FACTS about Malzahn's departure--For the HDN ardent supporters

[the donger]

Fact. Every Quarterback, LSU, Florida and Wis faced Sucked against the Top pass defenses in the national. Gus is overrated. He was 4 of 15 at winning high school championships. He didn't get to the championship the majority of those years.  Shiloh is a private school who had twice as much talent as anyone they played. Mitch won it all only 1 year out of 4(3 because of injury). I've heard several people say 'what about the Colts. They run the spread, the HUNH'. Comparing Springdale high school to peyton and the colts. To those I say Hey buddy, I've got a line on some Mitch Mustain sweat on a used towel.

What the hell?

[hawgtahm]

FACT: ARKANSAS DID NOT HAVE A QB THAT COULD HIT THE BROADSIDE OF A BARN.................

FACT: Felix Jones fumbled 3 times in one half.

FACT: That was one game.......................FACT: The QB's sucked in all but four.....................

FACT: vs. Utah St.--Mustain was 9/17 for 119 & 1 TD; FJ had 9 rush for 68 yds & 0 TDs
FACT: vs. Vandy--Mustain was 13/20 for 224 & 3 TDs w/ 1 INT; FJ had 11 rush for 78 yds & 0 TDs
FACT: vs. Bama--Mustain was 7/22 for 97 yds, 1 TD, 3 INT; FJ had 4 rush for 65 yds & 0 TDs
FACT: vs. Ole Miss--Mustain was 12/15 for 157, 1 TD & 0 TD; FJ had 9 rush for 51 yds & 0 TDs

4 out of 7 games played, Mustain contributed more than FJ.

Okay, I'm trying to catch up on this thread, so maybe someone already pointed this out.

Did you seriously point to 7 completions out of 22 attempts (32%) for 97 yards (4.4 yds/att), with one TD and THREE picks as a CONTRIBUTION?

Did you really compare that positively against the 16.25 yards per carry when Felix Jones DID handle the rock?

SERIOUSLY???

[Hamillionaire]

Why is it so important to a lot of the Darksiders to try and convince Huggers you are right?  Just let it go and believe what you believe.

It's not about being right or wrong.  It's about a program that is being led by a Coach and AD that are allowing the program to ruin.
Here's what has happened since Malzahn left:
-We lost the #1 prep QB in the nation last year and our second leading receiver, both ALL SEC Freshmen in some capacity.
-Lost 6 of 10 best recruits in Arkansas.
-Lost Freddy Barnett to Memphis.
-9th in recruiting or worse in the SEC.
All of this after a winning season. There are problems up there and they need to be addressed and held accountable for and not pumped with sunshine.  It hasn't been sunny in a while.

1. Damian left before Malzahn did.
2. I think we probably had lost most of em before Gus left as well but I'll give you that all the problems didn't help. Ziemba is the obvious big loss.
3. Barnett was all academics. Had nothing to do with Gus.
4. When are we ever at the top of the SEC in recruiting? BINGO! There's the problem with HDN! Who cares about all the other stuff? Gus is gone. Let it go.

[Hamillionaire]

FACT: ARKANSAS DID NOT HAVE A QB THAT COULD HIT THE BROADSIDE OF A BARN.................

FACT: Felix Jones fumbled 3 times in one half.

FACT: That was one game.......................FACT: The QB's sucked in all but four.....................

FACT: vs. Utah St.--Mustain was 9/17 for 119 & 1 TD; FJ had 9 rush for 68 yds & 0 TDs
FACT: vs. Vandy--Mustain was 13/20 for 224 & 3 TDs w/ 1 INT; FJ had 11 rush for 78 yds & 0 TDs
FACT: vs. Bama--Mustain was 7/22 for 97 yds, 1 TD, 3 INT; FJ had 4 rush for 65 yds & 0 TDs
FACT: vs. Ole Miss--Mustain was 12/15 for 157, 1 TD & 0 TD; FJ had 9 rush for 51 yds & 0 TDs

4 out of 7 games played, Mustain contributed more than FJ.

Okay, I'm trying to catch up on this thread, so maybe someone already pointed this out.

Did you seriously point to 7 completions out of 22 attempts (32%) for 97 yards (4.4 yds/att), with one TD and THREE picks as a CONTRIBUTION?

Did you really compare that positively against the 16.25 yards per carry when Felix Jones DID handle the rock?

SERIOUSLY???

Dont forget that in the Ole Miss game 75 of his passing yards were all Dmac. A simple screen pass and . . . HE GONE!

And as far as Felix, how dare you? He's the only reason we even hung with FL whatsoever. I won't even go into his other contributions but . . . sorry I'm speechless. He would be the starter on any other D1 team in the country and that says a lot about his character. In all of this mess he's the last person that deserves an attack.

[d1nonlyhogfan]

FACT: ARKANSAS DID NOT HAVE A QB THAT COULD HIT THE BROADSIDE OF A BARN.................

FACT: Felix Jones fumbled 3 times in one half.

FACT: That was one game.......................FACT: The QB's sucked in all but four.....................

FACT: vs. Utah St.--Mustain was 9/17 for 119 & 1 TD; FJ had 9 rush for 68 yds & 0 TDs
FACT: vs. Vandy--Mustain was 13/20 for 224 & 3 TDs w/ 1 INT; FJ had 11 rush for 78 yds & 0 TDs
FACT: vs. Bama--Mustain was 7/22 for 97 yds, 1 TD, 3 INT; FJ had 4 rush for 65 yds & 0 TDs
FACT: vs. Ole Miss--Mustain was 12/15 for 157, 1 TD & 0 TD; FJ had 9 rush for 51 yds & 0 TDs

4 out of 7 games played, Mustain contributed more than FJ.

Okay, I'm trying to catch up on this thread, so maybe someone already pointed this out.

Did you seriously point to 7 completions out of 22 attempts (32%) for 97 yards (4.4 yds/att), with one TD and THREE picks as a CONTRIBUTION?

Did you really compare that positively against the 16.25 yards per carry when Felix Jones DID handle the rock?

SERIOUSLY???

Dont forget that in the Ole Miss game 75 of his passing yards were all Dmac. A simple screen pass and . . . HE GONE!

And as far as Felix, how dare you? He's the only reason we even hung with FL whatsoever. I won't even go into his other contributions but . . . sorry I'm speechless. He would be the starter on any other D1 team in the country and that says a lot about his character. In all of this mess he's the last person that deserves an attack.

I'm not attacking him. I'm just being fair to Mitch. You can say what you want, but not one of the other QBs would have gone 7-0 over the stretch that Mitch did.

[Conway Cool Daddy]

FACT1: Malzahn was Rivals Offensive Coordinator of the Year.
FACT2: Malzahn made approximately $150K/year.
FACT3: Houston Nutt publicly said that he was turning the offense over to Gus and that Gus would call the plays (not signaling the plays that have been predetermined--logical inference from "turning the offense over to gus")
FACT4: The HUNH was ran sparingly (I believe only once and for a TD w/MM, but this does need to be verified) in the first game and was not ran again.
FACT5: HDN initiated interest in David Lee as a "co-offensive coordinator" and HDN publicly said it was unclear on who would actually call the plays and said something like "could be either" (maybe not an exact quote, but pretty close).
FACT6: HDN expressed the interest in David Lee prior to Malzahn showing any interest in Tulsa.
FACT7: Frank Broyles said that the "experts" say that Malzahn's offense would not work in the SEC.  NOTE: it would later be determined that Frank indicated that he was the expert at a Dallas alumni meeting; however, to my knowledge there was no news/journalist media there so we can only go by what the few people say that attended but their stories were substantively the same.
FACT8: Malzahn leaves for Tulsa, a much less prestigious program than Arkansas and the smallest enrollment of any school in Division 1 football.
FACT9: Malzahn had said publicly that Arkansas was his "dream job."
FACT10: D. Lee takes over as new O.C. making 2 times Malzahn's salary at $300K/year.
FACT11: HDN was documented in the papers as telling QB Leach when he was recruiting him a couple years ago that he was making the change from D.Lee to someone new (R. Wittke) because he wanted to go back to the "passing offense" he had at Boise.  Leach said that D.Lee leaving was one of the primary reasons he signed with Arkansas.
FACT12: D.Lee said on Drive Time Sports that he would be "calling the plays" but HDN's the head coach and if it is 3rd and 2 and he says "give me a run," he's the coach and I'll give him a run.
FACT13: There is no record that Nutt/Broyles offered Gus anymore money or control of the offense to help keep him at Arkansas.

Now, my questions to those who thinks this is about a guy who just wanted to leave and if he didn't want to be here, he could just go:
1. Why would Nutt or a good coach start looking for a co-offensive coordinator/someone else to call plays when he had the offensive coordinator of the year on staff who hadn't expressed any intention of leaving?

2. Why would you hire a guy to replace the Off. Coordinator of the year with a guy, whom, you fired/released before due to his inadequate knowledge in the passing game, just to hire him again 4 years later to help improve your passing game? 

3.  Why wouldn't you make a incessant effort to keep the Off. Coordinator of the year by offering more money or assurance of calling plays or assurance that his philosophy would be implemented more?

4. How could you not, at least, offer to double his salary to $300K--the same you are paying his replacement?

5. How do you know the HUNH offense would not work at all whenever it was it was tried but only one time?

6.  Do you have any evidence that the running game would suffer or that Felix or McFadden would get less touches?

7. Why would Malzahn leave his Dream Job, for less money and go to a weaker conference with lesser talent to work with and a less prestigious program?

8. In light of these facts and your answer to the aforementioned questions, how can you reasonably deduce that Malzahn was not "forced out" or "railroaded?"

I, like many others, know the answer to these questions, but it would really help some of those who actually question the improprieties of this program, if you (huggers/ardent supporters, whatever) could shed light on these issues.

One other question that I ommitted: Why Hire an offensive coordinator and "turn him loose" with the offense, if you didn't think his offense would work in your conference??

FACTS 3, 5, 6, and 11 are, at least in part, the opposite of facts.

Wrong these are documented facts.

[djgaffer]

FACT: ARKANSAS DID NOT HAVE A QB THAT COULD HIT THE BROADSIDE OF A BARN.................

FACT: Felix Jones fumbled 3 times in one half.

FACT: That was one game.......................FACT: The QB's sucked in all but four.....................

FACT: vs. Utah St.--Mustain was 9/17 for 119 & 1 TD; FJ had 9 rush for 68 yds & 0 TDs
FACT: vs. Vandy--Mustain was 13/20 for 224 & 3 TDs w/ 1 INT; FJ had 11 rush for 78 yds & 0 TDs
FACT: vs. Bama--Mustain was 7/22 for 97 yds, 1 TD, 3 INT; FJ had 4 rush for 65 yds & 0 TDs
FACT: vs. Ole Miss--Mustain was 12/15 for 157, 1 TD & 0 TD; FJ had 9 rush for 51 yds & 0 TDs

4 out of 7 games played, Mustain contributed more than FJ.

Okay, I'm trying to catch up on this thread, so maybe someone already pointed this out.

Did you seriously point to 7 completions out of 22 attempts (32%) for 97 yards (4.4 yds/att), with one TD and THREE picks as a CONTRIBUTION?

Did you really compare that positively against the 16.25 yards per carry when Felix Jones DID handle the rock?

SERIOUSLY???

Dont forget that in the Ole Miss game 75 of his passing yards were all Dmac. A simple screen pass and . . . HE GONE!

And as far as Felix, how dare you? He's the only reason we even hung with FL whatsoever. I won't even go into his other contributions but . . . sorry I'm speechless. He would be the starter on any other D1 team in the country and that says a lot about his character. In all of this mess he's the last person that deserves an attack.

I'm not attacking him. I'm just being fair to Mitch. You can say what you want, but not one of the other QBs would have gone 7-0 over the stretch that Mitch did.

You can say what you want, but you are speculating that no other QB could have won those seven.  I could be just as accurate by saying that we would have had the same record with no Gus, no Mitch, and no Damian.  Just speculation.  Others have speculated that we would have been 6-6 without Gus.  Just as inaccurate.

As is, Casey Dick put up similar numbers against teams that included the 3 toughest pass defenses on our schedule.  I don't know that we would have gone 7-0, but it's not unreasonable to make the argument.  For now, I'll take the guy that's still a Razorback.

[LilRounDevil]

If I turn my car over to you (I don't sell it or sign it over, I just let you drive it), is it yours? Or have I just turned over possession of my car to you?

If I want to go back to Little Rock, but I don't make it because of other circumstances, does that mean I don't have the desire?

[SooiecidetillNuttgone]

FACT1: Malzahn was Rivals Offensive Coordinator of the Year.
FACT2: Malzahn made approximately $150K/year.
FACT3: Houston Nutt publicly said that he was turning the offense over to Gus and that Gus would call the plays (not signaling the plays that have been predetermined--logical inference from "turning the offense over to gus")
FACT4: The HUNH was ran sparingly (I believe only once and for a TD w/MM, but this does need to be verified) in the first game and was not ran again.
FACT5: HDN initiated interest in David Lee as a "co-offensive coordinator" and HDN publicly said it was unclear on who would actually call the plays and said something like "could be either" (maybe not an exact quote, but pretty close).
FACT6: HDN expressed the interest in David Lee prior to Malzahn showing any interest in Tulsa.
FACT7: Frank Broyles said that the "experts" say that Malzahn's offense would not work in the SEC.  NOTE: it would later be determined that Frank indicated that he was the expert at a Dallas alumni meeting; however, to my knowledge there was no news/journalist media there so we can only go by what the few people say that attended but their stories were substantively the same.
FACT8: Malzahn leaves for Tulsa, a much less prestigious program than Arkansas and the smallest enrollment of any school in Division 1 football.
FACT9: Malzahn had said publicly that Arkansas was his "dream job."
FACT10: D. Lee takes over as new O.C. making 2 times Malzahn's salary at $300K/year.
FACT11: HDN was documented in the papers as telling QB Leach when he was recruiting him a couple years ago that he was making the change from D.Lee to someone new (R. Wittke) because he wanted to go back to the "passing offense" he had at Boise.  Leach said that D.Lee leaving was one of the primary reasons he signed with Arkansas.
FACT12: D.Lee said on Drive Time Sports that he would be "calling the plays" but HDN's the head coach and if it is 3rd and 2 and he says "give me a run," he's the coach and I'll give him a run.
FACT13: There is no record that Nutt/Broyles offered Gus anymore money or control of the offense to help keep him at Arkansas.

Now, my questions to those who thinks this is about a guy who just wanted to leave and if he didn't want to be here, he could just go:
1. Why would Nutt or a good coach start looking for a co-offensive coordinator/someone else to call plays when he had the offensive coordinator of the year on staff who hadn't expressed any intention of leaving?

2. Why would you hire a guy to replace the Off. Coordinator of the year with a guy, whom, you fired/released before due to his inadequate knowledge in the passing game, just to hire him again 4 years later to help improve your passing game? 

3.  Why wouldn't you make a incessant effort to keep the Off. Coordinator of the year by offering more money or assurance of calling plays or assurance that his philosophy would be implemented more?

4. How could you not, at least, offer to double his salary to $300K--the same you are paying his replacement?

5. How do you know the HUNH offense would not work at all whenever it was it was tried but only one time?

6.  Do you have any evidence that the running game would suffer or that Felix or McFadden would get less touches?

7. Why would Malzahn leave his Dream Job, for less money and go to a weaker conference with lesser talent to work with and a less prestigious program?

8. In light of these facts and your answer to the aforementioned questions, how can you reasonably deduce that Malzahn was not "forced out" or "railroaded?"

I, like many others, know the answer to these questions, but it would really help some of those who actually question the improprieties of this program, if you (huggers/ardent supporters, whatever) could shed light on these issues.

One other question that I ommitted: Why Hire an offensive coordinator and "turn him loose" with the offense, if you didn't think his offense would work in your conference??

You might add that GM was brought in for the purpose of collecting the Springdale players plus a few other highly recruited players such as London Crawford, Salters, etc.

[Choctaw Hog]

FACT: ARKANSAS DID NOT HAVE A QB THAT COULD HIT THE BROADSIDE OF A BARN.................

and hasn't for most of Nutt's years as coach.  I wonder why?

[tannerspapa]

Fact Nutt IS the head coach and Malzahn got run off. Malzahn was forced on him as many of you say, and Frank withdrew his support of Malzahn and sealed GMs doom.

Nutt can run Malzahn off. that is his perogative as HC. Was it stupid, i think so, but only time will tell for sure. He hired David Lee as OC, again that is his perogative. I look for a passing game that is primarily play action, a refined wildcat (incorporate a read) and just a little bit of downfield passing and probably in a desperation mode.

Who knows this RH's third year. We are not far from having the kind of defense that just needs the offense to score two to three touchdowns a game. I am not going to discount these Hogs just yet. We got Louis Campbell, T ROCK and RH , and Bobby allen well they can carry him. Look for improved play next year especially at Linebacker. It will be interesting to see if Hewitt goes back to safety.

For the record i think it was chicken droppings the way the whole Malzahn deal was handed; but whether HDN gets away with it or not will primarily depend on RF donations and season tickets sold followed by next years results.  I will kind of follow Malzahn but he has moved on and we should as well.

This is the best response I've ever seen from a hugger.  It has a necessary requirement for a logical answer:  reason.  Good point about the defensive improvement, he even acknowledge how awful Bobby Allen is.  Kudos 

Ya, I think it's the most honest answer from a hugger yet, but it still doesn't address the issue of why a coach would run off his off. coordinator of the year and two All SEC Freshmen just to replace it with a guy you've already fired because he couldn't help the passing game the last time he was on staff and replace your QB with two 3 star recruits (although, now that they are hogs, I wish them the best of success).  How is that doing what's best for the program?

to set the record straight, i am a HOGHUGGER. I love the HOGS. I culd give a crap about HDN.

However, I do understand organizational management. I do not have to agree with the reasons for change, but change IS the perogative of the person in charge. If HDN feels we will better with LEE as opposed to GM there is not much i can do about it other than not buy gear or tix.  there is no real basis to think he knows what he is doing, but you gotta admit the guy can walk through a sh-- storm and come out with his suit still white and smelling like roses.

As long as enough players support him to field a team, i am going to be there rooting for my boys in red.

Just so you know, the people like me who choose to support the HOGS do not necessarily want HDN to remain, we are just SMART enough to not bang our heads against the wall.

Every one of you HATERS ought to try the serenity prayer and get back to me. All this OCD type behavior can't be healthy for you.

[tigerinhogtown]

Name a single OC that isn't subject to his HC requirements.

Remember the LSU game, we'd been running up & down the field on them all game.  Now remember the last thme we had the ball.  Over 2 min, we thru 4 straight passes, none close - 4 and out.  You really think Nutt called that series - no way, that was Gus' screw up all the way.

The 4th quarter we dropped back to pass 7 times - got sacked on 4 & 3 (max protect my ass), threw an interception over the middle on 1st down and threw then had the last drive of 4 incomplete passes (none close) to 3 different rec'v.  It may be the QB, it may be the rec'v, I don't know.  I do recall wishing after that game that Nutt was calling the plays.

Regarding your questions, they are all true.  But if the 2 had real philosphical differences, what is improper about leting go of him.  It is Nutt's team.

[d1nonlyhogfan]

You can say what you want, but you are speculating that no other QB could have won those seven.  I could be just as accurate by saying that we would have had the same record with no Gus, no Mitch, and no Damian.  Just speculation.  Others have speculated that we would have been 6-6 without Gus.  Just as inaccurate.

As is, Casey Dick put up similar numbers against teams that included the 3 toughest pass defenses on our schedule.  I don't know that we would have gone 7-0, but it's not unreasonable to make the argument.  For now, I'll take the guy that's still a Razorback.

vs. LSU:

Casey Dick (@ home)
------------------------
3/17, 29 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT

Brent Schaeffer (@ Baton Rouge)
--------------------------------
6/14, 72 yds, 1 TD

If Ole Miss's QB could do that at Baton Rouge (and he didn't have D Mc and FJ to take the pressure off), then Casey Dick should have been able to at least get close to that. When it comes to big games, Casey is not a winner; Mitch is. It's just too bad he called Nutt a dork a year and a half ago, or we might not have had 4 losses.

[hoosieradvisor]

BULGING NUTT

Yes, Gus was forced out like a bulging Nutt
That got wedged in a jock strap disaster
While Houston sat back with finger up butt
While getting a hand job from his pastor.

I hope Gus' offense works on the college level
And then Louisville offers him a bank
And his greed takes care of his family and devil
So he can say, "I'm just trying to be Frank."

[DeltaBoy]

 Thanks TULAWHOG

but Huggers like Frank and NUTT don't want the TRUTH !

[LilRounDevil]

BULGING NUTT

Yes, Gus was forced out like a bulging Nutt
That got wedged in a jock strap disaster
While Houston sat back with finger up butt
While getting a hand job from his pastor.

I hope Gus’ offense works on the college level
And then Louisville offers him a bank
And his greed takes care of his family and devil
So he can say, “I’m just trying to be Frank.”

Who is his pastor?  Just curious?

[hogs63]

Why is it so important to a lot of the Darksiders to try and convince Huggers you are right?  Just let it go and believe what you believe.

It's not about being right or wrong.  It's about a program that is being led by a Coach and AD that are allowing the program to ruin.
Here's what has happened since Malzahn left:
-We lost the #1 prep QB in the nation last year and our second leading receiver, both ALL SEC Freshmen in some capacity.
-Lost 6 of 10 best recruits in Arkansas.
-Lost Freddy Barnett to Memphis.
-9th in recruiting or worse in the SEC.
All of this after a winning season. There are problems up there and they need to be addressed and held accountable for and not pumped with sunshine.  It hasn't been sunny in a while.

We lost Freddie Barnett to Memphis because he didn't take care of his business in the classroom not because of Gus leaving. You would think that if it was because of Gus leaving his little brother would not still be coming to the hill.

[Fletch]

Guys this is the kind of argument that is actually constructive. I wish more threads were like this. It shows that what it all boils down to once you step back and take the emotion out of the argument is your perspective. Were there lies told? It appears so. Were people misled? Again, I think everyone would have to agree this is true given the recent turn of events. The only question is as hog fans how are you going to choose to react to the given situation?

My personal opinion is this: I was ecstatic when we were 10-1 although I didn't like the lack of a competent passing attack. I was devastated when we ended up 10-4 due the ramifications of not having the aformentioned ability to pass. I am disgusted at the turn of events that has turned our program into a national joke and I think there is plenty of blame to go around, but I feel the ultimate responsibility falls on the administration due solely to the fact that there has to be accountability somewhere.

Selfishly I want to win and win with style points by having the ability to run or pass whenever needed. In the end that is what makes football fun to watch. Just like our basketball team even when we win sometimes it is painful to watch and I find myself leaving games disappointed after a victory. I have to say that our style of play, while effective the majority of the time is not fun to watch and the selfish side of me puts a lot of reliance on the entertainment value. Ultimately, however, as a loyal hog fan I just want to win and if it takes winning in a manner that is frustrating, boring, and not entertaining then I just have to prepare myself and work on my attitude because that is what I have the most control over.

I personally think the program needs to go in a different direction and that means I am ready for a new coach. Not because I can't stand HDN or hold any annimosity toward him, but because I think after nine years of average performance and an inability or unwillingness to develop a passing game our future success will be limited to what we have become accustomed to. I also find it disconcerting that we have such a divided fanbase and I think sometimes the only way to mend all of the broken fences is to make a change in the direction of the program. Will we win more games? I don't have the slightest idea but I do believe that sometimes an organization has to take a leap of faith and do what is necessary to show it is willing to take care of the most  important thing of all, it's customers.

[Ouachihog]

Its called beating a dead horse- or as Rick says- beating a horse to death

Or according to RR....."same song second verse."  "Again Rick it's all about the style points." 

[HogSophist]

Are you attacking me?  I can't tell if you calling me a south park character and a whiner and someone who doesn't care about child molestation is being derogatory....   I think it is.

FACT.....................I did not join that club with Chef..............................

if you had, you would have been eaten by a bear!

[HogSophist]

I am  a "fence rider"  but I have a couple of questions:

1:) who precticted that we would be 10-4 before the season?  Not many maybe 3-5 %..so why are you B@itching.  Most were predicting another losing season.

2.)  Pick a side either Gus called the plays or not.  You cant have it both ways.  CO OC ..was that Gus or Nutt.  Dont flip it to appease your side of the agument.

3.)  So if we ran the HUNH and went 4-8 you guys would be ok with that.  We air it out but as long as its  who you  have made chosen ones its ok?  (Note No Names were mentioned)

4.)  Why and the hell are we still talking about 3 people that left the prgram?   We had a player runner up at the heisman and some of you want him to get hurt
to get Nutt fired.  Plus there was only a few posts about him (DMAC) through the seaon and still hardly any posts about him.  Do you not realize this is prolly the best player this University has ever seen?  He is a hog and will always will be.  Last time I checked football was a team sport.. you are either on or off...they left.  So man up and support the ones that stayed besides who is coahing.  They are the ones that play every saturday and want to win. 

Can't root for them find another team...this is getting old.  We look like idiots.  NO ONE in the nation thought we shouldnt have given our rb's the ball. 
Sorry I had to rant but this is getting old.

That ridiculously talented(lucky?) professional guru(handicapper), said Arkansas should win 10 games (if memory serves) and outlined all of his reasons nicely (phil Steel(sp)

[Pigskin_Porker]

Fletch nailed it! 

[artyhog]

FACT: ARKANSAS DID NOT HAVE A QB THAT COULD HIT THE BROADSIDE OF A BARN.................

FACT: How do we know whenever every receiver is covered and there are only two of them on a given play that are actually eligible to receive a pass...courtesy of HDN max protect.

I guess he is talking about them catching the ones when they were open.

[darkhogfan]

It is blatantly obvious who is in charge:  whether hugger, hater or neither (which I happen to be) you have to say its JFB.  He's the CEO, OC, DEF coach, everything down to the person who says who is a must get in recruiting.  Houston Nutt appears to be coach in title alone, as seems to be the case with GM as OC.  One thing that cannot be denied by anyone:  The Gus Hunh spread was not ran this season and we were promised it would be.

[dirtydoghog]

FACT1: Malzahn was Rivals Offensive Coordinator of the Year.
FACT2: Malzahn made approximately $150K/year.
FACT3: Houston Nutt publicly said that he was turning the offense over to Gus and that Gus would call the plays (not signaling the plays that have been predetermined--logical inference from "turning the offense over to gus")
FACT4: The HUNH was ran sparingly (I believe only once and for a TD w/MM, but this does need to be verified) in the first game and was not ran again.
FACT5: HDN initiated interest in David Lee as a "co-offensive coordinator" and HDN publicly said it was unclear on who would actually call the plays and said something like "could be either" (maybe not an exact quote, but pretty close).
FACT6: HDN expressed the interest in David Lee prior to Malzahn showing any interest in Tulsa.
FACT7: Frank Broyles said that the "experts" say that Malzahn's offense would not work in the SEC.  NOTE: it would later be determined that Frank indicated that he was the expert at a Dallas alumni meeting; however, to my knowledge there was no news/journalist media there so we can only go by what the few people say that attended but their stories were substantively the same.
FACT8: Malzahn leaves for Tulsa, a much less prestigious program than Arkansas and the smallest enrollment of any school in Division 1 football.
FACT9: Malzahn had said publicly that Arkansas was his "dream job."
FACT10: D. Lee takes over as new O.C. making 2 times Malzahn's salary at $300K/year.
FACT11: HDN was documented in the papers as telling QB Leach when he was recruiting him a couple years ago that he was making the change from D.Lee to someone new (R. Wittke) because he wanted to go back to the "passing offense" he had at Boise.  Leach said that D.Lee leaving was one of the primary reasons he signed with Arkansas.
FACT12: D.Lee said on Drive Time Sports that he would be "calling the plays" but HDN's the head coach and if it is 3rd and 2 and he says "give me a run," he's the coach and I'll give him a run.
FACT13: There is no record that Nutt/Broyles offered Gus anymore money or control of the offense to help keep him at Arkansas.

Now, my questions to those who thinks this is about a guy who just wanted to leave and if he didn't want to be here, he could just go:
1. Why would Nutt or a good coach start looking for a co-offensive coordinator/someone else to call plays when he had the offensive coordinator of the year on staff who hadn't expressed any intention of leaving?

2. Why would you hire a guy to replace the Off. Coordinator of the year with a guy, whom, you fired/released before due to his inadequate knowledge in the passing game, just to hire him again 4 years later to help improve your passing game? 

3.  Why wouldn't you make a incessant effort to keep the Off. Coordinator of the year by offering more money or assurance of calling plays or assurance that his philosophy would be implemented more?

4. How could you not, at least, offer to double his salary to $300K--the same you are paying his replacement?

5. How do you know the HUNH offense would not work at all whenever it was it was tried but only one time?

6.  Do you have any evidence that the running game would suffer or that Felix or McFadden would get less touches?

7. Why would Malzahn leave his Dream Job, for less money and go to a weaker conference with lesser talent to work with and a less prestigious program?

8. In light of these facts and your answer to the aforementioned questions, how can you reasonably deduce that Malzahn was not "forced out" or "railroaded?"

I, like many others, know the answer to these questions, but it would really help some of those who actually question the improprieties of this program, if you (huggers/ardent supporters, whatever) could shed light on these issues.

One other question that I ommitted: Why Hire an offensive coordinator and "turn him loose" with the offense, if you didn't think his offense would work in your conference??

You might add that GM was brought in for the purpose of collecting the Springdale players plus a few other highly recruited players such as London Crawford, Salters, etc.

Maybe, but Gus didn't exactly get nothing out of the deal huh.....

[MGCAPRI]

POSTED THIS ON ANOTHER THREAD ALSO BUT FITS THIS DISCUSSION BETTER SO GONNA POST IT HERE ALSO...

Forwarded to me from a buddy, it was sent to him by a former player from the 80's that is still somewhat connected to the program.
Here's a summary of what actually happened...


  1) On Thurs. last week Rob Taylor called Mitch and told him he needed to show up for a press conference on Tuesday to announce the hiring of a new co-offensive coordinator and they want Mitch to be there along with some other players to show support. Taylor would not give out names. Mitch calls Gus to ask him what is going on with this, Gus says he doesn't know but not to worry about it.

  2) Gus then calls Houston to ask him if they have hired a co-offensive coordinator. Houston denies it, says there is nothing to this story, don't worry about it. The next day Taylor is fired (don't know if this had anything to do with the firing or not).

  3) Gus gets a call Friday night from Todd Graham asking him to come with him to Tulsa to be the offensive coordinator, that he believes in Gus'
system and that he will let him run his offense. Gus tells him he likes Arkansas and wants to make it work here. Gus tells his wife, she says let's go but Gus says no, I want to make it work here at Arkansas.


  4) Gus gets a call from Chris Mortensen (they're still friends I
guess)
and Chris tells Gus - "I just wanted to tell you what my contacts have been telling me - that David Lee is leaving the Cowboys and will be announced as the co-offensive coordinator for the Razorbacks next week and that the plan is to move Gus up to the press box and that David will call the plays".
Gus
is obviously shocked by this and goes to the office to talk to Nutt.

  5) Gus goes to Houston's office and asks Nutt is David Lee coming to be the co-offensive coordinator. Nutt says yes that they want David's expertise in offense and that they think he could add a lot to the team. Gus asks about the co-offensive coordinator position and Nutt tells him that in order to hire someone with David's experience they have to offer him the title of coordinator. Gus then says and I'm paraphrasing - "so you're telling the media I will have more control over the offense next year yet I actually will have less, how long have you known about this" and Nutt tells him that look, you know we've been after David for a long time and we tried to hire him last year when you came on board. Gus said yes but that was to be the qb coach but we hired Alex. Nutt then told him they just think David can add a lot to the team and can help shore up some things on offense. Gus I guess is stunned by this, and he tells Houston - "I have done everything you have asked of me, I have supported you through everything this past year, all the rumors and turmoil and I have been very good with the media during the season and I was named the national offensive coordinator of the year (by
rivals) and not one person on this staff has said congratulations to me, not you, not Reggie, Frank no one, yet everyone around here is praising Reggie because he is a Broyles award finalist." Gus went on to tell Nutt that Todd Graham had contacted him and wanted him to be the offensive coordinator at Tulsa. Nutt told Gus - "Well, if that's what you think you need to do, then let me know because I don't want to be side swiped by the media".

  Lindsey has tried to talk Gus out of leaving and has told Gus that he can get it in writing that Gus will call the plays but that he can't be on the field and ensure that it happens, that maybe they can talk to Frank, Gus tells him thanks but no thanks, I'm going to Tulsa to prove what I can do.
Apparently Lindsey has talked to Frank about retiring or stepping down and Frank was adamant that he would not step down. And that if Lindsey tried to get him to step down he would not go down without a fight and would bring out all of the dirty laundry on Lindsey.
************************************************************************
***

[Mark Martin Fan]

I think we lost Freddy Barnett due to grades.  It is my understanding that he can't play at any SEC school because his grades don't meet SEC standards. 

Also, if Gus wasn't allowed to run his offense and had to call plays from a shortlist of plays from Houston, how did he win OC of the year?  Gus didn't get to run his offense, yet he is the OC of the year...what does that say?  I ask because I really don't see how someone running Nutt's plays could win OC of the year.....maybe it was the 4-5 trick plays....can someone explain how this happened? 

I'm not arguing the point that HDN took over the offense early in the season...but I'm perplexed the people are impressed the the OC of the year award yet the same people are mad that Gus didn't get to run "his offense"....any help regarding this particular issue would be appreciated.

thanks!!!!

[Hamillionaire]

I think we lost Freddy Barnett due to grades.  It is my understanding that he can't play at any SEC school because his grades don't meet SEC standards. 

Also, if Gus wasn't allowed to run his offense and had to call plays from a shortlist of plays from Houston, how did he win OC of the year?  Gus didn't get to run his offense, yet he is the OC of the year...what does that say?  I ask because I really don't see how someone running Nutt's plays could win OC of the year.....maybe it was the 4-5 trick plays....can someone explain how this happened? 

I'm not arguing the point that HDN took over the offense early in the season...but I'm perplexed the people are impressed the the OC of the year award yet the same people are mad that Gus didn't get to run "his offense"....any help regarding this particular issue would be appreciated.

thanks!!!!

I've said this all along. You can't have it both ways. Either he called the plays or he didn't.

[TULAWHOG]

POSTED THIS ON ANOTHER THREAD ALSO BUT FITS THIS DISCUSSION BETTER SO GONNA POST IT HERE ALSO...

Forwarded to me from a buddy, it was sent to him by a former player from the 80's that is still somewhat connected to the program.
Here's a summary of what actually happened...


  1) On Thurs. last week Rob Taylor called Mitch and told him he needed to show up for a press conference on Tuesday to announce the hiring of a new co-offensive coordinator and they want Mitch to be there along with some other players to show support. Taylor would not give out names. Mitch calls Gus to ask him what is going on with this, Gus says he doesn't know but not to worry about it.

  2) Gus then calls Houston to ask him if they have hired a co-offensive coordinator. Houston denies it, says there is nothing to this story, don't worry about it. The next day Taylor is fired (don't know if this had anything to do with the firing or not).

  3) Gus gets a call Friday night from Todd Graham asking him to come with him to Tulsa to be the offensive coordinator, that he believes in Gus'
system and that he will let him run his offense. Gus tells him he likes Arkansas and wants to make it work here. Gus tells his wife, she says let's go but Gus says no, I want to make it work here at Arkansas.


  4) Gus gets a call from Chris Mortensen (they're still friends I
guess)
and Chris tells Gus - "I just wanted to tell you what my contacts have been telling me - that David Lee is leaving the Cowboys and will be announced as the co-offensive coordinator for the Razorbacks next week and that the plan is to move Gus up to the press box and that David will call the plays".
Gus
is obviously shocked by this and goes to the office to talk to Nutt.

  5) Gus goes to Houston's office and asks Nutt is David Lee coming to be the co-offensive coordinator. Nutt says yes that they want David's expertise in offense and that they think he could add a lot to the team. Gus asks about the co-offensive coordinator position and Nutt tells him that in order to hire someone with David's experience they have to offer him the title of coordinator. Gus then says and I'm paraphrasing - "so you're telling the media I will have more control over the offense next year yet I actually will have less, how long have you known about this" and Nutt tells him that look, you know we've been after David for a long time and we tried to hire him last year when you came on board. Gus said yes but that was to be the qb coach but we hired Alex. Nutt then told him they just think David can add a lot to the team and can help shore up some things on offense. Gus I guess is stunned by this, and he tells Houston - "I have done everything you have asked of me, I have supported you through everything this past year, all the rumors and turmoil and I have been very good with the media during the season and I was named the national offensive coordinator of the year (by
rivals) and not one person on this staff has said congratulations to me, not you, not Reggie, Frank no one, yet everyone around here is praising Reggie because he is a Broyles award finalist." Gus went on to tell Nutt that Todd Graham had contacted him and wanted him to be the offensive coordinator at Tulsa. Nutt told Gus - "Well, if that's what you think you need to do, then let me know because I don't want to be side swiped by the media".

  Lindsey has tried to talk Gus out of leaving and has told Gus that he can get it in writing that Gus will call the plays but that he can't be on the field and ensure that it happens, that maybe they can talk to Frank, Gus tells him thanks but no thanks, I'm going to Tulsa to prove what I can do.
Apparently Lindsey has talked to Frank about retiring or stepping down and Frank was adamant that he would not step down. And that if Lindsey tried to get him to step down he would not go down without a fight and would bring out all of the dirty laundry on Lindsey.
************************************************************************
***

This makes perfect sense in light of the facts.  The huggers are just too short sighted to comprehend the nature of this situation.  So be it, but most people with any respect for reason knows 1. Gus was forced out; 2. He was never welcome and treated terrible by his colleagues; 3. He was defrauded from the second Coach Nutt opened his mouth to Gus concerning being the offensive coordinator as Nutt NEVER had that intention.  The facts are there and this type of thing doesn't happen all over the place or we would here about other "soap opera" programs. 
Good Post MGCAPRI, that fills in the gaps quite consistently.

[d1nonlyhogfan]

I think we lost Freddy Barnett due to grades.  It is my understanding that he can't play at any SEC school because his grades don't meet SEC standards. 

Also, if Gus wasn't allowed to run his offense and had to call plays from a shortlist of plays from Houston, how did he win OC of the year?  Gus didn't get to run his offense, yet he is the OC of the year...what does that say?  I ask because I really don't see how someone running Nutt's plays could win OC of the year.....maybe it was the 4-5 trick plays....can someone explain how this happened? 

I'm not arguing the point that HDN took over the offense early in the season...but I'm perplexed the people are impressed the the OC of the year award yet the same people are mad that Gus didn't get to run "his offense"....any help regarding this particular issue would be appreciated.

thanks!!!!

I've said this all along. You can't have it both ways. Either he called the plays or he didn't.

Either Nutt should get credit for 10 wins over teams w/ a combined record of 54-70 AND 4 losses (3 in a row), or he doesn't deserve credit for any of it. Can't have it both ways.

[Hamillionaire]

I think we lost Freddy Barnett due to grades.  It is my understanding that he can't play at any SEC school because his grades don't meet SEC standards. 

Also, if Gus wasn't allowed to run his offense and had to call plays from a shortlist of plays from Houston, how did he win OC of the year?  Gus didn't get to run his offense, yet he is the OC of the year...what does that say?  I ask because I really don't see how someone running Nutt's plays could win OC of the year.....maybe it was the 4-5 trick plays....can someone explain how this happened? 

I'm not arguing the point that HDN took over the offense early in the season...but I'm perplexed the people are impressed the the OC of the year award yet the same people are mad that Gus didn't get to run "his offense"....any help regarding this particular issue would be appreciated.

thanks!!!!

I've said this all along. You can't have it both ways. Either he called the plays or he didn't.

Either Nutt should get credit for 10 wins over teams w/ a combined record of 54-70 AND 4 losses (3 in a row), or he doesn't deserve credit for any of it. Can't have it both ways.

I think we lost Freddy Barnett due to grades.  It is my understanding that he can't play at any SEC school because his grades don't meet SEC standards. 

Also, if Gus wasn't allowed to run his offense and had to call plays from a shortlist of plays from Houston, how did he win OC of the year?  Gus didn't get to run his offense, yet he is the OC of the year...what does that say?  I ask because I really don't see how someone running Nutt's plays could win OC of the year.....maybe it was the 4-5 trick plays....can someone explain how this happened? 

I'm not arguing the point that HDN took over the offense early in the season...but I'm perplexed the people are impressed the the OC of the year award yet the same people are mad that Gus didn't get to run "his offense"....any help regarding this particular issue would be appreciated.

thanks!!!!

I've said this all along. You can't have it both ways. Either he called the plays or he didn't.

Either Nutt should get credit for 10 wins over teams w/ a combined record of 54-70 AND 4 losses (3 in a row), or he doesn't deserve credit for any of it. Can't have it both ways.

I completely agree. He gets credit for the wins over the pushovers and the losses to the big boys. He's the HC. Just pointing out that many complain that Gus wasn't allowed to call the plays. Then they say that the ship is gonna sink without him.

[The Coletrain]

I think GM is a great coach.  Let me start by saying that.  I stay out of these HDN vs. GM debates 99% of the time.  But it does make me laugh that all year I read about HDN's the one calling the plays and GM isn't getting to run the offense.  Then the first thing that's listed as Fact is GM winning the Rivals Offensive Coordinator of Year.  For a team that "ran HDN's offense all year," it's kinda funny that GM still got the credit for it.  He was in a no-lose situation.  If we succeed, it was because of GM's offense.  If we fail, it was because of HDN's offense.  I don't know that I have an opinion on it . . . just an observation. 

[Mark Martin Fan]

Yeah, I can't get this to work....if Gus was stuck with Houston's offense, how in the world does Gus win OC of the year.  If Gus did create an offense that took advantage of our best weapons, why is everybody griping about Nutt running the offense? 

Also, I find it interesting that Fact 1 is Gus wins OC of the year...but no mention of HDN winning SEC coach of the year.

Please note, I really like Gus and think he will do very well.  I wish he could have stayed and helped balance our offense but it didn't work out.  However, as much as I respect Gus, giving him props for winning OC of the year while supposedly being stuck with HDN's offense is hard to get to work for me.....

GO HOGS...

[Hogphilia]

Fact. Every Quarterback, LSU, Florida and Wis faced Sucked against the Top pass defenses in the national. Gus is overrated. He was 4 of 15 at winning high school championships. He didn't get to the championship the majority of those years.  Shiloh is a private school who had twice as much talent as anyone they played. Mitch won it all only 1 year out of 4(3 because of injury). I've heard several people say 'what about the Colts. They run the spread, the HUNH'. Comparing Springdale high school to peyton and the colts. To those I say Hey buddy, I've got a line on some Mitch Mustain sweat on a used towel.

What???  You must be Frank Broyles' speech writer....

[d1nonlyhogfan]

Yeah, I can't get this to work....if Gus was stuck with Houston's offense, how in the world does Gus win OC of the year.  If Gus did create an offense that took advantage of our best weapons, why is everybody griping about Nutt running the offense? 

Also, I find it interesting that Fact 1 is Gus wins OC of the year...but no mention of HDN winning SEC coach of the year.

Please note, I really like Gus and think he will do very well.  I wish he could have stayed and helped balance our offense but it didn't work out.  However, as much as I respect Gus, giving him props for winning OC of the year while supposedly being stuck with HDN's offense is hard to get to work for me.....

GO HOGS...

Gus =

National

OC of the year
Nutt = SEC COY

[Mark Martin Fan]

Yeah, I can't get this to work....if Gus was stuck with Houston's offense, how in the world does Gus win OC of the year.  If Gus did create an offense that took advantage of our best weapons, why is everybody griping about Nutt running the offense? 

Also, I find it interesting that Fact 1 is Gus wins OC of the year...but no mention of HDN winning SEC coach of the year.

Please note, I really like Gus and think he will do very well.  I wish he could have stayed and helped balance our offense but it didn't work out.  However, as much as I respect Gus, giving him props for winning OC of the year while supposedly being stuck with HDN's offense is hard to get to work for me.....

GO HOGS...

Gus =

National

OC of the year
Nutt = SEC COY

OK...one more time...did Gus win National OC of the Year running his offense or Nutt's...that is all I want to figure out.  Thanks!!!

[hogfanfromlr]

Fact. Every Quarterback, LSU, Florida and Wis faced Sucked against the Top pass defenses in the national. Gus is overrated. He was 4 of 15 at winning high school championships. He didn't get to the championship the majority of those years.  Shiloh is a private school who had twice as much talent as anyone they played. Mitch won it all only 1 year out of 4(3 because of injury). I've heard several people say 'what about the Colts. They run the spread, the HUNH'. Comparing Springdale high school to peyton and the colts. To those I say Hey buddy, I've got a line on some Mitch Mustain sweat on a used towel.

Whatsup, what are you babbling about? 

Name me 5 coaches in the state history that have won a championship in over 25% of the years they coached.  As for the talent base at private schools your losing even more creditability.  It's called discipline, not talent.  The players execute and do exactly what they're told and that's why they win. They are a product of a system that works.  The fact is that every program he went to got considerably better.  Shiloh wasn't on the map until he was there, and look at Hughes now.  Those that just like to make up crap to make Gus look bad, need to think before they speak.

[Nashville Fan]

A Dallas Reporter said that "David Lee turned down the Arkansas OC job last Feb", just 2 months after GM and AW were hired, HDN/JFB never intended on having GM call a play. HDN/JFB never intended on "Turning Gus Loose". How could they?

[d1nonlyhogfan]

Yeah, I can't get this to work....if Gus was stuck with Houston's offense, how in the world does Gus win OC of the year.  If Gus did create an offense that took advantage of our best weapons, why is everybody griping about Nutt running the offense? 

Also, I find it interesting that Fact 1 is Gus wins OC of the year...but no mention of HDN winning SEC coach of the year.

Please note, I really like Gus and think he will do very well.  I wish he could have stayed and helped balance our offense but it didn't work out.  However, as much as I respect Gus, giving him props for winning OC of the year while supposedly being stuck with HDN's offense is hard to get to work for me.....

GO HOGS...

Gus =

National

OC of the year
Nutt = SEC COY

OK...one more time...did Gus win National OC of the Year running his offense or Nutt's...that is all I want to figure out.  Thanks!!!

He did it with a one-dimensional offense; imagine what he could have done with free reign over the passing offense.

[d1nonlyhogfan]

Fact. Every Quarterback, LSU, Florida and Wis faced Sucked against the Top pass defenses in the national. Gus is overrated. He was 4 of 15 at winning high school championships. He didn't get to the championship the majority of those years.  Shiloh is a private school who had twice as much talent as anyone they played. Mitch won it all only 1 year out of 4(3 because of injury). I've heard several people say 'what about the Colts. They run the spread, the HUNH'. Comparing Springdale high school to peyton and the colts. To those I say Hey buddy, I've got a line on some Mitch Mustain sweat on a used towel.

Whatsup, what are you babbling about? 

Name me 5 coaches in the state history that have won a championship in over 25% of the years they coached.  As for the talent base at private schools your losing even more creditability.  It's called discipline, not talent.  The players execute and do exactly what they're told and that's why they win. They are a product of a system that works.  The fact is that every program he went to got considerably better.  Shiloh wasn't on the map until he was there, and look at Hughes now.  Those that just like to make up crap to make Gus look bad, need to think before they speak.

Oh, and Gus is just as good at motivating players as Nutt.

[grego5075]

For 300,000 dollars don't you think we could have looked for an OC with a better resume. From programs with successful passing attacks. Control was the only thing HDN looked for in this rehire. More food for thought, many people have said why worry we have Dmac and Jones,Monk,Hillis.well when they leave or get hurt who has committed that can replace them.2006 was the year for a statement,Heisman winner in championship game gets beat, runner up  gets beat in non BCS game. 3wks to practice and we all fell for we got Dmac why pass.