Fair and balanced article on Coach B

[jkstock04]

I'm talking about settling for a kid from Arkansas just because they are from Arkansas and not because they are the best kid that we can get that fits our needs. Get the best kid we can get regardless of where they are from. If that is Arkansas, fine. But not just because they are from Arkansas.

Well that's not what I'm saying. I'm just saying if we strike out on our top choices and are in a position to have to take a chance on a raw talent or underdeveloped player. Take the chance on the Arkansas kid.

We probably get the "best player to fit our needs" about 10% of the time or less.

[hogsanity]

Why? We have seen scenarios like that happen at Arkansas. I'm not a hometown homer that thinks cause I know so and sos kid and he ran for 400 yards against Pea Ridge he ought to get a scholarship.

I'm just saying if we are in a position where we strike out against choice #1 and #2 recruit and have to take a chance on the "diamond in the rough" type I say give it to an Arkansas kid who is a lifelong Hog fan who will play his guts out.

would you rather have the 10th best player at a position from Arkansas or the 20th best at same position from TX, LA, GA, AL, FL?  I am NOT taking the AR kid every time.

[ricepig]

Number 3 in the country and finished number 5. This statement was in the article. All Bret has to do is win 4 SEC games and go undefeated in the weak non conference games. 8 wins every year. Can Bret go 4-5 in the SEC?

We don't play 9 games in the SEC, and yes, he can, he went 5-3 in 2015.

[EastexHawg]

Mahomes was at Texas Tech

Before that he was at Whitehouse High School.  For a long time his only offer was from SMU.  Tech got him because Kingsbury was the first P5 program coach to offer.

He was a "late bloomer", having played safety until early in his junior year, but he immediately exploded on the scene at QB and was clearly a man among boys, even at the 5A level in Texas.  Those are the kinds of blue chip studs a "disadvantaged" program can get, the guys who were under the radar early. 

Mahomes' dad signed with Eddie Sutton before opting for major league baseball, so the family connection was definitely there.  Anyway, this isn't just about Mahomes or any one player.  It is about the contradiction we read here every day.  On the one hand, Arkansas and Bielema are at such a disadvantage that it is hard, if not unrealistic, to expect them to sign top level high school talent.  On the other hand, every kid we sign becomes an internet legend and is going to be a wrecking ball.  Our current recruiting is the "best ever" at Arkansas, but our results lag behind every long term coach in our history.  Is the evaluation of our recruiting classes and our coaches' prowess ridiculously overrated, or is the talent not being properly coached and utilized once it gets to campus?

[jkstock04]

would you rather have the 10th best player at a position from Arkansas or the 20th best at same position from TX, LA, GA, AL, FL?  I am NOT taking the AR kid every time.

I think every situation is gonna be different...but let's get more specific. If We have to have another DB for a class and have struck out miserably on our choices who we were after...and have a final choice of one from west Texas who is 170 lbs and runs a 4.6 40...poor offer list, vs a kid from Arkansas who is also a 2* 170 lbs and runs a 4.6 40, with a poor offer list...ya I say take the kid from Arkansas.

We have had scenarios like this throughout the years and gave scholarships to out of state kids like this that need lots of developing...turned out to be real DUDS. Complete busts...don't last but a year or two. Just my opinion but I think the Arkansas kids would stick it out more % wise.

[ricepig]

I think every situation is gonna be different...but let's get more specific. If We have to have another DB for a class and have struck out miserably on our choices who we were after...and have a final choice of one from west Texas who is 170 lbs and runs a 4.6 40...poor offer list, vs a kid from Arkansas who is also a 2* 170 lbs and runs a 4.6 40, with a poor offer list...ya I say take the kid from Arkansas.

We have had scenarios like this throughout the years and gave scholarships to out of state kids like this that need lots of developing...turned out to be real DUDS. Complete busts...don't last but a year or two. Just my opinion but I think the Arkansas kids would stick it out more % wise.

If they process out, you have a scholarship available, a lot harder to "cut" the in state kids, something to consider.

[hogsanity]

Before that he was at Whitehouse High School.  For a long time his only offer was from SMU.  Tech got him because Kingsbury was the first P5 program coach to offer.

He was a "late bloomer", having played safety until early in his junior year, but he immediately exploded on the scene at QB and was clearly a man among boys, even at the 5A level in Texas.  Those are the kinds of blue chip studs a "disadvantaged" program can get, the guys who were under the radar early. 

Mahomes' dad signed with Eddie Sutton before opting for major league baseball, so the family connection was definitely there.  Anyway, this isn't just about Mahomes or any one player.  It is about the contradiction we read here every day.  On the one hand, Arkansas and Bielema are at such a disadvantage that it is hard, if not unrealistic, to expect them to sign top level high school talent.  On the other hand, every kid we sign becomes an internet legend and is going to be a wrecking ball.  Our current recruiting is the "best ever" at Arkansas, but our results lag behind every long term coach in our history.  Is the evaluation of our recruiting classes and our coaches' prowess ridiculously overrated, or is the talent not being properly coached and utilized once it gets to campus?

Well, to Mahomes in particular, apparently everyone except SMu and TT missed on him. As far as recruits becoming internet legends, of course they do because that is how fans soothe themselves when they see better talent go elsewhere.

Recruiting is an inexact science. For every 5 star bust their is a walk on somewhere that turns into a really good player, but a program won't have much success relying on trying to find the diamonds disguised as lumps of coal.

[Biggus Piggus]

Is the evaluation of our recruiting classes and our coaches' prowess ridiculously overrated, or is the talent not being properly coached and utilized once it gets to campus?

Recruiting classes are performing very much in line with their rankings. Last season was plagued by two factors: 1) A difficult but foreseeable transition year for the offensive line, exacerbated by an unwise early departure; 2) a definite failure on defense to use the available players in ways that fit their abilities.

[hogsanity]

I think every situation is gonna be different...but let's get more specific. If We have to have another DB for a class and have struck out miserably on our choices who we were after...and have a final choice of one from west Texas who is 170 lbs and runs a 4.6 40...poor offer list, vs a kid from Arkansas who is also a 2* 170 lbs and runs a 4.6 40, with a poor offer list...ya I say take the kid from Arkansas.

If those are my two choices, do not sign either, take another line man.

[Letsroll1200]

We don't play 9 games in the SEC, and yes, he can, he went 5-3 in 2015.

What's the record for the other 3 years?

[ricepig]

What's the record for the other 3 years?

You don't know how to look it up?

[PorkSoda]

There are no excuses for CBB's dismal performance!

I disagree, there are plenty of excuses. 

[hawgsalot]

What are you talking about? Some of what you said is just complete revisionist history.

You say he never beat LSU when they were good yet when we beat them in 2010 the two teams were playing for a Sugar bowl birth.

You say he never beat Auburn but he beat them 3 out of 4 years and convincingly so. The one year we lost they won the National championship and had Can Newton.

You say he we lost 2 or 3 times to Nutt and they were terrible. Well first off, we lost twice and both were in Petrinos first two years. And I believe Ole Miss won 9 games in both of Nutts first two years. Somewhat ironic that you claimed they sucked yet in year 5 we're still waiting on BB's first 9 win season.

Yeah revisionist history alright, Petrino won 2 SEC games in 4 years vs sec teams with winning records.  You can't change the record no matter how hard you try.  Yes we won 2 of 4 from LSU when we were so good  ranked number three with a chance to go to sec title game and play for BCS title we got absolutely blown out as the number 3 ranked team in the country. 

[Letsroll1200]

You don't know how to look it up?

You only pointed out one season. Maybe you should look up the other three seasons.

[PonderinHog]

What are the excuses?  I played on the biggest field of competition in life called WAR!  I couldn't make excuses!  If I had, I would have lost more lives than I did...  he has HIS COMPLETE team!  7 or 8 wins isn't good enough in a multi million $$ business..  recruiting has been a national game for over 20 years so the lack of it in Arky is no excuse!  Apathy is a free pass!  I remember a team from Washington playing in the BCS last year!  What is their football history?  They are building it through NATIONAL recruiting and superior coaching!  I EXPECT CBB to do the same coaching in one of the top 5 fastest growing areas in the US!  Great facilities, great fan base, Fortune 500 corporate offices!  Tell me again why you disagree....

How many competing armies did you have to recruit against?  How many competing armies were as well funded or better funded?   But yes, we can do better.

[Medic821]

Some of you people make me wanna puke...Get on or get off for good.

[hawginbigd1]

What are the excuses?  I played on the biggest field of competition in life called WAR!  I couldn't make excuses!  If I had, I would have lost more lives than I did...  he has HIS COMPLETE team!  7 or 8 wins isn't good enough in a multi million $$ business..  recruiting has been a national game for over 20 years so the lack of it in Arky is no excuse!  Apathy is a free pass!  I remember a team from Washington playing in the BCS last year!  What is their football history?  They are building it through NATIONAL recruiting and superior coaching!  I EXPECT CBB to do the same coaching in one of the top 5 fastest growing areas in the US!  Great facilities, great fan base, Fortune 500 corporate offices!  Tell me again why you disagree....

Thanks for your service, but you don't know darn about football. Vanderbilt probably has about a 50-50 shot of beating that Washington team you mention, Washington is easily 7-6 playing our schedule instead of walking through a soft league like they were in last year. USC was the only top 30 team in that league and oh yeah they lost that game badly. Besides 4-5 schools Bama, Ohio State etc. the rest of the top schools get 80% of their recruits from inside 250 miles of their campus. If we did that we would finish recruiting in the mid 40s somewhere.

[ArkansasI]

What are the excuses?  I played on the biggest field of competition in life called WAR!  I couldn't make excuses!  If I had, I would have lost more lives than I did...  he has HIS COMPLETE team!  7 or 8 wins isn't good enough in a multi million $$ business..  recruiting has been a national game for over 20 years so the lack of it in Arky is no excuse!  Apathy is a free pass!  I remember a team from Washington playing in the BCS last year!  What is their football history?  They are building it through NATIONAL recruiting and superior coaching!  I EXPECT CBB to do the same coaching in one of the top 5 fastest growing areas in the US!  Great facilities, great fan base, Fortune 500 corporate offices!  Tell me again why you disagree....

I agree that Bret has his complete team - this year. I believe that money is killing college athletics by resetting expectations at levels commensurate with inflated salaries, and fans like us lack the patience necessary to allow our investments to mature and pay dividends.

I am not one to invite folks to a pity party, but Arkansas has plenty of excuses for not winning on a regular basis. While I agree that northwest Arkansas is growing rapidly, is a wonderful place to live, has great facilities, a great fanbase and is home to Fortune 500 corporate offices, our competition enjoys many of the same attributes and is often closer to recruits' homes/families. The Fortune 500 offices probably don't matter as much to recruits as they should. Recruits willing to move far from home are typically looking for destinations that meet a certain profile or offer other incentives that Arkansas doesn't.

But we all know this... perhaps if Bret had won a national championship at Wisconsin and returned to Arkansas after a blown NFL job he would have generated success more quickly on the Hill.

Bret's problems have been easy to see. But I'm surprised that so many here fail to credit him for bringing several excellent players to Arkansas from areas we have not traditionally recruited with much success. I'm surprised that so many here fail to credit Bret for his willingness to address problems within his coaching staff. And I'm particularly surprised that so many here have been reluctant to embrace a man that left a great job to come to Arkansas.

There was a time when national scrutiny of Bret's decision to come to Fayetteville would have led Razorback fans to his defense. We're beginning year 5 and it seems many of us remain unconvinced.

I have no doubt Bret didn't fully understand what he got himself into. However, all of us should respect the type of program he is running. I'm proud of our players. Bret represents the university well. And we're about to find out how well his recruiting matches up within the best conference in college football.

I believe there is reason for optimism. Reasonable optimism.

As an aside, please, don't compare athletics with service in the United States military. One really matters. The other matters too much.

[Shrevepork]

That ESPN article had nothing that already hadn't been written about in Hogville.

[LZH]

He will not be fired, mainly because of the coaching market. I mean, LSU (LSU!) had to settle for Coach O, for crying out loud.

I think LSU thought they had someone like Fisher or Hermann in the bag. Oops. Firing Lester during the season was the biggest dumbass move they could have made.

Good luck Coach O, enjoy your 2 1/2 years.

[EastexHawg]

At some point I think we need to ask ourselves whether our priority is what's best for the program or what is in the best interests of individuals...as in the head coach and the athletic director.  The two objectives can be in harmony with each other, but are not necessarily the same thing.  There has been so much angst over the last several years, and so many positions have become entrenched, that I think perspective may have become skewed for some.  Unwillingness to admit being wrong clouds judgment.  "Just hang on until I can be right and say I told you so" seems to me to be an underlying goal.

[Peter Porker]

You only pointed out one season. Maybe you should look up the other three seasons.

2 tournament appearances and no sweet 16s in 6 years for a coach that's paid in the top 20 in the country. but give him all the time in the world and fire CBB now. hmmmm i wonder why you fully support one coach and not the other. The issue probably isn't more than skin deep....

[hogcard1964]

2 tournament appearances and no sweet 16s in 6 years for a coach that's paid in the top 20 in the country. but give him all the time in the world and fire CBB now. hmmmm i wonder why you fully support one coach and not the other. The issue probably isn't more than skin deep....

Both have been given a long, long leash.

...and neither is going anywhere.

[LZH]

I feel like most of you are missing the real point. Yeah, we need to somehow reel in Top 20 classes if at all possible. But what Arkansas really needs to win 9-11 games per year is a young hotshot gunslinging coach that can out-scheme most DC's and make out-of-the-blue adjustments on the fly....a la Bobby Petrino. We get a guy like that and I guaran-damn-tee you our records will improve.

Unfortunately, we don't have one right now.

[Youngsta71701]

Yep, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

[hogsanity]

I am new here

Highly doubtful

[hogcard1964]

I feel like most of you are missing the real point. Yeah, we need to somehow reel in Top 20 classes if at all possible. But what Arkansas really needs to win 9-11 games per year is a young hotshot gunslinging coach that can out-scheme most DC's and make out-of-the-blue adjustments on the fly....a la Bobby Petrino. We get a guy like that and I guaran-damn-tee you our records will improve.

Unfortunately, we don't have one right now.

Enos?

[ricepig]

I find it interesting when someone questions another's knowledge of FB and then post complete inaccuracies themself.  My point was simply that successful recruiting "is a national phenom."  You were incorrect concerning your 250 mile Bama recruiting area.  Of 103 players on Bama's current roster, ONLY 44 are remotely in a 250 mile radious.  59 are in excess of 400 miles.  Their 2016 base starting lineup on both sides of the ball consisted of ONLY 9 players within a 250 mile radious.  That's not even 50% on each account, those on roster and those who actually played a lot.  The bottom line is that successful programs are not dependent on in state talent and therefore the article was misleading.  Good article but the last part concerning recruiting was misleading.  Don't get me wrong, I love seeing Arky guys on the roster but I am not sure UA's recruiting strategy is that of a serious competitor on the big stage.  I think that will change soon because I believe in the field of dreams quote "build it and they will come."  We've built the facilities and now we need to move beyond 7 win seasons for them to come.  It WILL happen!  Maybe not with CBB, maybe not in 10 years but it WILL happen!

You're not from around here, are you?  "Arky" 😬

[gchamblee]

It's pretty easy for people with no ties or real interest in Arkansas football to say, "You can't fire him" after a 10-22 SEC record in four years at the helm.  Why isn't 2017 a make or break year?  Because his supporters think we're headed for another disappointing season and are pre-emptively saying to ignore it and wait (for however long it takes) for him to get everything lined up just right and win more than eight games?  What will that accomplish?  That they will be able to say, "See, we told you so!"  Who was the last Arkansas coach who spent more than five years on the job and didn't win nine or more at least once?

At what point do we stop and consider the opportunity cost of hanging onto a coach who hasn't gotten it done rather than moving on and seeing if someone else can do better?  Nothing occurs in a vacuum.  Every year that one coach is struggling is a year that a better, more innovative coach could have been on the job and building his program.

Yeah, it's easy for people who follow Alabama, Auburn, Ohio State, and Florida State to say, "Arkansas should just be patient with Bielema."  I doubt they would be so patient if their own programs had experienced the same results.

It is also easy to ignore the opinions of those who have been wanting to fire CBB since year 1 when they try to discuss the future of the coaching staff intelligently. When Biggus discusses whether we should be looking to move on,I and most pay attention. When you, hogcard, hamsammich, surfing etc.. discuss firing the coach everyone else just rolls their eyes because you guys have been banging this drum since day 1.

As for the article, it was a good read and touched on some good points.

[gchamblee]

Bret's results here have been a disappointment.  Most coaches would be fired.  He's been given the benefit of doubt because of his success at wisky and his enormous buyout.

AND his improvements from year to year other than the teams implosion late last year. AND the improvements in recruiting. AND the improvements in the quality of character of our athletes. AND his buyout has nothing to do with why he is still here. You said that like you think he would have been fired by now if he didn't have a buyout, which simply isn't true.

[gchamblee]

I understand that until the last few years we had reasonable success against Auburn and played Ohio State off their feet in the Sugar Bowl.  While some people are standing at the bottom or the mountain marveling at how unlikely and difficult the ascent might be others are busy climbing it.  Will they all make it to the top?  No, but at least they didn't give up before they tried.

I'm not saying our coaches are giving up.  I'm talking about pundits and some of our fans.  Again, no one I know of is claiming Arkansas should rule the college football world, but there is a lot of ground that could be gained between toppling Alabama and going 10-22 in conference over four years.

Since you go out of your way to bash CBB, even if you have to manufacture a reason to do so I will drop this little nugget on you. You use the Ohio State game as evidence of how good CBP was. Did it ever occur to you that CBP coached the only SEC team that OSU was able to beat? He failed where everyone else had success. We were the school that allowed them to get the monkey off their back. The next time CBP wins a really important game will be the first time he did it. Thanks CBP!

[ricepig]

Recruiting is now and has been a NATIONAL phenom for decades and always will be for programs to compete at a top 25 level.  I would just love for Hog FB to return to that level and it's going to take national recruiting and more than 7 wins a year.  I want our respect restored and 7 wins a season just won't make that happen.  Maybe LH, KH, HDN and BP spoiled me.

Why don't you look up our average wins/season since joining the SEC, it's not that stellar. Comparing anything while in the SWC is apples to oranges.

[gchamblee]

No, we have at least 6 automatic wins on the schedule.

automatic wins lol

[gchamblee]

+1000

He's here for a long time.  Deal with it.

-1000

You're the one having to deal with it. He is fine with it. Also, I would imagine if rice were to become unhappy with the situation his posting would be more impressive than your thumb sucking defeated drivel.

[gchamblee]

I think you're comingling what should be done, with what will be done.

He could literally have another disastrous season like he did in 2012 or last season, and he'd still be allowed to remain here.

Btw, if he somehow miraculously wins 10+ next season, he'd probably be given another insane extension and buyout.

-1000

I hope this happens just to see you slip deeper into your 'life is so unfair' abyss. Also, Bielema had a great year in 2012 so you might want to go do a little research.

[gchamblee]

I wouldn't characterize the move to 3-4 as "desperate" but "necessary" given the talent they are acquiring.

So little is written about the shift CBB has exhibited since arriving. He realized that he cannot recruit an LSU or Bama defense so he has shifted to recruiting a very good offense and a "good enough" defense. He has had to turn the defense around 180 degrees. This IS a make/break year because he will not sustain the recruiting energy if they fall off the planet.  They need players, plain and simple. Or, to impart the wisdom of Larry Johnson to Nolan, CBB needs some men.

The shift to 3-4 allows us to recruit men, capable SEC talent, in the numbers needed for the scheme. The shift of a lineman to a linebacker (and, it seems, from a safety to a hybrid LB/S) allows us to find more talent. There are too few DL out there to have to nab four every year to outfit a 4-man line.

All of us would prefer that this was figured out 3 years ago. At least he is figuring it out.

He is now getting a staff that seems to be able to recruit. He is now getting a staff that seems to be on the same page. The optimist has to be encouraged. The pessimist must bide their time to see if it pays off.

A voice of reason

[gchamblee]

Everyone talks about that #3 ranking that lasted a half hour.  We lost 41-17.  We were exposed as being overrated.

The same people that use that overrated ranking we had as some sort of standard are the same people that exert themselves trying to prove any ranked teams CBB beats were not as good as their ranking at the time. It aggravates me because I loved it when CBP was our coach but these idiots work so hard to use him as a tool to diminish everything CBB does I end up posting negatively against CBP.

CBP had some impressive season records here, but CBB has had more impressive wins. The only differences between CBB and CBP, other than ethics, are that CBB is a better recruiter and CBP found a way to win the games against the underdog teams that almost humiliated us where CBB has allowed a few underdog teams to beat us. CBP seems to usually find a way to come out ahead in really close games against underdog teams.

[gchamblee]

Overrated>the last 5 years

kidney stone > your personality

[gchamblee]

We weren't really overrated. We ended the year #5, and that's roughly how good we were. We lost to LSU's best team ever, and the team that beat LSU's best team ever in the national championship. Yeah, the gap between us and them was disheartening, but the gap between them and everyone else was also pretty shocking.

I will admit we beat a lot of nobodies that year, but we had some good victories under our belt, too. We beat a South Carolina team that ended 11-2/#9. We beat a Kansas State team that ended 10-3/#15. Then we also beat Auburn, Texas A&M, and Mississippi State - all went to bowl games and ended with a winning record.

According to some, this is not that impressive.

[gchamblee]

I've known his Dad since he had hair, and a lot of it.

He was my coach at Southside in Fort Smith. I remember having to run after practice for calling him "Lunney" without putting coach in front of it.

[hogcard1964]

Why don't you look up our average wins/season since joining the SEC, it's not that stellar. Comparing anything while in the SWC is apples to oranges.

It's bad.  Real bad.  We average 6.68 wins per season.

[gchamblee]

It never cease to amaze me concerning constant excuses in regards to a multi million $$ business know as college football.  What was the last decade when coaches used in-state athlete fertility as an excuse to under achieve?  I'm new here folks but this is 2017!  Major college football programs STOPPED depending on in state talent as far as recruiting is concerned in what, the 70s?  STOP it!  NO major program recruit totally in their home state any more!  When CBB was at Wisconsin, how many WIS kids did he have on his roster?  There is no excuse for his lack of performance at UA and fans need to STOP MAKING EXCUSES!  ALL major college programs recruit NATIONALLY!  Even the hotbeds such as FSU, UF, UGA, USC, etc!  There are no excuses for CBB's dismal performance!  As fans we need to STOP making excuses!

Oh look, there is a new guy here that just so happens to know the historical tone of hogville

[hogsanity]

Oh look, there is a new guy here that just so happens to know the historical tone of hogville

It is amazing, isn't it.

[Biggus Piggus]

Tweedle deedle dee, wubba wubba wubba.

[Razorbackers]

[EastexHawg]

When you...discuss firing the coach everyone else just rolls their eyes because you guys have been banging this drum since day 1.

I see your point.  We're more than four seasons in and I have been proven wrong...how?

[gchamblee]

I see your point.  We're more than four seasons in and I have been proven wrong...how?

You have not been proven wrong. You have not been proven right either. In fact, the only thing you have proven is that you will form an unwavering opinion using emotion as your base.

2013 3-9 Not even Nick Saban could have had a winning record this year with how many freshmen had to start
2014 Took us to a bowl game and won it
2015 Took us to a bowl game and won it
2016 In spite of a failing defense, he took us to a bowl game and lost it. Fired his DC and moved to a 3-4 defense to match our personnel. Hired coaches who are more than qualified to transition us to the 3-4
2017 Looks promising considering he is aggressively addressing our weaknesses from the past couple of years which is exactly what you would expect a winning coach to do.

Recruiting is better than under previous administrations and appears to be continuing to improve.

I guess if you didn't like the hire to begin with, this could be twisted into reasons to fire the coach, but it would require some serious manipulation and misrepresentation of events as they occurred.

I respect the fans that weren't excited about the hire but have been willing to give him a chance. I really have no interest in the opinions of fans that wrote him off from day 1 and never gave the man a chance. I especially have no interest in the opinion of those that wrote him off, never gave him a chance and have been lurking in the shadows making an appearance only when someone shows a bit too much optimism or hope and needs to be shouted down. You know, sort of like manipulating him aggressively addressing our weaknesses as a sign of desperation and completely ignoring the fact that this is what any fan would expect a winning coach to do. Now you know my opinion of the coaching staff and you. I Hope that clears up any confusion.

[hoglady]

Bielema's future and fans patience probably hinges on how the defense looks this year.

I don't recall ever having an Arkansas coach put a worse defense on the field.
No matter talent, no matter the recruiting - there is no excuse for what we saw last year.
It's not acceptable and he's got to figure it out.

[gchamblee]

Bielema's future and fans patience probably hinges on how the defense looks this year.

I don't recall ever having an Arkansas coach put a worse defense on the field.
No matter talent, no matter the recruiting - there is no excuse for what we saw last year.
It's not acceptable and he's got to figure it out.

Considering his offseason moves I think he agrees with you. You can either appreciate having a coach that recognizes the problem and aggressively addresses it, or you can lament him for the problem ever occurring to begin with. Some fans expect perfection where there is no margin for error, and some fans understand that the ride gets bumpy and can live with that as long as we continue the pursuit of perfection.

[EastexHawg]

I've been a fan of the program for almost 50 years.  I wasn't calling for anyone, Nutt, Bielema, or anyone else, to be fired from day one.  On the other hand, I'm really not interested in the program floundering for years on end so people who value a particular coach more than the success of the team can wait to be proven right.

As for what you think of me, I'll somehow try to sleep at night.  One thing is for sure, you are an expert when it comes to sitting around waiting for a chance to jump in and voice your self absorbed opinion.  I would say waiting to "attack", but that would be a vast overstatement of your abilities.