kept OU from receiving a very possible NCAA Death Penalty.

Why has he not been a head coach in 23 years?

[GoHogs1091]

Why has he not been a head coach in 23 years?

He has been coaching in the NFL for a lot of that 23 years.

Perhaps, he doesn't want to be a Head Coach in the NFL and he is content on just being an Assistant in the NFL.  Being a Head Coach in the NFL is more of a pressure grind than being a Head Coach at the collegiate level.

[WilsonHog]

He has been coaching in the NFL for a lot of that 23 years.

Perhaps, he doesn't want to be a Head Coach in the NFL and he is content on just being an Assistant in the NFL.  Being a Head Coach in the NFL is more of a pressure grind than being a Head Coach at the collegiate level.

Why has he not had a HC job at the college level in 23 years?

[Wildhog]

We're not hiring a 65 year old NFL position coach as our HC.  Jiminy.

[DLUXHOG]

We're not hiring a 65 year old NFL position coach as our HC.  Jiminy.

Bobby Bowden, Joe Paterno, Bill Snyder and Frank Solich say "hello".... (that's just football, you want me to list baseball, basketball, and pro team coaches?)

[Wildhog]

Gross.  No.

[GoHogs1091]

Why has he not had a HC job at the college level in 23 years?

He has been in the NFL.

Difficult to be coaching in 2 levels of football at one time. 

[Tusks]

I'm in my 50's and don't get why going young is such a problem.