(The Pain of) Being Bret Bielema

[RexMentor]

As the clock ticks toward midnight for Bret Bielema and the Arkansas Razorbacks, it's time we walked a little while in his flip flops. You can add the  island music if you wish.
Just six short years ago, he was a highly successful coach at Wisconsin and went to three straight Rose Bowls. The program was well established. The proof is the fact that since he's left, Wisconsin continues to win with more coach turnover than Arkansas has had.
So, he gets a call from one of the most respected ADs in the country about coming to Arkansas and coaching a team that is only one season removed from double-digit wins in consecutive seasons. It's in a place that is one of the best places to live in the nation, at a university with a football program that has a multitude of resources in terms of money, facilities and fan support.
He'd been successful everywhere he's coached, whether as an assistant or a head coach. He coached using a formula that had enjoyed success. He was able to lure very good assistants to come to Fayetteville with him. He had time -- a six year deal -- plenty of time.
And for three years, it seemed to be working. Each of the first three years was better than the year before. Recruiting was doing well. He was getting what he needed in players. Opposing coaches were complimentary -- "they're coming," said one after the second season.
And then, in two short years it falls apart. Last year's late-season collapse derailed what should have been a 9-win season.
Despite that, the AD remained supportive and the stadium was expanding. The money continued to flow. Life was good and there's a baby on the way.
Then, disaster strikes. Instead of last season being a blip on the radar of a rising program, it proved to be a continuation of the decline.
Then, another disaster strikes. The supportive AD is ousted in what many believe to be a coup. His support in state crumbles with each loss. Injuries decimate his team and now the clock ticks toward midnight.
You can see the strain on his face. You can hear him tearing up when he talks about what's likely to happen.
This has to be a blow, a blow to his ego and his sense of self worth.
The end is near and it's not only his end, it's the end for his coaches and their families. And it's happening at the holidays.
He will be fired with justification or he will leave on his own so he can say he wasn't fired. I hope he finds another job quickly and the other coaches, too. I hope he and they have success elsewhere.
He has contributed mightily to his own demise but there have also been unanticipated problems, as well.
I think the man needs to go. I just hope the fans can act with the same amount of class he is showing under very unfortunate circumstances.
Remember, CBB is a human being. And we need to show some empathy in what is a seriously sad situation.

[jst01]

Stopped at "winner of three straight Rose Bowls"...go back and check those scores.

[Silver Hog]

those multi millions will ease his pain and suffering, not ours.

[RexMentor]

Stopped at "winner of three straight Rose Bowls"...go back and check those scores.

My mistake. Apologies. I fixed it and thanks.

[jst01]

And we need to show some empathy in what is a seriously sad situation.

Far from sad. Sad is the warehouse worker that gets laid off before Christmas and has two kids at home. This man is a coach of a college team that has a net worth of many millions. No reason to be disrespectful of him as a person, but also no reason to be over dramatic about the issue.

[RexMentor]

Far from sad. Sad is the warehouse worker that gets laid off before Christmas and has two kids at home. This man is a coach of a college team that has a net worth of many millions. No reason to be disrespectful of him as a person, but also no reason to be over dramatic about the issue.

I suspect right now he would trade the buyout money for wins. Additionally, those coaches and kids dont' have a "net worth of many millions."

[Torqued pork]

I've been ready for a change longer than most, but I definitely wish him and the assistants the best.

[Captain Morgan]

If this game gets out if hand fans don't need to be silent but express their frustration with chants and boos. Have some dignity in your school and don't make sad football make you classy.

[AlabamaHawg]

I just hope we finally see a little humility from the man in his going away statement.  Not just 'thanks for the memories' fluff, but a real admission that he failed here.  He made promises he couldn't keep and that's on him, no excuses.  Maybe even an apology for letting Razorback Nation down.

His arrogance has always rubbed me the wrong way.  And as the losses mounted up, the arrogance became even more offensive.  I hope he's learned something from his five years at Arkansas and leaves a better man.  Anything short of a full mea culpa and I won't believe it.

[The OTR]

I just hope we finally see a little humility from the man in his going away statement.  Not just 'thanks for the memories' fluff, but a real admission that he failed here.  He made promises he couldn't keep and that's on him, no excuses.  Maybe even an apology for letting Razorback Nation down.

His arrogance has always rubbed me the wrong way.  And as the losses mounted up, the arrogance became even more offensive.  I hope he's learned something from his five years at Arkansas and leaves a better man.  Anything short of a full mea culpa and I won't believe it.

Good first post, Alabama. I hope you get your apology today.

[JOKERHOG]

He has been a fright train out of control since day one.  Saban little 10 record, winning SEC talk, telling TX HS coaches that their style of play sucks, fighting to slow down the fast offenses with rule changes since he can't stop it on the field.  This day has been way too long getting here.  The level of failure is epic...

[JOKERHOG]

oh, and doing that stupic TV show when he would have been using that energy in coaching and recruiting.  Good ridance and don't wish him future success.  He was outed as a bad coach.  Lucky for him, he has a few million in the bank or he would be in real trouble. 

[moses_007]

Lots more beer in his big belly will ease the pain.........

[Hogsmo Kramer]

I won't hear of the pain for someone that coaches freaking football for a job and currently prob has more in the bank than mine and my wife's collective families combined.

He has been lucratively rewarded for a terrible terrible job performance, when many others in different professions would have been tossed out on their arss without so much as severance pay.

So no he can take his perceived "pain" and leave, the sooner the better.

[JOKERHOG]

I won't hear of the pain for someone that coaches freaking football for a job and currently prob has more in the bank than mine and my wife's collective families combined.

He has been lucratively rewarded for a terrible terrible job performance, when many others in different professions would have been tossed out on their arss without so much as severance pay.

So no he can take his perceived "pain" and leave, the sooner the better.

Thank  you, couldn't agree more...

[The OTR]

He's made more money this year than most Arkansans will make in their lifetimes.  His buyout is more money than most will make in their lifetime. 

It's hard for most folks to muster a lot of sympathy for a guy who had such a huge opportunity and who seemed to care more about eating and drinking and goofing around than getting our program back to at least a respectable level.

Had he even had one 9 or 10 win season in five it might be easy to say this was an off year but he hasn't really gotten close to anything approaching that and we seem light years from it now.

He seemed to be a good enough guy and certainly likeable enough but you never really got the feeling he was putting in the effort or worrying as much about our success as we would have liked. Maybe he did put in the effort but he just looks like a guy who might slack off during the off season when others are out there pushing hard to get recruits.  And maybe he has done his best and that's all there is.  Who really knows?  I mean other than every other poster on hogville.

[moses_007]

He came here as a multi-millionaire after several seasons with Wisconsin and bonuses for getting to three Rose Bowls.

By the time he gets all his buyout monies from us, Arkansas will have paid him around $20 million.

He can retire and never work again, at anything.  Buy him a hog farm in Iowa.

[rude1]

Sorry nothing about him leaving with millions of unearned dollars makes me sad, in fact the prospects of a new beginning has me excited about the future of the program since the day he was hired. Don't we all wish we could walk out the door with millions for failing at our jobs?

[Dwight_K_Shrute]

Woe is me. The pain of being so inept and cluesless that you get fired and as a parting gift get 5 to 10+ mil and making 20 mil the 5 years before.

I feel a lot more empathy for the Allen family. Bobby has spent 20 years at UofA but has had to spend the last 5 watching his sons bear the brunt for much of BBs ineptitude and his sons just kept going out ther and give it the old college try. Bobby had to watch Austin get destroyed at a school record pace. Yes Bobby has made a good living at the U but nowhere near the set for life money BB has made while producing 2 of the worst seasons in school history.

Thanks for pontificating but I'll save my empathy for those that have earned it and deserve it

[Hawgphish]

I don't feel sorry for any of them.  One, it is the new normal for college football coaches.  They walk away with unimaginable monetary compensation. 

[WilsonHog]

That is the profession. I wouldn't want it, but those who do understand that being very publicly fired is part of the deal.

[Grunt]

Yep, it's some tough sh*t but six million dollars could sure help you get over it.

[James Tiberius Pork]

I'm worried about the little people without big buyouts....I feel certain staffing levels at Ben's Apartment and the NWA liquor distributorship that handles Tito's Vodka are now bloated given the impending departure of one of their biggest customers. You know layoffs are coming at both. Sad!

[greenEGnHAWGS]

I won't hear of the pain for someone that coaches freaking football for a job and currently prob has more in the bank than mine and my wife's collective families combined.

He has been lucratively rewarded for a terrible terrible job performance, when many others in different professions would have been tossed out on their arss without so much as severance pay.

So no he can take his perceived "pain" and leave, the sooner the better.

Just a question, would you trade a his pay for your distinct family name to become synonymous with failure on a national level?

[UA1985]

Zero sadness. He has earned all the money he ever needs and has the rare ability to do whatever he wants for the remainder of his life. He clearly failed in this particular endeavor but we all have failures.

[Nickle-Pig]

I guess I'm cold blooded...he was paid well for doing a bad job. Tell
me how many jobs you can do that for very long.
I do not feel sorry for him even a little.

[hogfanmd]

I feel sympathy for the players and the assistant coaches
Any person who has made north of 3 million dollars for more then 10 years should have a nest egg.  And he gets a big golden egg for getting fired.   

[RexMentor]

The level of empathy is overwhelming. Erase the buyout money. Erase the salary level. The he becomes you. What now?

[WilsonHog]

I feel for the players. Jordan Jones tweeted a picture of him and Coach Bielema this morning with a caption of what a fine man Bret is. In most instances, Nolan was right when he said, "The players who come here come because of one reason: me. The University of Arkansas ain't got nothing to do with it." Many of the players we will be cheering for today came here because of Bret Bielema. They will experience loss in the next 24 hours, regardless of how the game turns out.

[Hogsmo Kramer]

Just a question, but you trade a his pay for your distinct family name to become synonymous with failure on a national level?

You mean would I take the money he's made for his reputation as a HC?

Um hell yeah. There are worse things than being a bad HC, it's not like he's a criminal or anything.

From all intents he's a decent guy and a wealthy one at that. So yeah I'd be totally fine being worth millions and being perceived as a less than stellar HC.

You wouldn't?!

[The OTR]

The level of empathy is overwhelming. Erase the buyout money. Erase the salary level. The he becomes you. What now?

Bret, you're a little late to the party.  You should have come in here last year and started mixing it up with us. Maybe you'd have some more support.

[hogfanmd]

The level of empathy is overwhelming. Erase the buyout money. Erase the salary level. The he becomes you. What now?

People lose jobs all the time.   Sucks. But you don't have to let it define you. Lou holtz got canned and then moved on to win a NC at Notre Dame.  Mark Richt got fired and he's doing ok.   Ronald Regan lost to Gerald Ford then came back.   If this is the end of coach Beliema's college career it's on him not the UA or their fans.    I think the personal attacks on him have been unnecessary and mean.   It's not and should not be personal.   The metrics In college football 🏈 at the D1 SEC level are wins and loses.  His metrics are not good. 

[greenEGnHAWGS]

You mean would I take the money he's made for his reputation as a HC?

Um hell yeah. There are worse things than being a bad HC, it's not like he's a criminal or anything.

From all intents he's a decent guy and a wealthy one at that. So yeah I'd be totally fine being worth millions and being perceived as a less than stellar HC.

You wouldn't?!

I don't know, but I'll tell you this. If I was ALREADY a millionaire, a few extra million would NOT be worth the ridicule that will be happening on a national level. He basically showed that all of his past success was based on the AD and not cuz of him. So no, I doubt the extra millions are making much of an impact on how he feels about now.

[sowmonella]

The level of empathy is overwhelming. Erase the buyout money. Erase the salary level. The he becomes you. What now?

You are barking up the wrong tree here. Most can't get past the fact he's filthy rich and they hate anyone for that. Anyone who loses a job should at the very least expect civility and not no class venom added to the shame of failure. It's really an embarrassment so many act this way.

[HogFaninMemphis]

This thread is brutal. This isn't about money. If someone offered gave you $20,000,000 when you were young, you'd jump at it, but money isn't going to bring you happiness, and the buyout isn't going to help him personally. It obviously is nice that he's not going to be out on the streets, unlike the above mentioned warehouse worker potentially.
He got paid a lot of money and failed, certainly, but that doesn't diminish his failure. I couldn't care less about the football coach, because as y'all have said, he's already made a fortune. Any time a man gets publicly humiliated (which happens almost every time a coach is fired), it's only human to feel for him, his family, his coaches, and his coaches' families. There's a side in most of us that chuckles when the guy making fun of others gets in trouble or gets picked on himself. This idea of "He got what he had coming for him" is vindictive and childish.
To hate a man because of his professional failures...man, I hope we're better than that.

[007 License To Squeal]

Coaches come and coaches go....but the Razorbacks live on....

[hawginbigd1]

Surely you people are not as clueless and despicable as human beings as you sound. Many of you sound like your mother didn't love you.

[Hogsmo Kramer]

I don't know, but I'll tell you this. If I was ALREADY a millionaire, a few extra million would NOT be worth the ridicule that will be happening on a national level. He basically showed that all of his past success was based on the AD and not cuz of him. So no, I doubt the extra millions are making much of an impact on how he feels about now.

That's some serious first world problems right there. The already millionaire not being consoled by the extra millions he'll receive for doing a horrendous job. Boo freaking hoo.

I'm sorry but I can't relate as I'll never sniff the amount of money he had before getting here, much less once he leaves.

People fail all the time, not everyone gets paid millions for doing so.

So no zero sympathy from me, AT ALL, he'll be just fine.

But for the record I don't wish anything bad upon the man nor do I dislike him. It just didn't work out, time to move on.

[hogfanmd]

1) I feel bad that he was unsuccessful at Arkansas. I wish no ill will towards him.   Personal attacks are petty and stupid.   

2) life is filled with peaks and valleys for ALL of us.  Each profession has its good and its bad aspects.  Coaching is a very public, high profile job.   

3) I wish the best for Beliema and that he has success in the future unless he is coaching against Arkansas. 

[IronHog]

I feel for the players. Jordan Jones tweeted a picture of him and Coach Bielema this morning with a caption of what a fine man Bret is. In most instances, Nolan was right when he said, "The players who come here come because of one reason: me. The University of Arkansas ain't got nothing to do with it." Many of the players we will be cheering for today came here because of Bret Bielema. They will experience loss in the next 24 hours, regardless of how the game turns out.

Nolan made sure the players came for him and not because they were instaters


Cory Carr says hi....

[Mellon Collie]

i'll pick the low hanging fruit......#karma 

[Großer Kriegschwein]

My mistake. Apologies. I fixed it and thanks.

Had he actually won those Rose Bowls, he'd have been hired at Notre Dame, Texas or even his school, Iowa.

Never would have came to the SEC.

[Großer Kriegschwein]

i'll pick the low hanging fruit......#karma

Worst trolling attempt in the history of the innerweb

[HiggiePiggy]

I wish I could get 20 million dollars for 5 years of crap work then be fired and given almost another 10 million to leave.  Almost 30 million dollars in 5 years.

[Mellon Collie]

Had he actually won those Rose Bowls, he'd have been hired at Notre Dame, Texas or even his school, Iowa.

Never would have came to the SEC.

Its plain to see that his success at UW had an awful lot to do with Cryst.  There is no shame in that.

[WilsonHog]

I think some folks make to much of the money angle. Almost a begrudging, envious emotion. Whoever we hire next, however much money we pay them will never enter my mind as something to complain about. I figure we all had the same opportunity to make career choices; some arguably made better choices than others.

I spent about a dozen years practicing law, but I always wanted to teach and coach football. So, I walked into the superintendent's office in my local district and told him that was what I wanted to do. Within a year, I was a high school Biology teacher and assistant high school football coach. I did that for about six years, got to experience coaching in a state title game, and moved into admin full time. At no time did I ever even entertain college coaching, even as a wish. Too little time with family.

[JOKERHOG]

I hope to never see such a confused look by a Raz coach on the sideline.  Unbelievable he lasted five years...

[Hogsmo Kramer]

I think some folks make to much of the money angle. Almost a begrudging, envious emotion. Whoever we hire next, however much money we pay them will never enter my mind as something to complain about. I figure we all had the same opportunity to make career choices; some arguably made better choices than others.

I spent about a dozen years practicing law, but I always wanted to teach and coach football. So, I walked into the superintendent's office in my local district and told him that was what I wanted to do. Within a year, I was a high school Biology teacher and assistant high school football coach. I did that for about six years, got to experience coaching in a state title game, and moved into admin full time. At no time did I ever even entertain college coaching, even as a wish. Too little time with family.

But that's exactly the point. He knew this was the gig when he signed up to be an NCAA HC, but now we're supposed to feel sorry for him? There are perks to a high profile job like this but there are downfalls as well, all I'm sure he or any HC knows when choosing this profession.

He has been well compensated for any pain and suffering he's experienced and I refuse to feel sorry for him.

I was a cop for several years, where I worked midnights, Thanksgivings, Christmases, 4th of July's all while making a tenth of what others make. But I never felt sorry for myself in that fact, nor the fact I had to wear a ballistic vest and a gun on my hip to work and I didn't want anyone else giving me sympathy.

That's what I signed on for, and I was well aware of it when I did.

The same goes for Bielema and his chosen profession, and the scrutiny he's receiving now is just part of it.

[hogfanmd]

Wish the whole thread would

[HogFaninMemphis]

Wish the whole thread would

I don't mind the thread. There have been some interesting points made in here on both sides, but we at least have to be civil about it.