Which is more important: Coach or Situation.

[Bomis Hawg]

Going back, looking at the Nutt hire in retrospect.  Arkansas needed someone to fire the troops up in December of 1997.  Arkansas fans needed someone to get them fired back up.  Nutt provided that with his personality.  The guy comes home; wants to win.  We all ate it up.

If he would've bolted a few years ago, Arkansas might've salvaged the program, but not get some of the players they did get.  But, you take that.  Nutt's ability to control the situation on the Hill has been very undesirable.  No clue why, though.  Things change, but looking at other coaching changes.  Which is more important to keeping a program afloat or making the change and improving the team -- situation or coach?

Nutt in 1998 was a situational change.  Fans needed that excitement.

Look at Army.  A team that dominated football in the early years of football.  Recently, they have been the laughing stock of college football -- setting the record for most losses in a single season for losses in a season with 13 in 2003.  They bring in Bobby Ross who has been a success everywhere he's been.  He brings in discipline and a winning background to a team that lacked both.  Now, they are starting to make strides out of the cellar.

Don Nehlen retired from WVU.  They brought in a good example of the right coach.  Being a West Virginia native, he came in to build on Nehlen's legacy.  After a couple of years struggling, he has had three great seasons.  They'll be 4-0 after ECU, upsetted Maryland on the road.  Could be another 8-win season for the Mountaineers.  He was the right coach to come in, and he made it work after a growing pain season.

Arizona is a little like Army.  They were way down after having went to the Fiesta Bowl in 1993, shutting out Miami 29-0.  Also, a 11-win season in 98 capped by a Holida Bowl win over Nebraska.  11 wins the three years prior to Mike Stoops.  Won 3, and they are improving.  Mike Stoops brings in the hard-nosed discipline defense to the program. 

With that said, we have watched teams like Nebraska, Pitt, and Stanford suffer badly with new additions.  They might pan out, but now they are fighting to stay alive.  Pitt lost to a Frank Solich-coached Ohio team.  They could pull an Army and start making strides forward.

Arkansas, if they fire Nutt at season's end, could fall under that category.  The question is, what type of coach do they need.  What made the hires of Stoops and Ross were their teams were struggling to find their niche or name.  They lost a step from where they were.  Now, they are bringing them back to life. 

Guys like Mark Richt, Bob Stoops, Al Groh, Jim Tressel, Nick Saban, and Urban Meyer have all stepped into a situation where they had the resources and talent to win early.  Most of those programs were either winners or had a history of winning but were down.  Meyer has yet to prove to move the program on, but he easily can. 

Arkansas has the resources.  The question is, what does it give whoever comes in?  Talent is there on offense.  Young talent on defense, but some grey areas.  Special teams, however, is at a very low spot.  What can a coach gain or will add to the team?  This is not a dead spot for a coach to be at.  Because Arkansas has lost to Vanderbilt and got ran by USC should not downgrade what is there. 

Does Arkansas need to get an established named to help recruit and build up current talent or do they need to go get a coach at a non-BCS school (assistant or HC) to bring in something new and fresh?  Either way, if Nutt is gone, Arkansas has a shot to be a quick hitter and turn around and make a differenc early, or they could have that one "floater" year that some have.  But, Arkansas, with the right system and coach could have a good 06 season.

[Fletch]

To me they need someone that can convince out of state talent to come to the UA. Whether that is a head coach or an assistant coach I don't know. Most great programs get most of their talent in state but a few such as Tennessee do an excellent job of recruiting from other states. We may not have a ton of D1 talent in Arkansas but Oklahoma, Texas and LA are not that far away. Maybe Tennessee is so successful because they do not do it honestly, that I don't know, I have just heard the speculation. It seems to me though that many players will leave their home state for the right situation, but their doesn't seem to be a lot of prestige in saying "I am going to Arkansas."