The worst coaching hire that altered the course of Hog history after Broyles

[JIHawg]

Was it Nutt over Turbeville, Hatfield over Johnson, or Petrino over Gus? Or Jack Crow over nobody?  Or the Danny Ford experiment? 

Or somebody else?  This is a summer fun thread, so don't take it too seriously.  But after the dust has settled, what hire turned out to alter Hog history in a negative way after Broyles took us to the promise land?

To me, if Gus was hired instead of Petrino, we might have been better off, but then we wouldn't have Bielema.  I think I would rather have had the Petrino/John L fiasco happen, which led to Bielema, than to have Gus running the show.  If Gus had been hired, he'd probably still be here.  I just don't think he's on Bielema's level, so I would take the bad years to get where we are now.  It's the only way we wind up with Bielema.

But as far as the worst coaching hire, the rush hire of Jack Crow without looking at any serious upandcomers was the worst hire.

[The_Hog_Father]

Smiles....  :razorback:!!

[Lake City Hog]

Easily Jack Crowe. That hire set us back badly! Danny Ford actually recruited the players that Nutt led to the Cap 1 Bowl.

[redeye]

I'd also go with Jack Crowe.  That just made no sense, even after hearing the excuse for it.  It was shocking when it happened.

Second would be Nutt.  I have to admit that I was for it at the time, but all I knew about Nutt was what I'd read from Arkansas media over the years.  Unfortunately, it was quickly very clear that Nutt wasn't the wonder boy they had made him out to be.  In hindsight, I would choose Tuberville, but I don't know if he'd have had any better success at Arkansas.

I was giddy when Petrino was hired, because it was something I'd always wanted, but never thought would happen.  Unfortunately, I didn't realize all the problems that came with that style of play and why it was really overrated.  In hindsight, I wish we had hired Gus, although I'm still thankful for having experienced the Petrino years; both good and bad.

I'll end by mentioning Holtz.  When he was fired, I didn't understand why, and although I do know now, it's hard to put it in perspective in hindsight.  I didn't like it when Holtz was fired and I wish we could have kept him.  Hatfield was good, and may have been better without Broyles meddling, but Arkansas seemed to slip a level when Holtz left and I don't feel like we've gotten back there, yet.

[Killean]

Hiring Gus over anybody would have been the single biggest mistake, but fortunately it didn't happen.

That would have damaged the university as a whole, not just the football program.

[OneTuskOverTheLine™]

Was it Nutt over Turbeville, Hatfield over Johnson, or Petrino over Gus? Or Jack Crow over nobody?  Or the Danny Ford experiment? 

Or somebody else?  This is a summer fun thread, so don't take it too seriously.  But after the dust has settled, what hire turned out to alter Hog history in a negative way after Broyles took us to the promise land?

To me, if Gus was hired instead of Petrino, we might have been better off, but then we wouldn't have Bielema.  I think I would rather have had the Petrino/John L fiasco happen, which led to Bielema, than to have Gus running the show.  If Gus had been hired, he'd probably still be here.  I just don't think he's on Bielema's level, so I would take the bad years to get where we are now.  It's the only way we wind up with Bielema.

But as far as the worst coaching hire, the rush hire of Jack Crow without looking at any serious upandcomers was the worst hire.

I gotta go Hatfield over Johnson... After Holtz left we were loaded. Johnson could have gotten us another couple of Natty's I truly believe...

[(notOM)Rebel123]

I gotta go Hatfield over Johnson... After Holtz left we were loaded. Johnson could have gotten us another couple of Natty's I truly believe...

I'd say Jack Crowe.
Hatfield's hiring was understandable. He was coming off a 10-2 season (win over Ole Miss in the Independence Bowl),#13 ranking at Air Force, plus National Coach of the Year Honors. Jimmy's record at Okie St wasn't overly impressive. His best years were 7 & 8 win seasons. Not sure how loaded the Hogs were when Holtz left after going 6-5 in 1983, but Jimmy wouldn't have had the South Florida talent in Fayetteville that he had at Miami. JJ obviously proved to be one of the best coaches ever to walk the sidelines. But I can see why JFB hired Hatfield at the time.

[bphi11ips]

Jack Crowe ended a 30 year run of fundamentally sound football.  The Hogs had competed without the "talent" of the traditional powers with balanced teams and a strong kicking game. They seldom gave up the big play. Ford was in the process of fixing Crowe's mess when Nutt came in, reaped the benefits, and set the program back 10 years with his daddy's ball approach.  Petrino has no concept of balance and was in the process of turning Arkansas into a mid-major when he wound up in a roadside ditch.  Bret Bielema understands what made Arkansas great to begin with.  It's about the process and it's getting there.

[Inhogswetrust]

Was it Nutt over Turbeville, Hatfield over Johnson, or Petrino over Gus? Or Jack Crow over nobody?  Or the Danny Ford experiment? 

Or somebody else?  This is a summer fun thread, so don't take it too seriously.  But after the dust has settled, what hire turned out to alter Hog history in a negative way after Broyles took us to the promise land?

To me, if Gus was hired instead of Petrino, we might have been better off, but then we wouldn't have Bielema.  I think I would rather have had the Petrino/John L fiasco happen, which led to Bielema, than to have Gus running the show.  If Gus had been hired, he'd probably still be here.  I just don't think he's on Bielema's level, so I would take the bad years to get where we are now.  It's the only way we wind up with Bielema.

But as far as the worst coaching hire, the rush hire of Jack Crow without looking at any serious upandcomers was the worst hire.

So tell us who he should have hired......................On the surface hiring a former NC winning coach doesn't read as such of an "experiment" Hindsight is 20/20.

[Inhogswetrust]

I'd also go with Jack Crowe.  That just made no sense, even after hearing the excuse for it.  It was shocking when it happened.

Second would be Nutt.  I have to admit that I was for it at the time, but all I knew about Nutt was what I'd read from Arkansas media over the years.  Unfortunately, it was quickly very clear that Nutt wasn't the wonder boy they had made him out to be.  In hindsight, I would choose Tuberville, but I don't know if he'd have had any better success at Arkansas.

I was giddy when Petrino was hired, because it was something I'd always wanted, but never thought would happen.  Unfortunately, I didn't realize all the problems that came with that style of play and why it was really overrated.  In hindsight, I wish we had hired Gus, although I'm still thankful for having experienced the Petrino years; both good and bad.

I'll end by mentioning Holtz.  When he was fired, I didn't understand why, and although I do know now, it's hard to put it in perspective in hindsight.  I didn't like it when Holtz was fired and I wish we could have kept him.  Hatfield was good, and may have been better without Broyles meddling, but Arkansas seemed to slip a level when Holtz left and I don't feel like we've gotten back there, yet.

Frank did choose Tuberville...........John White's committee didn't. Hatfield was good except for being so stubborn with his boss. IF Hatfield would have relented and even changed one or two assistants and done a few more things to foster a better relationship with boosters then he could have stayed here a long time as Mike has said.

[hoggusamoungus]

I gotta go Hatfield over Johnson... After Holtz left we were loaded. Johnson could have gotten us another couple of Natty's I truly believe...

Holtz went 6-5 in his last season and left us so "loaded" at the QB position that UCA transfer Danny Nutt was able to contribute in Hatfield's first year. 

[Inhogswetrust]

Jack Crowe ended a 30 year run of fundamentally sound football.  The Hogs had competed without the "talent" of the traditional powers with balanced teams and a strong kicking game. They seldom gave up the big play. Ford was in the process of fixing Crowe's mess when Nutt came in, reaped the benefits, and set the program back 10 years with his daddy's ball approach.  Petrino has no concept of balance and was in the process of turning Arkansas into a mid-major when he wound up in a roadside ditch.  Bret Bielema understands what made Arkansas great to begin with.  It's about the process and it's getting there.

How was Hatfield's teams balanced?

[MuskogeeHogFan]

Was it Nutt over Turbeville, Hatfield over Johnson, or Petrino over Gus? Or Jack Crow over nobody?  Or the Danny Ford experiment? 

Or somebody else?  This is a summer fun thread, so don't take it too seriously.  But after the dust has settled, what hire turned out to alter Hog history in a negative way after Broyles took us to the promise land?

To me, if Gus was hired instead of Petrino, we might have been better off, but then we wouldn't have Bielema.  I think I would rather have had the Petrino/John L fiasco happen, which led to Bielema, than to have Gus running the show.  If Gus had been hired, he'd probably still be here.  I just don't think he's on Bielema's level, so I would take the bad years to get where we are now.  It's the only way we wind up with Bielema.

But as far as the worst coaching hire, the rush hire of Jack Crow without looking at any serious upandcomers was the worst hire.

I agree that Jack Crowe wasn't one of JFB's better hires. Jack Crowe is much maligned at Arkansas but he is apparently a better football coach than his record at Arkansas would indicate. Look at what he had accomplished before and after leaving Arkansas.

Crowe spent four seasons as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Auburn before moving to Clemson. The Tigers led the SEC twice in total offense and three times in rushing. Auburn played in the Florida-Citrus, Sugar, Liberty and Cotton Bowl games, and Bo Jackson became a Heisman Trophy winner under Crowe's tutelage.

He spent three years as the offensive coordinator at Clemson, where the Tigers posted a 29-6-1 record and won three-straight Atlantic Coast Conference championships. His offense led the ACC in rushing in each of his three seasons. Under his guidance, Clemson played twice in the Florida-Citrus Bowl and once in the Gator Bowl.

Offensive coordinator at Baylor from 1993 to 1995 and led the Bears to the 1994 Southwest Conference championship.

Crowe is the second winningest coach in Jacksonville State's history with a 87-57 record during his 13 years as head coach at Jacksonville State. He posted ten straight winning seasons, which was a school record, and posted the best winning percentage in the Ohio Valley Conference among conference games during his tenure. Crowe's 74.7 percent winning percentage in Ohio Valley Conference games ranks among the all-time best in the league. He led the Gamecocks to three Ohio Valley Conference Championships with an all-time OVC record of 59-20, while posting the best record in the OVC in 2003, 2004, 2009 and 2011.

So, not the best hire that JFB could have made but from all appearances, Frank thought he could get it done. It didn't take long to figure out that wasn't going to be the case at Arkansas.

I think that when JFB ran off Ken Hatfield that signaled the end of his quality decision making with regard to hiring football coaches. After Holtz and Hatfield came Crowe/Kines, Ford and then Nutt. We entered into a serious dry spell in terms of quality HC's at the SEC level.

[Inhogswetrust]

I agree that Jack Crowe wasn't one of JFB's better hires. Jack Crowe is much maligned at Arkansas but he is apparently a better football coach than his record at Arkansas would indicate. Look at what he had accomplished before and after leaving Arkansas.

Crowe spent four seasons as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Auburn before moving to Clemson. The Tigers led the SEC twice in total offense and three times in rushing. Auburn played in the Florida-Citrus, Sugar, Liberty and Cotton Bowl games, and Bo Jackson became a Heisman Trophy winner under Crowe's tutelage.

He spent three years as the offensive coordinator at Clemson, where the Tigers posted a 29-6-1 record and won three-straight Atlantic Coast Conference championships. His offense led the ACC in rushing in each of his three seasons. Under his guidance, Clemson played twice in the Florida-Citrus Bowl and once in the Gator Bowl.

Offensive coordinator at Baylor from 1993 to 1995 and led the Bears to the 1994 Southwest Conference championship.

Crowe is the second winningest coach in Jacksonville State's history with a 87-57 record during his 13 years as head coach at Jacksonville State. He posted ten straight winning seasons, which was a school record, and posted the best winning percentage in the Ohio Valley Conference among conference games during his tenure. Crowe's 74.7 percent winning percentage in Ohio Valley Conference games ranks among the all-time best in the league. He led the Gamecocks to three Ohio Valley Conference Championships with an all-time OVC record of 59-20, while posting the best record in the OVC in 2003, 2004, 2009 and 2011.

So, not the best hire that JFB could have made but from all appearances, Frank thought he could get it done. It didn't take long to figure out that wasn't going to be the case at Arkansas.

I think that when JFB ran off Ken Hatfield that signaled the end of his quality decision making with regard to hiring football coaches. After Holtz and Hatfield came Crowe/Kines, Ford and then Nutt. We entered into a serious dry spell in terms of quality HC's at the SEC level.

Correct except Ken Hatfield ran Ken Hatfield off.

[Torqued pork]

Frank did choose Tuberville...........John White's committee didn't. Hatfield was good except for being so stubborn with his boss. IF Hatfield would have relented and even changed one or two assistants and done a few more things to foster a better relationship with boosters then he could have stayed here a long time as Mike has said.

The truth. Another truth is we have White to thank for Stan Heath. White was a disaster.

[MuskogeeHogFan]

Correct except Ken Hatfield ran Ken Hatfield off.

Hatfield left of his own accord, true. But he allegedly had a bad relationship with Broyles which was why he left for Clemson without ever having visited the campus. Odd too, considering that he had played for Broyles. You have to ask yourself, what would make an Arkansas alumnus and successful HC leave so abruptly?

[bphi11ips]

How was Hatfield's teams balanced?

You read "team" as "offense". 

[MuskogeeHogFan]

Frank did choose Tuberville...........John White's committee didn't. Hatfield was good except for being so stubborn with his boss. IF Hatfield would have relented and even changed one or two assistants and done a few more things to foster a better relationship with boosters then he could have stayed here a long time as Mike has said.

I understand what you are saying but let's ask ourselves what we would say if it came out that Long and Bielema had a bad relationship because Long wanted to run his staff for him and tell him who to hire? JL would be roasted on a spit and I am not sure that we would keep Bielema for very long.

And I understand that JFB had a long and successful run as a HC at Arkansas, but once you resign that post and are only the AD and you hire a HC, you need to let him run his program as he sees fit. If you don't like the way he runs his program, you fire him. But how do you fire someone who went 55-17-1 over 6 seasons and won the SWC Championship his last two years at the helm? That would have been a tough call and one that would have caused a lot of head-scratchin among other coaches who Broyles might want to hire.

So in the end, I think that Hatfield's departure of his own accord was best for both of them (Broyles and Hatfield) and for the program.

[secfan30]

Easily Jack Crowe. That hire set us back badly! Danny Ford actually recruited the players that Nutt led to the Cap 1 Bowl.

This right here. Crowe was a horrible hire.

Next would be Nutt over Tubberville.

Smiley would fall in here since he was interim from the start.

Petrino versus Gus... I don't know about this one. I've never hated Gus, just his flock, but in the end I am wondering if we arent better off with CBB.

Hatfield was a very good, stable coach. Having Johnson would have been nice, however, Hatfield won us a lot of games.

Danny Ford brought stability to our team. Plus I can never forget hearing "I hope he tears up a knee".

[secfan30]

How was Hatfield's teams balanced?

Good defense, special teams, and an offense that could move the ball. That's pretty balanced to me.

[The NewEra]

What would it have been like if Broyles had hired Jimmy Johnson when he wanted to coach at Arkansas???

[bigbadhog]

The Hatfield hire was an absolute disaster for the direction of our program.  Broyles hired him over JJ because he was weak and broyles thought he could control.  The 1987 season put the hatfield era in perspective and he should have been fired.  No way hatfield's best teams ever make .500 in SEC play.  The decision to hire KH in 1984 damaged our program for the next 23 years...

[Darren DeLoach]

The most illogical hires were 1.Crowe 2.Nutt 3.Smiles

The Hatfield hire was a safe pick. But hiring Johnson would have changed the college football landscape.

But when boosters prevented Nutt from loading on that plane to Nebraska is the one bone headed move we made that hurt our program as much or more than anything.

[BigSexyHog]

All are great what if's.  Not sure I could rank them but if I had to choose it would be CBP over Gus. 

[Mike Irwin]

John L. Smith was the worse hire ever. I don't blame Long. He was determined not to knee jerk react in the days after Petrino was fired. That meant a temporary hire and he got suckered by JLS who was complete con man.

However, what could have been a long term disaster was avoided when Bielema was hired. Many of our fans still don't realize how bad things were the day he took over the program. Way too many players were completely dead emotionally. They didn't believe in squat when it came to coaches.

The quick turnaround from that has been nothing short of amazing.

Jack Crowe also walked into a train wreck. If he'd had previous experience as a head coach he might have been okay but he was unprepared for trying to rebuild the talent level a time when a jump to the SEC was looming.

The end of the Holtz era was also a potential fiasco. The talent level was way down from what he was handed by Broyles and staff in 1977. By the time he was fired Holtz could not even land the best players in Arkansas. Hatfield was the perfect hire at that point because he was the real "do more with less" coach.

Like Bielema, Hatfield pulled the program back up quickly. But he and coach Broyles were a bad mix. They agreed on almost nothing plus Hatfield had no intention of letting Frank tell him what to do. As I've said many times, if Hatfield had been willing to upgrade his staff he would have been at Arkansas for 15-20 years.

[Steef]

I know it really isnt part of the thread topic, but imo...the worst decision made in Razorback history by an AD...

was Houston Nutt's first contract extension.

First hire...is a roll of the dice. Contract extension is an informed decision. First hire can be an understandable mistake. A decade of mediocrity is inexcusable.

[Paul]

Although I agree JLS was a horrible hire, it allowed us to take a year to hire arguably the best coach in 30 yrs: BB.

[Inhogswetrust]

Hatfield left of his own accord, true. But he allegedly had a bad relationship with Broyles which was why he left for Clemson without ever having visited the campus. Odd too, considering that he had played for Broyles. You have to ask yourself, what would make an Arkansas alumnus and successful HC leave so abruptly?

Don't assume that all the blame lies with Frank............Also just because a player goes to a certain school as a youngster to play doesn't make them the right person as an older adult to be the coach. We all change somewhat as we get older. BOTH Frank and Hatfield deserve blame for Hatfield leaving. The fact is Kenny had issues with his boss. They were of his making just as much as Franks. He then chose to leave on his own.
His bad relationship with Broyles was as much his fault as it was Franks.

[Inhogswetrust]

Good defense, special teams, and an offense that could move the ball. That's pretty balanced to me.

You might want to check that good D part. There were some good ones but they were far from consistent. Also the O wasn't that balanced either.

[Inhogswetrust]

I understand what you are saying but let's ask ourselves what we would say if it came out that Long and Bielema had a bad relationship because Long wanted to run his staff for him and tell him who to hire? JL would be roasted on a spit and I am not sure that we would keep Bielema for very long.

And I understand that JFB had a long and successful run as a HC at Arkansas, but once you resign that post and are only the AD and you hire a HC, you need to let him run his program as he sees fit. If you don't like the way he runs his program, you fire him. But how do you fire someone who went 55-17-1 over 6 seasons and won the SWC Championship his last two years at the helm? That would have been a tough call and one that would have caused a lot of head-scratchin among other coaches who Broyles might want to hire.

So in the end, I think that Hatfield's departure of his own accord was best for both of them (Broyles and Hatfield) and for the program.

Frank did not TELL Kenny who to hire and fire. He suggested that some Assistant coaches should be changed. He never said publicly who and who should replace them. Kenny was too stubborn to even consider that his boss made a suggestion to him. Even so Kenny was not in danger of being fired unless there was a drop off in success despite his rather frosty relationship with Frank and some boosters on some things. Kenny still felt it was best to leave. He also discovered after leaving that any P5 program was going to be an issue. Ask yourself why he ended up at a place like Rice instead of another P5 program when he left Clemson.

[MuskogeeHogFan]

Don't assume that all the blame lies with Frank…………Also just because a player goes to a certain school as a youngster to play doesn't make them the right person as an older adult to be the coach. We all change somewhat as we get older. BOTH Frank and Hatfield deserve blame for Hatfield leaving. The fact is Kenny had issues with his boss. They were of his making just as much as Franks. He then chose to leave on his own.
His bad relationship with Broyles was as much his fault as it was Franks.

As I said,

I understand what you are saying but let's ask ourselves what we would say if it came out that Long and Bielema had a bad relationship because Long wanted to run his staff for him and tell him who to hire? JL would be roasted on a spit and I am not sure that we would keep Bielema for very long.

And I understand that JFB had a long and successful run as a HC at Arkansas, but once you resign that post and are only the AD and you hire a HC, you need to let him run his program as he sees fit. If you don't like the way he runs his program, you fire him. But how do you fire someone who went 55-17-1 over 6 seasons and won the SWC Championship his last two years at the helm? That would have been a tough call and one that would have caused a lot of head-scratchin among other coaches who Broyles might want to hire.

So in the end, I think that Hatfield's departure of his own accord was best for both of them (Broyles and Hatfield) and for the program.

[Inhogswetrust]

John L. Smith was the worse hire ever. I don't blame Long. He was determined not to knee jerk react in the days after Petrino was fired. That meant a temporary hire and he got suckered by JLS who was complete con man.

However, what could have been a long term disaster was avoided when Bielema was hired. Many of our fans still don't realize how bad things were the day he took over the program. Way too many players were completely dead emotionally. They didn't believe in squat when it came to coaches.

The quick turnaround from that has been nothing short of amazing.

Jack Crowe also walked into a train wreck. If he'd had previous experience as a head coach he might have been okay but he was unprepared for trying to rebuild the talent level a time when a jump to the SEC was looming.

The end of the Holtz era was also a potential fiasco. The talent level was way down from what he was handed by Broyles and staff in 1977. By the time he was fired Holtz could not even land the best players in Arkansas. Hatfield was the perfect hire at that point because he was the real "do more with less" coach.

Like Bielema, Hatfield pulled the program back up quickly. But he and coach Broyles were a bad mix. They agreed on almost nothing plus Hatfield had no intention of letting Frank tell him what to do. As I've said many times, if Hatfield had been willing to upgrade his staff he would have been at Arkansas for 15-20 years.

Once again you hit the nail on the head!

[JIHawg]

Frank did not TELL Kenny who to hire and fire. He suggested that some Assistant coaches should be changed. He never said publicly who and who should replace them. Kenny was too stubborn to even consider that his boss made a suggestion to him. Even so Kenny was not in danger of being fired unless there was a drop off in success despite his rather frosty relationship with frank and some boosters. kenny still felt it was best to leave. He also discovered after leaving that any P5 program was going to be an issue. Ask yourself why he ended up at a place like Rice instead of another P5 program………………………….

This.  Frank did these things through Orville Henry.  He would suggest to Orville that Kenny needed some new assistants and to Orville those were marching orders.  Orville would then write a few columns suggesting as such, as if it were his own thoughts, or "insiders say...." type stuff.

[Hawghiggs]

Although I agree JLS was a horrible hire, it allowed us to take a year to hire arguably the best coach in 30 yrs: BB.

I agree with this. I didn't think Bielema was going to be as good as Petrino. But I was flat out wrong.  The way he hires assistants and recruits has outright amazed me. He has an actual knack for finding talent and has shown a willingness to go to great lengths to find talented recruits for his system. 

[MuskogeeHogFan]

Once again you hit the nail on the head!

What would you say today if it were known that JL told Bielema that he needed to replace some of his staff? What would be Bielema's reaction? Frank had a hard time not being too "hands on" with the football program after he became solely the AD. He not only wanted to be the AD, but still wanted to keep his hand, to some degree, in being the HC. The danger of hiring a formerly successful football coach as your AD at the same school that he was a successful head football coach. It is a bad mix and it hurt us. I love JFB and I will always honor him for his contributions to the Arkansas program, but he stayed too long and was given too much power in every aspect other than fund raising.

[arlhog]

Are we just acting like John L Smith never happened?  Or is it still to painful to talk about?

[MuskogeeHogFan]

Are we just acting like John L Smith never happened?  Or is it still to painful to talk about?

If you read, it has already been mentioned.

[Hogs run wild]

Hatfield left of his own accord, true. But he allegedly had a bad relationship with Broyles which was why he left for Clemson without ever having visited the campus. Odd too, considering that he had played for Broyles. You have to ask yourself, what would make an Arkansas alumnus and successful HC leave so abruptly?

Didn't the fans also have a part to play with Hatfield's departure? I seem to remember a lot of the fans not liking a run oriented offense, that's why Jack Crowe was brought in. Correct me if I'm wrong, it's been a few decades.

[RussVegas Hawg]

Nutt and JLS are right there for me

[Steef]

I really dont consider the Smith fiasco to be in the same league as other conversations.

He was an interim, with no hope of being a permanent hire.

All the others were hired with full intent of support and duration.

[bphi11ips]

Didn't the fans also have a part to play with Hatfield's departure? I seem to remember a lot of the fans not liking a run oriented offense, that's why Jack Crowe was brought in. Correct me if I'm wrong, it's been a few decades.

Jack Crowe was not brought in.  He was the OC for Arkansas' s flexbone offense that had been operated very efficiently by a returning senior QB coming off back to back 10-2 seasons.  Hatfield's unexpected departure left Broyles in much the same lurch Long found himself in when he hired Smith.  Both Crowe and Smith seemed to make sense on the front end.  The difference is that Crowe was not an interim.  He was an experiment for Broyles.  One that went terribly wrong. Crowe was a very nice man and an excellent OC.  He didn't have the instincts of a great SEC head coach.

[Bacons Rebellion]

To me, the thing to notice is that the times we make poor hires, the AD (whether Broyles or Long) has had their ability to hire limited.

Hatfield fled after coach hiring season and in the middle of recruiting. No one would interview and we get Crowe, not an objectionable choice, but he obviously didn't work out for us.

After Ford was fired, we had the White Committee Decision and Nutt resulted.

After the Motorcycle Incident, it was April and virtually no one was available (Smith or Fulmer or promote an assistant).

When our AD has had free reign, we have hired two NFL coaches, a previous national championship coach, a coach from 3 straight Rose Bowls, and the highest percentage win coach in our history.

[MuskogeeHogFan]

Didn't the fans also have a part to play with Hatfield's departure? I seem to remember a lot of the fans not liking a run oriented offense, that's why Jack Crowe was brought in. Correct me if I'm wrong, it's been a few decades.

Hatfield left after bad blood had developed between he and Broyles and allegedly because JFB wanted him to change out some of his staff and Hatfield refused. He had just won two Southwest Conference Championships back to back with this staff, so I could see why Hatfield was stubborn about firing some of his staff and making a change. Who wouldn't have had the same viewpoint given the obvious results?

Additionally he allegedly left at the time that he did because opposing coaches had used some of the circulating chatter of the bad blood between JFB and Hatfield, to pick off some of Hatfield's top recruits for that recruiting season.

The truth is, IMO, Broyles should have backed out of coaching and allowed his HC to coach and run his staff and program. If he didn't want him, he should have fired him. But how do you fire a guy who just won two SWC Championships? And what would that event say to other HC's that Broyles wanted to interview for the HC'ing position? Who wants to be in a position where the AD is telling you how to coach and run your team?

As I said above, it is probably for the best for the program that JFB and Hatfield parted ways.

[hoggusamoungus]

What would it have been like if Broyles had hired Jimmy Johnson when he wanted to coach at Arkansas???

My guess is he would have had a similar record as Hatfield for five years and then bolted for the Cowboys when Jerry bought the team. 

[Poker_hog]

i know you mean football, but hiring Stan Heath over bill self was probably the worst.  It probably cost us 4-5 final fours.

[GuvHog]

Danny Ford, no doubt about it. Frank should have given Joe Kines at least another year to see if he could at least have started to turn things around. Ford's hire was a knee jerk hire by Frank as he desperately wanted a coach with a big name. Joe lead the team to an upset of a ranked Tennessee team in Knoxville which was a sign that things were headed in the right direction but the team floundered under Ford the next season.

Hooty is a very close second.

[snoblind]

What would you say today if it were known that JL told Bielema that he needed to replace some of his staff? What would be Bielema's reaction? Frank had a hard time not being too "hands on" with the football program after he became solely the AD. He not only wanted to be the AD, but still wanted to keep his hand, to some degree, in being the HC. The danger of hiring a formerly successful football coach as your AD at the same school that he was a successful head football coach. It is a bad mix and it hurt us. I love JFB and I will always honor him for his contributions to the Arkansas program, but he stayed too long and was given too much power in every aspect other than fund raising.

Wouldn't bother me that much although different situation in that JL isn't a former successful head coach. 

While I agree with most of your post I don't get this idea that JFB shouldn't been involved at all.  Not old enough to speak a great deal about the relationship JFB had with Barnie.  But there isn't a question that he had a philosophy of bringing in new blood to the staff almost every year and I always assumed at least part of that came from Barnhill's influence.  There were certainly things JFB did that came directly from his former AD. 

In every management position I've ever been in my boss and I discussed the personnel who worked for me, including hiring and firing.   

[MuskogeeHogFan]

Wouldn't bother me that much although different situation in that JL isn't a former successful head coach. 

While I agree with most of your post I don't get this idea that JFB shouldn't been involved at all.  Not old enough to speak a great deal about the relationship JFB had with Barnie.  But there isn't a question that he had a philosophy of bringing in new blood to the staff almost every year and I always assumed at least part of that came from Barnhill's influence.  There were certainly things JFB did that came directly from his former AD. 

In every management position I've ever been in my boss and I discussed the personnel who worked for me, including hiring and firing.   

I understand, it's a little different in Div I football though where you are paying what is essentially a "GM" millions of dollars each year to make the most out of his program with the personnel and management team that he feels that he need to have to produce results. The difference being, the amount of the paycheck.

Let your "Manager" have 3.5 million per year riding on the line of his performance and I would suggest his decision making might be more involved.

[snoblind]

I understand, it's a little different in Div I football though.

I do get that. 

[GoHogs1091]

I'd say Jack Crowe.
Hatfield's hiring was understandable. He was coming off a 10-2 season (win over Ole Miss in the Independence Bowl),#13 ranking at Air Force, plus National Coach of the Year Honors. Jimmy's record at Okie St wasn't overly impressive. His best years were 7 & 8 win seasons. Not sure how loaded the Hogs were when Holtz left after going 6-5 in 1983, but Jimmy wouldn't have had the South Florida talent in Fayetteville that he had at Miami. JJ obviously proved to be one of the best coaches ever to walk the sidelines. But I can see why JFB hired Hatfield at the time.

You are correct.  Johnson probably wouldn't have had the success here that he had at the University of Miami just due to the fact he wouldn't have had the same level of talent.  Also, just based on the recent (recent at that time) prior win-loss results, Hatfield was a better choice for Coach Broyles.

A lot is made about the fact that Nutt was hired instead of Tuberville, but what never gets brought up is that Nick Saban might have come here if he had been considered by us.  Saban was hired by LSU in November 1999, and we may have been able to get him after his 1997 season at Michigan State.  He certainly would have been a better choice than hiring someone who went 5-6 at Boise State in 1997.  I never understood the thought process of replacing a 4-7 Coach (Ford) with a Coach that had only gone 5-6 the same season.

Joe Kines should have been made the permanent Head Coach.  He deserved to be named the permanent Head Coach after he took us to Knoxville, TN and we won on the road at Knoxville.