Bielema has Two Problems in Year 5 he Can't Overcome

[PorkSoda]

This thread very clearly shows that the problem is either BB and Enos, BB and Rhoades, BB and lack of Shannon, BB and the lack of Pittman, Hargreaves, Rhoades but not Enos, Enos but not Rhoades, or some other individual or group of individuals.  The clarity and precision of the criticism in the thread is clear beyond crystal.

I see one common factor...

[Porkchop#1]

The only two problems I see that Bret cannot overcome is the fact in 5 years he hasn't recruited one player that can kickoff regularly into the back of the end zone or out of it.  Bret and his staff have had more than enough time to find someone in 5 years to fulfill that role.  Until he takes kickoffs seriously, he will always be at the mercy of the team we are playing that has the opportunity to run back most every kickoff while we start on the 25 everytime in SEC play. 

The other drawback is not recruiting some safeties that can actually tackle in space and prevent big plays. The reason you give up big play after big play is because your safeties aren't protecting the back end of your defense.  I don't want to hear about how tough it is to recruit because I have seen us play numerous FCS teams that have better safety play than we do.  You would think a light would come on and this staff would get serious about recruiting some bruisers back there that aren't afraid to come up and lay the wood to somebody or some speedsters that at least can keep everything in front of them.

Wut?  You mean you were not impressed with our guy making scratching motions at the Aggie QB on the long TD run, where he supposedly stepped out?  And our guy never tackled him, and still somehow ended up hurt on the play.

Just kidding...you're 100% right...we've got to get some safeties.  We're basically playing 9 against 11 almost.  It's that bad.

[moses_007]

Bielema needs to rid the staff of everyone who does not have an SEC association. They need to be replaced with SEC people who can identify with SEC players and their family.

I don't necessarily agree with that.  He just has some inferior coaches.  I don't think everyone on his staff needs to have SEC experience.  I doubt there's a single coach in the league that has that.

[Boarcephus]

I can still recall vividly one reason why Bielema wanted out of Wisconsin.  He said they would not loosen the purse strings enough for him to hire good assistants.  He'd hire one and then that guy would leave for a higher paying job. Now, that is not the problem.  Rhodes may be a defensive wiz but what I find strange is every DC he has had still played the same bend don't break defense.  This just has Bielema's paw marks all over it. 

Now the entire college coaching world knows this may be his last year at Arkansas so the chances of him reaching out and snagging a good assistant coach are slim to say the least.  I still maintain all his success was due to the system Alvarez had in place at Wisconsin and he's no more than a 500 coach on his own and to make matters worse, he's in the toughest conference in the land outside the NFL.

[12247]

I have no absolute proof that I am right about this, but from day one of BB, it seems that many of the assistants try to install and operate what he favors but then seems to drift away when they cannot make it work.  So we end up in no mans land with a bit of several different ideas and not much of anything.  Many of the assistants come in, seem to do well for a half season, maybe a season or maybe even nearly 2 seasons, then they just go fail and eventually get replaced.

Think if you are a player in this mess.  You really don't know what to do.  You are young, likely going through this for the first time with no experience to help lead you through.  Some days you could run through a steel plate wall, the next you don't even want to run, period.  Our team reflects this mental state.  We will play hard one game or half game, then go to hell the next.

Our revolving door of assistants leaves the players confused, leaves the assistants confused and likely leaves BB confused.  BB keeps doing the only thing he knows to do, replace the assistants, keep promising the fans things will get better and keep wondering why these players cannot full buy in and go forth.  The answer is him but he doesn't see that so he keeps trying to go forward the only way he knows and it just doesn't work.

[hogsolutely]

BB previous stop in his 5th year he was 11-3, an the worst season he had there was 7-6.  I don't think he is a bad coach just not an SEC coach.  If he doesn't make changes he should be gone.  This should be unacceptable even by his standards.   

[carolinahogger]

(2) Bielema and Enos are a marriage of inconvenience. Bielema is a power-run guy. His philosophy has been to base his offense around player development in the offensive line and outstanding running bucks.

That's racist.

[Piggfoot]

I don't necessarily agree with that.  He just has some inferior coaches.  I don't think everyone on his staff needs to have SEC experience.  I doubt there's a single coach in the league that has that.

I am sure you're correct but other SEC schools have an advantage that we do not have. They are located in an area filled with NFL type college athletes. We are located in the Boston mountains, far away from the Gulf coast. We need coaches who are familiar with that environment...coaches who are comfortable going into the homes of recruits. Coaches who speak the local vernacular. Coaches who have contacts and relatives, and friends who can steer them toward the right players in the coastal states.

[DeltaBoy]

I am sure you're correct but other SEC schools have an advantage that we do not have. They are located in an area filled with NFL type college athletes. We are located in the Boston mountains, far away from the Gulf coast. We need coaches who are familiar with that environment...coaches who are comfortable going into the homes of recruits. Coaches who speak the local vernacular. Coaches who have contacts and relatives, and friends who can steer them toward the right players in the coastal states.

Correct

[hawgfan4life]

Fix the OL and most of our problems are fixed.  Defense will get better because they won't be on the field as much and will play with more confidence and motivation.  KA is not the answer imo.

[farmhawg]

Yep, the wrong mixture of assistants and coordinators is definitely the problem. The same was true for the 2013 season when CBB has the best staff assembled ever at AR, according to Hogville. And then comes 2014, 2015 and 2016 when it became further obvious that upgrades were needed over and over. Maybe if CBB continues to replace assistants and coordinators he may find the right combination in 10 or 15 more years. We have the time and patience for that, don't we?

A lot of fans are now placing a lot of blame on Anderson and they could be right. But, at the same time when CBB finally got in the face of his offensive linemen around the beginning of the fourth quarter there was a dramatic change in the protection AA had in the pocket.

My point is maybe it's not so much the assistants and coordinators as it is the lack of in game coaching by the head coach. Players look up to the head coach as the ultimate word on their performance. This doesn't mean the HC undercuts his staff but does stay involved during the game with face to face contact with the coaches and players. If an assistant or coordinator is offended by this then he is in the wrong job. It's the head coach that has his job on the line.

Its all on the head coach. He has absolutely no idea how to lead.