An opinion....

[justmakeit2thebcs]

I presume Bielema's brown nose letter to Jeff Long won out, and Long chose Bielema over Venables.

Meanwhile, Venables just won his 2nd National Championship ring of his career.

List of 38 P5 teams since 2013 that have had openings that did not even bother interviewing Venables...What do you know that all the search firms, all the ADs that do this for a living don't know?

LSU
Georgia
Maryland
Florida
Mizzu
USC
So Carolina
Virginia Tech
Virginia
Illinois
Cal
Michigan
Indiana
Rutgers
Baylor
Miami
Cal
Texas Tech
Wisconsin
Nebraska
Washington
Oregon
Texas
Purdue
Louisville
Auburn
Penn St
Kentucky
Wake Forest
Vandy
Colorado
Tennessee
NC State
Pitt
Oregon St
Kansas
Syracuse

[Oklahawg]

List of 38 P5 teams since 2013 that have had openings that did not even bother interviewing Venables...What do you know that all the search firms, all the ADs that do this for a living don't know?

LSU
Georgia
Maryland
Florida
Mizzu
USC
So Carolina
Virginia Tech
Virginia
Illinois
Cal
Michigan
Indiana
Rutgers
Baylor
Miami
Cal
Texas Tech
Wisconsin
Nebraska
Washington
Oregon
Texas
Purdue
Louisville
Auburn
Penn St
Kentucky
Wake Forest
Vandy
Colorado
Tennessee
NC State
Pitt
Oregon St
Kansas
Syracuse

I hope you offered him dinner and drinks before ending the date by banging his head against the headboard.

Great stuff.

Lost, too, is that when Venables left OU for Clemson the Sooner fans were calling for him to be FIRED. He spent two years unhireable as a HC. Funny how talent and a good HC makes you look good.

[EastexHawg]

Was Frank from Arkansas? did he KNOW Arkansas...?  Are Texas recruits better than Louisiana or Florida recruits? 

Broyles was an assistant coach at Baylor.  He knew Texas and Texas recruiting, and he said he always thought Arkansas was in a near-unique position to be an outstanding football program because it was a one school state and because of how tough the Arkansas boys they played were.  He was interested in the job long before it was offered, and when John Barnhill called he reportedly asked, "Barnie, what took you so long?"

[Biggus Piggus]

Broyles was an assistant at Baylor for the 1947-49 seasons, right out of college even though he had been drafted by the Chicago Bears. I guess as a first-time assistant in his early 20s, he might have learned a little about recruiting in Texas. But he was not there for long.

He spent 1950 with Florida, 1951-56 at Georgia Tech, and was head coach of Missouri in 1957. Broyles played at Georgia Tech.

The first head coaching job Broyles sought was at Northwestern in Evanston, Ill. Broyles lost out to Ara Parseghian.

If Broyles wanted the Arkansas job, he sure didn't show it after the 1954 season. Arkansas lost to Georgia Tech (where Broyles was offensive coordinator) in the Cotton Bowl, then Bowden Wyatt left Arkansas for Tennessee. Broyles pursued the NU job, not Arkansas.

[Jackrabbit Hog]

He was interested in the job long before it was offered, and when John Barnhill called he reportedly asked, "Barnie, what took you so long?"

I see you've read the Orville Henry/Jim Bailey book on the Razorbacks too.

[12247]

That is an impressive list of folks who didn't interview Venables.  Just let me say, none called on me either.  In the case of Venables, does the poster know if any of those schools even called on him to size him up for their job.  The Guy can coach defense and that seems like a bunch of schools who would intentionally pass 38 times over on a top 5 college assistant coach.  Either he likes boys a lot or there is something wrong with his resume if not one of those schools even inquired.

My feeling are that he would make a great HC.  He seems to have the first requirement, that's right, factchecker, "FIRE IN HS BELLY."

[factchecker]

that's right, factchecker, "FIRE IN HS BELLY."

[EastexHawg]

I see you've read the Orville Henry/Jim Bailey book on the Razorbacks too.

I also have his autobiography, "Hog Wild".  Eddie Sutton and Lou Holtz were still coaching the Hogs when it was written...if that tells you anything.

[26.2Hog]

Broyles was an assistant at Baylor for the 1947-49 seasons, right out of college even though he had been drafted by the Chicago Bears. I guess as a first-time assistant in his early 20s, he might have learned a little about recruiting in Texas. But he was not there for long.

He spent 1950 with Florida, 1951-56 at Georgia Tech, and was head coach of Missouri in 1957. Broyles played at Georgia Tech.

The first head coaching job Broyles sought was at Northwestern in Evanston, Ill. Broyles lost out to Ara Parseghian.

If Broyles wanted the Arkansas job, he sure didn't show it after the 1954 season. Arkansas lost to Georgia Tech (where Broyles was offensive coordinator) in the Cotton Bowl, then Bowden Wyatt left Arkansas for Tennessee. Broyles pursued the NU job, not Arkansas.

That's good info for the young punks on here.

Broyles did play for Georgia Tech, where he was a two-time All-SEC quarterback.

He also played baseball, and was an outstanding basketball player there as well.  In fact, he was the second pick of the third round in the NBA draft by the Toronto Huskies.

During his coaching days at Arkansas he was a scratch golfer, which is amazing considering how little time he had to devote to it.  It was pretty well accepted back then that he could have made a fine living on the PGA tour had he chosen that path.

Is there a better overall, more versatile athlete that has spent time at the U of A in any capacity?  I can't think of one.

[Jackrabbit Hog]

I also have his autobiography, "Hog Wild".  Eddie Sutton and Lou Holtz were still coaching the Hogs when it was written...if that tells you anything.

It tells me he still had red hair at the time.

[kaiserhog]

Sure, CBB can recruit speed.  The problem is he is going to lose size.  We don't land the big and fast guys.  It's well documented who gets those guys.  So, pick your poison.  Do you want to get ran around or over?

This is a false choice.

[elviscat]

Texas, is the key to fixing our problem. We got to get 8-10 studs to be win.. Speed!!!!!

[JOKERHOG]

Texas, is the key to fixing our problem. We got to get 8-10 studs to be win.. Speed!!!!!

agreed, Texas recruiting is the key, not Florida

[hawgfan4life]

There are only so many really fast players at any position in Texas or anywhere else.  All of those are heavily recruited by all top schools.  ARKANSAS has very little better chance at the Texas recruits than the same talented recruits all over the south and especially Georgia and Florida.

Better recruits is critical and matters little where they are from.  AR can resource recruits in GA and FL while still recruiting TX hard.

Lastly, if TX recruits are so freaking awesome, why aren't all those schools making a living off Texas recruits winning championships?  Our final four teams included no teams with a lot of Texas recruits.  Why hasn't A$M been a playoff team yet?  Why has Texas struggled so badly?  TCU's coach is a proven winner and he got beat by BB and AR this year.

[island hog]

Texas HS football is built around 7 on 7... I have been to HS games down here for the last ten years and can count on my hand the number of times I've seen a QB take a snap from under center. It has become finesse football and I think has played a role in the lack of consistent winners from Texas universities.

[OS2 (SW) Razor Back]

SEX- DRUGS AND ROCK AND ROLL!!!!!!

[woodhog14]

I think the OP hits on a few great points.  I think it's absolutely necessary for us to recruit Texas more and more.  The closest to playing in the SEC from Texas is A&M and Arkansas.  It's a great selling point and half of the enrollment at the university is from Texas.  We currently have one recruit coming in next year from Texas.

I get there is a lot of talent in Florida and Georgia, but the odds of us out recruiting the coaches from the state of Florida for top recruits are slim to none.

Just for reference number of Texas commits this year
OK State - 8
Bama - 3
OU - 9
LSU - 4
Arkansas - 1

I personally wish we wouldn't have expanded the stadium.  It's a unique stadium design and doesn't completely sell out most games anyway.  Just didn't see the demand there.  I get it, more boxes and suites...

Which is where the demand is.

[GoHogs1091]

List of 38 P5 teams since 2013 that have had openings that did not even bother interviewing Venables...What do you know that all the search firms, all the ADs that do this for a living don't know?

LSU
Georgia
Maryland
Florida
Mizzu
USC
So Carolina
Virginia Tech
Virginia
Illinois
Cal
Michigan
Indiana
Rutgers
Baylor
Miami
Cal
Texas Tech
Wisconsin
Nebraska
Washington
Oregon
Texas
Purdue
Louisville
Auburn
Penn St
Kentucky
Wake Forest
Vandy
Colorado
Tennessee
NC State
Pitt
Oregon St
Kansas
Syracuse

Our Head Coach job is probably not big enough for Venables anymore.

He has positioned himself for a lot better Head Coach job than our job because of his exemplary coaching results at another school in addition to his exemplary coaching results at Oklahoma.

Good chance Venables will replace Swinney at Clemson if Swinney leaves for Alabama in the future, or he replaces Bob Stoops at Oklahoma (Stoops could end up retiring at Oklahoma in the somewhat near future).

[Biggus Piggus]

Good chance Venables will replace Swinney at Clemson if Swinney leaves for Alabama in the future, or he replaces Bob Stoops at Oklahoma (Stoops could end up retiring at Oklahoma in the somewhat near future).

Yeah, top programs hire career assistants to be head coach.

[GoHogs1091]

Yeah, top programs hire career assistants to be head coach.

Worked for Oklahoma when they hired Bob Stoops from Florida.

[Vantage 8 dude]

Bielema won out because he was a successful Big Ten head coach with a great pedigree.

Venables still has not won a single game as a head coach, four years after he interviewed at Arkansas. His rings belong to somebody else.

Deshaun Watson has a ring. Maybe we could hire him to be our head coach.

Biggus, totally agree with you concerning Vanables. Yes, no doubt he's been a very successful coordinator at Clemson and their defense has certainly been outstanding over the past several years. I even suspect it won't be long until he gets his first HC gig. In fact, I was somewhat surprised he didn't nail one down recently during some of the other changes. That being said, to proclaim that he would be an instantly great head coach is total supposition and guess work on the part of the poster. As we know there have been other GREAT "can't miss" assistants who haven't worked out do well when they finally moved up. To compare CBB and Venables as HEAD COACHES is totally bunk at this point and making an "apples to oranges" case/argument which currently has no valid merit.

[GoHogs1091]

Biggus, totally agree with you concerning Vanables. Yes, no doubt he's been a very successful coordinator at Clemson and their defense has certainly been outstanding over the past several years. I even suspect it won't be long until he gets his first HC gig. In fact, I was somewhat surprised he didn't nail one down recently during some of the other changes. That being said, to proclaim that he would be an instantly great head coach is total supposition and guess work on the part of the poster. As we know there have been other GREAT "can't miss" assistants who haven't worked out do well when they finally moved up. To compare CBB and Venables as HEAD COACHES is totally bunk at this point and making an "apples to oranges" case/argument which currently has no valid merit.

Here is what he said in November 2015 regarding head coaching positions.

[jkstock04]

I grew up in a small town in southwest Arkansas.  We had people pissed off when we put in our first red light. They thought it was a waste of tax payers money.  The same leaders who tried to keep the school from having prom because kids dancing = evil.

This sounds like a script off the movie Footloose. I hope you also had a mullet when all that was going on...would make the story even better.

[Oklahawg]

Worked for Oklahoma when they hired Bob Stoops from Florida.

Stoops was 39 when taking over OU, I believe. Venables is 47. It can be argued, with merit, that Stoops career at OU peaked by the time he was 47 (if not following being blasted by USC in the 2005 NCG then in 2008 when he lost in the NCG again...at age 48; never been back, by the way).

[DLUXHOG]

Wasn't our most successful (recent) coach from Montana?

Houston Nutt was from Arkansas (Little Rock).  Why don't we make Nutt AD?

Because..... HDN f*cked Arkansas twice already... 1st time when he said FU and transferred to OSU because he wasn't good enough to beat out Scott Bull as QB, 2nd time.... quite a story...

[ATU HOG]

Yeah, top programs hire career assistants to be head coach.

While I agree that it's not the greatest hiring a coordinator for a premiere head coaching gig, it is happening more often. I personally don't know if I would risk hiring a coordinator as a first time head coach in the SEC

Muschamp and Smart are a couple examples of this.

[Bacons Rebellion]

I'd prefer the cold, decomposed corpse of John Barnhill to that.

Barnhill was from Tennessee. He doesn't meet the conditions for qualification.