Jeff Long Saga

[Hog Head]

     To explain what has happened at the University of Arkansas, one has to go way back to 2003 and to another university. In 2003, Jeff Long was named athletic director at University of Pittsburg. At the end of the 2004 season, Long hired Dave Wannstedt as head coach. Up until that time, Pitt had been on the national scene as a respectable team. But in Wannstedt's three years as head coach at Pitt under AD Jeff Long, Wannstedt's record was 16-19, going 5-6 in 2005, 6-6 in 2006, and 5-7 in 2007. That is a 45% winning percentage. Wannstedt was fired at Pitt in 2010.
     In the meantime, Frank Broyles retired as athletic director at the University of Arkansas. Jeff Long interviewed for the job and was hired in 2008. His first order of business was to hire a new head coach. His finalists for the job were Tommy Bowden from Clemson and Jim Grobe from Wake Forrest. Bowden soon removed his name from consideration and Grobe was the assumed hire. So Long was set to hire a sub 500 (48%) coach from Wake Forrest to lead the Razorbacks in the SEC. At that same time in Atlanta, Bobby Petrino, head coach of the Falcons, was unhappy and dissatisfied in the NFL. His agent learned of the opening at Arkansas and called Jeff Long to say that Petrino was interested in the head coaching job at Arkansas. Petrino literally fell into Jeff Long's lap. It was a complete accident; Long was about to hire a sub 500 coach from Wake Forrest and Petrino fell into his lap in 2008!
     In his first three years at Arkansas, Bobby Petrino's teams were in the top 10 in the country two out of those three years. Then on April 1, 2012, disaster hit with Bobby Petrino's failure, misdeed, or transgression, and Jeff Long fired him on April 10, crying on national television. He could have fined him, suspended him, or both, but he chose to fire him. But Bobby Petrino had already released a statement on April 5 admitting that he had had 'an inappropriate relationship." And suddenly, Jeff Long became the hero because he fired Petrino. The NCAA later selected him to be chairman of the NCAA Championship Series Committee, and many believe it was because of the way he handled the Petrino firing and despite the fact he had never made a meaningful hire in his career!
     Then Long hired Brett Bielema away from Wisconsin in the Big Ten. Bielema had enjoyed a good winning percentage at Wisconisin and had appeared in several Rose Bowls. However, one of his Rose Bowls appearances was not a result of winning the conference championship. In fact, his team had come in third, but because both Penn State and Ohio State were on probation, Wisconsin by default got to appear in the game. Further, his overall record against Ohio State was 1-4 and against Penn State, 2-3.
     Brett Bielema is now in his fifth season at Arkansas and his overall record is 27-29. He is 10-24 against SEC opponents. This is the coach who announced at his first press conference after being hired by Long, " I am going to come in here and give Arkansas something it has never had...an SEC Championship!" Bielema makes 4.1 million a year. And worse, with a 15.4 million dollar buyout..structured by Long....it is near impossible for a small state like Arkansas to get out of such a contract. Under Bielema's leadership, instead of competing for an SEC Championship, the Hogs are now competing for SEC cellar-dweller!
We have an athletic director in Jeff Long who has put the Arkansas Razorbacks in a no win position. We can't afford the buyout he has us trapped in, and Brett Bielema has proved well into his 5th year that he cannot win in the SEC. If we should be able to buy out Bielema, do we leave Jeff Long in place, who has proven he is incapable of making a good coaching hire? And are we really going to trust Long to make the next Arkansas hire?
     So why are we in this present position? Our once nationally known and respected program appears to be in a death spiral. People want to blame the offense, the defense, the head coach, position coaches...and they all certainly have some culpability. But the source of the problem is Jeff Long. We must clean house, start over, from athletic director on down.

[Ex-Trumpet]

This is your first post, but has as many words as Delta's first 17,000 posts combined.

[rhames]

This is your first post, but has as many words as Delta's first 17,000 posts combined.

Hahaha

[thebignasty]

this place is on fire tonight

[fullfan]

Jeff Long could UPGRADE his tail out of Arkansas so fast if he wanted.  He is that well respected and its earned.  He may be gone at season's end but he has done well at Arkansas following a legend.

[Seebs]

Saga!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZggBxOLFleQ

[Boardon Hamsay]

This is your first post, but has as many words as Delta's first 35,000 posts combined.

Fixt.

[rzrbackramsfan]

[gifv]https://goo.gl/images/GwQyPr[/gifv]. 

Why won't this be the gif? 

[Ex-Trumpet]

Fixt.

[hehawg]

Couldn't have said it better myself

[GoldCoastHog]

Jeff Long could UPGRADE his tail out of Arkansas so fast if he wanted.  He is that well respected and its earned.  He may be gone at season's end but he has done well at Arkansas following a legend.

So, what's he waiting on? It has to be difficult with all the " sweet nothings " constantly being whispered in his ear.

For some reason, there's a large and growing contingent of fans that just don't appreciate his body of work.

[The OTR]

     To explain what has happened at the University of Arkansas, one has to go way back to 2003 and to another university. In 2003, Jeff Long was named athletic director at University of Pittsburg. At the end of the 2004 season, Long hired Dave Wannstedt as head coach. Up until that time, Pitt had been on the national scene as a respectable team. But in Wannstedt's three years as head coach at Pitt under AD Jeff Long, Wannstedt's record was 16-19, going 5-6 in 2005, 6-6 in 2006, and 5-7 in 2007. That is a 45% winning percentage. Wannstedt was fired at Pitt in 2010.
     In the meantime, Frank Broyles retired as athletic director at the University of Arkansas. Jeff Long interviewed for the job and was hired in 2008. His first order of business was to hire a new head coach. His finalists for the job were Tommy Bowden from Clemson and Jim Grobe from Wake Forrest. Bowden soon removed his name from consideration and Grobe was the assumed hire. So Long was set to hire a sub 500 (48%) coach from Wake Forrest to lead the Razorbacks in the SEC. At that same time in Atlanta, Bobby Petrino, head coach of the Falcons, was unhappy and dissatisfied in the NFL. His agent learned of the opening at Arkansas and called Jeff Long to say that Petrino was interested in the head coaching job at Arkansas. Petrino literally fell into Jeff Long's lap. It was a complete accident; Long was about to hire a sub 500 coach from Wake Forrest and Petrino fell into his lap in 2008!
     In his first three years at Arkansas, Bobby Petrino's teams were in the top 10 in the country two out of those three years. Then on April 1, 2012, disaster hit with Bobby Petrino's failure, misdeed, or transgression, and Jeff Long fired him on April 10, crying on national television. He could have fined him, suspended him, or both, but he chose to fire him. But Bobby Petrino had already released a statement on April 5 admitting that he had had 'an inappropriate relationship." And suddenly, Jeff Long became the hero because he fired Petrino. The NCAA later selected him to be chairman of the NCAA Championship Series Committee, and many believe it was because of the way he handled the Petrino firing and despite the fact he had never made a meaningful hire in his career!
     Then Long hired Brett Bielema away from Wisconsin in the Big Ten. Bielema had enjoyed a good winning percentage at Wisconisin and had appeared in several Rose Bowls. However, one of his Rose Bowls appearances was not a result of winning the conference championship. In fact, his team had come in third, but because both Penn State and Ohio State were on probation, Wisconsin by default got to appear in the game. Further, his overall record against Ohio State was 1-4 and against Penn State, 2-3.
     Brett Bielema is now in his fifth season at Arkansas and his overall record is 27-29. He is 10-24 against SEC opponents. This is the coach who announced at his first press conference after being hired by Long, " I am going to come in here and give Arkansas something it has never had...an SEC Championship!" Bielema makes 4.1 million a year. And worse, with a 15.4 million dollar buyout..structured by Long....it is near impossible for a small state like Arkansas to get out of such a contract. Under Bielema's leadership, instead of competing for an SEC Championship, the Hogs are now competing for SEC cellar-dweller!
We have an athletic director in Jeff Long who has put the Arkansas Razorbacks in a no win position. We can't afford the buyout he has us trapped in, and Brett Bielema has proved well into his 5th year that he cannot win in the SEC. If we should be able to buy out Bielema, do we leave Jeff Long in place, who has proven he is incapable of making a good coaching hire? And are we really going to trust Long to make the next Arkansas hire?
     So why are we in this present position? Our once nationally known and respected program appears to be in a death spiral. People want to blame the offense, the defense, the head coach, position coaches...and they all certainly have some culpability. But the source of the problem is Jeff Long. We must clean house, start over, from athletic director on down.

You're never gonna make it here.

[sowmonella]

Who is Hog Head AND didn't read.

[Bubba's Bruisers]

So are we back to it being a $15.4M buyout? 

[DeltaBoy]

Jeff needs to be fired.

[HardCore]

Jeff Long could UPGRADE his tail out of Arkansas so fast if he wanted.  He is that well respected and its earned.

So...........he should UPGRADE with his "earned" respect.  I imagine XNA's runway is smoking hot with Multiple University Gulfstream's landing gear, coming in with offers galore.

[bondhue]

So what is the final record going to be in 2017?  And what was your prediction on that Auburn game? 

[farmhawg]

This is your first post, but has as many words as Delta's first 17,000 posts combined.

He never said carpetbagger so......

[bondhue]

So what is the final record going to be in 2017?  And what was your prediction on that Auburn game?

I believe you said 8-4 and that the Hogs would stomp Auburn.

[Hogvillage Idiot]

Jeff needs to be fired.

Yeah, that's pretty much the CliffsNotes version of it.

[Razorbackers]

I have tears from laughing so hard at this

[GuvHog]

Jeff needs to be fired.

Nah, I don't think he'll be fired, I believe he'll be forced to resign as Hooty was.

[Grag T]

Fixed for Delta's reading pleasure 

To explain what has happened at the University of Arkansas, one has to go way back to 2003 and to another university. In 2003, CARPETBAGGER was named athletic director at University of Pittsburg. At the end of the 2004 season, CARPETBAGGER hired Dave Wannstedt as head coach. Up until that time, Pitt had been on the national scene as a respectable team. But in Wannstedt's three years as head coach at Pitt under CARPETBAGGER, Wannstedt's record was 16-19, going 5-6 in 2005, 6-6 in 2006, and 5-7 in 2007. That is a 45% winning percentage. Wannstedt was fired at Pitt in 2010.
     In the meantime, Frank Broyles retired as athletic director at the University of Arkansas. CARPETBAGGER interviewed for the job and CARPETBAGGER was hired in 2008. CARPETBAGGER'S first order of business was to hire a new head coach. CARPETBAGGER'S finalists for the job were Tommy Bowden from Clemson and Jim Grobe from Wake Forrest. Bowden soon removed his name from consideration and Grobe was the assumed hire. So CARPETBAGGER was set to hire a sub 500 (48%) coach from Wake Forrest to lead the Razorbacks in the SEC. At that same time in Atlanta, Bobby Petrino, head coach of the Falcons, was unhappy and dissatisfied in the NFL. His agent learned of the opening at Arkansas and called CARPETBAGGER to say that Petrino was interested in the head coaching job at Arkansas. Petrino literally fell into CARPETBAGGER'S lap. It was a complete accident; CARPETBAGGER was about to hire a sub 500 coach from Wake Forrest and Petrino fell into CARPETBAGGER'S lap in 2008!
     In his first three years at Arkansas, Bobby Petrino's teams were in the top 10 in the country two out of those three years. Then on April 1, 2012, disaster hit with Bobby Petrino's failure, misdeed, or transgression, and CARPETBAGGER fired him on April 10, crying on national television. CARPETBAGGER could have fined him, suspended him, or both, but CARPETBAGGER chose to fire him. But Bobby Petrino had already released a statement on April 5 admitting that he had had 'an inappropriate relationship." And suddenly, CARPETBAGGER became the hero because CARPETBAGGER fired Petrino. The NCAA later selected CARPETBAGGER to be chairman of the NCAA Championship Series Committee, and many believe it was because of the way CARPETBAGGER handled the Petrino firing and despite the fact CARPETBAGGER had never made a meaningful hire in his career!
     Then CARPETBAGGER hired Brett Bielema away from Wisconsin in the Big Ten. Bielema had enjoyed a good winning percentage at Wisconisin and had appeared in several Rose Bowls. However, one of his Rose Bowls appearances was not a result of winning the conference championship. In fact, his team had come in third, but because both Penn State and Ohio State were on probation, Wisconsin by default got to appear in the game. Further, his overall record against Ohio State was 1-4 and against Penn State, 2-3.
     Brett Bielema is now in his fifth season at Arkansas and his overall record is 27-29. He is 10-24 against SEC opponents. This is the coach who announced at his first press conference after being hired by CARPETBAGGER, " I am going to come in here and give Arkansas something it has never had...an SEC Championship!" Bielema makes 4.1 million a year. And worse, with a 15.4 million dollar buyout..structured by CARPETBAGGER....it is near impossible for a small state like Arkansas to get out of such a contract. Under Bielema's leadership, instead of competing for an SEC Championship, the Hogs are now competing for SEC cellar-dweller!
We have an athletic director in CARPETBAGGER who has put the Arkansas Razorbacks in a no win position. We can't afford the buyout CARPETBAGGER has us trapped in, and Brett Bielema has proved well into his 5th year that he cannot win in the SEC. If we should be able to buy out Bielema, do we leave CARPETBAGGER in place, who has proven he is incapable of making a good coaching hire? And are we really going to trust CARPETBAGGER to make the next Arkansas hire?
     So why are we in this present position? Our once nationally known and respected program appears to be in a death spiral. People want to blame the offense, the defense, the head coach, position coaches...and they all certainly have some culpability. But the source of the problem is CARPETBAGGER. We must clean house, start over, from CARPETBAGGER on down.

[Razorbackers]

Fixed for Delta's reading pleasure 

To explain what has happened at the University of Arkansas, one has to go way back to 2003 and to another university. In 2003, CARPETBAGGER was named athletic director at University of Pittsburg. At the end of the 2004 season, CARPETBAGGER hired Dave Wannstedt as head coach. Up until that time, Pitt had been on the national scene as a respectable team. But in Wannstedt's three years as head coach at Pitt under CARPETBAGGER, Wannstedt's record was 16-19, going 5-6 in 2005, 6-6 in 2006, and 5-7 in 2007. That is a 45% winning percentage. Wannstedt was fired at Pitt in 2010.
     In the meantime, Frank Broyles retired as athletic director at the University of Arkansas. CARPETBAGGER interviewed for the job and CARPETBAGGER was hired in 2008. CARPETBAGGER'S first order of business was to hire a new head coach. CARPETBAGGER'S finalists for the job were Tommy Bowden from Clemson and Jim Grobe from Wake Forrest. Bowden soon removed his name from consideration and Grobe was the assumed hire. So CARPETBAGGER was set to hire a sub 500 (48%) coach from Wake Forrest to lead the Razorbacks in the SEC. At that same time in Atlanta, Bobby Petrino, head coach of the Falcons, was unhappy and dissatisfied in the NFL. His agent learned of the opening at Arkansas and called CARPETBAGGER to say that Petrino was interested in the head coaching job at Arkansas. Petrino literally fell into CARPETBAGGER'S lap. It was a complete accident; CARPETBAGGER was about to hire a sub 500 coach from Wake Forrest and Petrino fell into CARPETBAGGER'S lap in 2008!
     In his first three years at Arkansas, Bobby Petrino's teams were in the top 10 in the country two out of those three years. Then on April 1, 2012, disaster hit with Bobby Petrino's failure, misdeed, or transgression, and CARPETBAGGER fired him on April 10, crying on national television. CARPETBAGGER could have fined him, suspended him, or both, but CARPETBAGGER chose to fire him. But Bobby Petrino had already released a statement on April 5 admitting that he had had 'an inappropriate relationship." And suddenly, CARPETBAGGER became the hero because CARPETBAGGER fired Petrino. The NCAA later selected CARPETBAGGER to be chairman of the NCAA Championship Series Committee, and many believe it was because of the way CARPETBAGGER handled the Petrino firing and despite the fact CARPETBAGGER had never made a meaningful hire in his career!
     Then CARPETBAGGER hired Brett Bielema away from Wisconsin in the Big Ten. Bielema had enjoyed a good winning percentage at Wisconisin and had appeared in several Rose Bowls. However, one of his Rose Bowls appearances was not a result of winning the conference championship. In fact, his team had come in third, but because both Penn State and Ohio State were on probation, Wisconsin by default got to appear in the game. Further, his overall record against Ohio State was 1-4 and against Penn State, 2-3.
     Brett Bielema is now in his fifth season at Arkansas and his overall record is 27-29. He is 10-24 against SEC opponents. This is the coach who announced at his first press conference after being hired by CARPETBAGGER, " I am going to come in here and give Arkansas something it has never had...an SEC Championship!" Bielema makes 4.1 million a year. And worse, with a 15.4 million dollar buyout..structured by CARPETBAGGER....it is near impossible for a small state like Arkansas to get out of such a contract. Under Bielema's leadership, instead of competing for an SEC Championship, the Hogs are now competing for SEC cellar-dweller!
We have an athletic director in CARPETBAGGER who has put the Arkansas Razorbacks in a no win position. We can't afford the buyout CARPETBAGGER has us trapped in, and Brett Bielema has proved well into his 5th year that he cannot win in the SEC. If we should be able to buy out Bielema, do we leave CARPETBAGGER in place, who has proven he is incapable of making a good coaching hire? And are we really going to trust CARPETBAGGER to make the next Arkansas hire?
     So why are we in this present position? Our once nationally known and respected program appears to be in a death spiral. People want to blame the offense, the defense, the head coach, position coaches...and they all certainly have some culpability. But the source of the problem is CARPETBAGGER. We must clean house, start over, from CARPETBAGGER on down.

[J-Five]

Is it 1865?  Why are we still using the term "carpetbagger"?  Geez

[razorbackfaninar]

     To explain what has happened at the University of Arkansas, one has to go way back to 2003 and to another university. In 2003, Jeff Long was named athletic director at University of Pittsburg. At the end of the 2004 season, Long hired Dave Wannstedt as head coach. Up until that time, Pitt had been on the national scene as a respectable team. But in Wannstedt's three years as head coach at Pitt under AD Jeff Long, Wannstedt's record was 16-19, going 5-6 in 2005, 6-6 in 2006, and 5-7 in 2007. That is a 45% winning percentage. Wannstedt was fired at Pitt in 2010.
     In the meantime, Frank Broyles retired as athletic director at the University of Arkansas. Jeff Long interviewed for the job and was hired in 2008. His first order of business was to hire a new head coach. His finalists for the job were Tommy Bowden from Clemson and Jim Grobe from Wake Forrest. Bowden soon removed his name from consideration and Grobe was the assumed hire. So Long was set to hire a sub 500 (48%) coach from Wake Forrest to lead the Razorbacks in the SEC. At that same time in Atlanta, Bobby Petrino, head coach of the Falcons, was unhappy and dissatisfied in the NFL. His agent learned of the opening at Arkansas and called Jeff Long to say that Petrino was interested in the head coaching job at Arkansas. Petrino literally fell into Jeff Long's lap. It was a complete accident; Long was about to hire a sub 500 coach from Wake Forrest and Petrino fell into his lap in 2008!
     In his first three years at Arkansas, Bobby Petrino's teams were in the top 10 in the country two out of those three years. Then on April 1, 2012, disaster hit with Bobby Petrino's failure, misdeed, or transgression, and Jeff Long fired him on April 10, crying on national television. He could have fined him, suspended him, or both, but he chose to fire him. But Bobby Petrino had already released a statement on April 5 admitting that he had had 'an inappropriate relationship." And suddenly, Jeff Long became the hero because he fired Petrino. The NCAA later selected him to be chairman of the NCAA Championship Series Committee, and many believe it was because of the way he handled the Petrino firing and despite the fact he had never made a meaningful hire in his career!
     Then Long hired Brett Bielema away from Wisconsin in the Big Ten. Bielema had enjoyed a good winning percentage at Wisconisin and had appeared in several Rose Bowls. However, one of his Rose Bowls appearances was not a result of winning the conference championship. In fact, his team had come in third, but because both Penn State and Ohio State were on probation, Wisconsin by default got to appear in the game. Further, his overall record against Ohio State was 1-4 and against Penn State, 2-3.
     Brett Bielema is now in his fifth season at Arkansas and his overall record is 27-29. He is 10-24 against SEC opponents. This is the coach who announced at his first press conference after being hired by Long, " I am going to come in here and give Arkansas something it has never had...an SEC Championship!" Bielema makes 4.1 million a year. And worse, with a 15.4 million dollar buyout..structured by Long....it is near impossible for a small state like Arkansas to get out of such a contract. Under Bielema's leadership, instead of competing for an SEC Championship, the Hogs are now competing for SEC cellar-dweller!
We have an athletic director in Jeff Long who has put the Arkansas Razorbacks in a no win position. We can't afford the buyout he has us trapped in, and Brett Bielema has proved well into his 5th year that he cannot win in the SEC. If we should be able to buy out Bielema, do we leave Jeff Long in place, who has proven he is incapable of making a good coaching hire? And are we really going to trust Long to make the next Arkansas hire?
     So why are we in this present position? Our once nationally known and respected program appears to be in a death spiral. People want to blame the offense, the defense, the head coach, position coaches...and they all certainly have some culpability. But the source of the problem is Jeff Long. We must clean house, start over, from athletic director on down.

Let me see if I can summarize your main points

A:  Jeff Long Should be fired from Arkansas for hiring Wannstedt in 2004 at Pitt. 

B:  Jeff Long Should be fired because it wasn't his first choice to hire Bobby Petrino.     

C:  Jeff Long should be fired because you don't understand the buy out structure. 
 

[J-Five]

Let me see if I can summarize your main points

A:  Jeff Long Should be fired from Arkansas for hiring Wannstedt in 2004 at Pitt. 

B:  Jeff Long Should be fired because it wasn't his first choice to hire Bobby Petrino.     

C:  Jeff Long should be fired because you don't understand the buy out structure. 

LOL

[TheJoeyBucketz]

Let me see if I can summarize your main points

A:  Jeff Long Should be fired from Arkansas for hiring Wannstedt in 2004 at Pitt. 

B:  Jeff Long Should be fired because it wasn't his first choice to hire Bobby Petrino.     

C:  Jeff Long should be fired because you don't understand the buy out structure. 

Im dying at this thread. I wish karma was back because I would give everyone +1's.

Except you, OP. I expect better for someone's first post. That was garbage. Bush league, even.

[BadHog]

     To explain what has happened at the University of Arkansas, one has to go way back to 2003 and to another university. In 2003, Jeff Long was named athletic director at University of Pittsburg. At the end of the 2004 season, Long hired Dave Wannstedt as head coach. Up until that time, Pitt had been on the national scene as a respectable team. But in Wannstedt's three years as head coach at Pitt under AD Jeff Long, Wannstedt's record was 16-19, going 5-6 in 2005, 6-6 in 2006, and 5-7 in 2007. That is a 45% winning percentage. Wannstedt was fired at Pitt in 2010.
     In the meantime, Frank Broyles retired as athletic director at the University of Arkansas. Jeff Long interviewed for the job and was hired in 2008. His first order of business was to hire a new head coach. His finalists for the job were Tommy Bowden from Clemson and Jim Grobe from Wake Forrest. Bowden soon removed his name from consideration and Grobe was the assumed hire. So Long was set to hire a sub 500 (48%) coach from Wake Forrest to lead the Razorbacks in the SEC. At that same time in Atlanta, Bobby Petrino, head coach of the Falcons, was unhappy and dissatisfied in the NFL. His agent learned of the opening at Arkansas and called Jeff Long to say that Petrino was interested in the head coaching job at Arkansas. Petrino literally fell into Jeff Long's lap. It was a complete accident; Long was about to hire a sub 500 coach from Wake Forrest and Petrino fell into his lap in 2008!
     In his first three years at Arkansas, Bobby Petrino's teams were in the top 10 in the country two out of those three years. Then on April 1, 2012, disaster hit with Bobby Petrino's failure, misdeed, or transgression, and Jeff Long fired him on April 10, crying on national television. He could have fined him, suspended him, or both, but he chose to fire him. But Bobby Petrino had already released a statement on April 5 admitting that he had had 'an inappropriate relationship." And suddenly, Jeff Long became the hero because he fired Petrino. The NCAA later selected him to be chairman of the NCAA Championship Series Committee, and many believe it was because of the way he handled the Petrino firing and despite the fact he had never made a meaningful hire in his career!
     Then Long hired Brett Bielema away from Wisconsin in the Big Ten. Bielema had enjoyed a good winning percentage at Wisconisin and had appeared in several Rose Bowls. However, one of his Rose Bowls appearances was not a result of winning the conference championship. In fact, his team had come in third, but because both Penn State and Ohio State were on probation, Wisconsin by default got to appear in the game. Further, his overall record against Ohio State was 1-4 and against Penn State, 2-3.
     Brett Bielema is now in his fifth season at Arkansas and his overall record is 27-29. He is 10-24 against SEC opponents. This is the coach who announced at his first press conference after being hired by Long, " I am going to come in here and give Arkansas something it has never had...an SEC Championship!" Bielema makes 4.1 million a year. And worse, with a 15.4 million dollar buyout..structured by Long....it is near impossible for a small state like Arkansas to get out of such a contract. Under Bielema's leadership, instead of competing for an SEC Championship, the Hogs are now competing for SEC cellar-dweller!
We have an athletic director in Jeff Long who has put the Arkansas Razorbacks in a no win position. We can't afford the buyout he has us trapped in, and Brett Bielema has proved well into his 5th year that he cannot win in the SEC. If we should be able to buy out Bielema, do we leave Jeff Long in place, who has proven he is incapable of making a good coaching hire? And are we really going to trust Long to make the next Arkansas hire?
     So why are we in this present position? Our once nationally known and respected program appears to be in a death spiral. People want to blame the offense, the defense, the head coach, position coaches...and they all certainly have some culpability. But the source of the problem is Jeff Long. We must clean house, start over, from athletic director on down.

Could you run through those statistics in a bit more detail? That's all news to me.

[longpig]

     To explain what has happened at the University of Arkansas, one has to go way back to 2003 and to another university. In 2003, Jeff Long was named athletic director at University of Pittsburg. At the end of the 2004 season, Long hired Dave Wannstedt as head coach. Up until that time, Pitt had been on the national scene as a respectable team. But in Wannstedt's three years as head coach at Pitt under AD Jeff Long, Wannstedt's record was 16-19, going 5-6 in 2005, 6-6 in 2006, and 5-7 in 2007. That is a 45% winning percentage. Wannstedt was fired at Pitt in 2010.
     In the meantime, Frank Broyles retired as athletic director at the University of Arkansas. Jeff Long interviewed for the job and was hired in 2008. His first order of business was to hire a new head coach. His finalists for the job were Tommy Bowden from Clemson and Jim Grobe from Wake Forrest. Bowden soon removed his name from consideration and Grobe was the assumed hire. So Long was set to hire a sub 500 (48%) coach from Wake Forrest to lead the Razorbacks in the SEC. At that same time in Atlanta, Bobby Petrino, head coach of the Falcons, was unhappy and dissatisfied in the NFL. His agent learned of the opening at Arkansas and called Jeff Long to say that Petrino was interested in the head coaching job at Arkansas. Petrino literally fell into Jeff Long's lap. It was a complete accident; Long was about to hire a sub 500 coach from Wake Forrest and Petrino fell into his lap in 2008!
     In his first three years at Arkansas, Bobby Petrino's teams were in the top 10 in the country two out of those three years. Then on April 1, 2012, disaster hit with Bobby Petrino's failure, misdeed, or transgression, and Jeff Long fired him on April 10, crying on national television. He could have fined him, suspended him, or both, but he chose to fire him. But Bobby Petrino had already released a statement on April 5 admitting that he had had 'an inappropriate relationship." And suddenly, Jeff Long became the hero because he fired Petrino. The NCAA later selected him to be chairman of the NCAA Championship Series Committee, and many believe it was because of the way he handled the Petrino firing and despite the fact he had never made a meaningful hire in his career!
     Then Long hired Brett Bielema away from Wisconsin in the Big Ten. Bielema had enjoyed a good winning percentage at Wisconisin and had appeared in several Rose Bowls. However, one of his Rose Bowls appearances was not a result of winning the conference championship. In fact, his team had come in third, but because both Penn State and Ohio State were on probation, Wisconsin by default got to appear in the game. Further, his overall record against Ohio State was 1-4 and against Penn State, 2-3.
     Brett Bielema is now in his fifth season at Arkansas and his overall record is 27-29. He is 10-24 against SEC opponents. This is the coach who announced at his first press conference after being hired by Long, " I am going to come in here and give Arkansas something it has never had...an SEC Championship!" Bielema makes 4.1 million a year. And worse, with a 15.4 million dollar buyout..structured by Long....it is near impossible for a small state like Arkansas to get out of such a contract. Under Bielema's leadership, instead of competing for an SEC Championship, the Hogs are now competing for SEC cellar-dweller!
We have an athletic director in Jeff Long who has put the Arkansas Razorbacks in a no win position. We can't afford the buyout he has us trapped in, and Brett Bielema has proved well into his 5th year that he cannot win in the SEC. If we should be able to buy out Bielema, do we leave Jeff Long in place, who has proven he is incapable of making a good coaching hire? And are we really going to trust Long to make the next Arkansas hire?
     So why are we in this present position? Our once nationally known and respected program appears to be in a death spiral. People want to blame the offense, the defense, the head coach, position coaches...and they all certainly have some culpability. But the source of the problem is Jeff Long. We must clean house, start over, from athletic director on down.

Welcome back, Robert.

[Hoggish1]

     To explain what has happened at the University of Arkansas, one has to go way back to 2003 and to another university. In 2003, Jeff Long was named athletic director at University of Pittsburg. At the end of the 2004 season, Long hired Dave Wannstedt as head coach. Up until that time, Pitt had been on the national scene as a respectable team. But in Wannstedt's three years as head coach at Pitt under AD Jeff Long, Wannstedt's record was 16-19, going 5-6 in 2005, 6-6 in 2006, and 5-7 in 2007. That is a 45% winning percentage. Wannstedt was fired at Pitt in 2010.
     In the meantime, Frank Broyles retired as athletic director at the University of Arkansas. Jeff Long interviewed for the job and was hired in 2008, BY JOHN WHITE, the last hire made by White before he was removed as Chancellor.

This ends the story.  Carry on.

[Ex-Trumpet]

Welcome back, Robert.