Something else is going on here

[BroyledNutts]

Why would misappropriation of funds not be grounds to fire him with cause and save the 4+ million? If everything we hear is true they had all of the leverage to end things without the university owing him that much money.

As Chancellor, would you want "FIRED FOR MISAPPROPRIATION OF FUNDS" running on every ESPN channel? Don't think the NCAA wouldn't love to come sniffing around Integrity U... better to say farewell, job well done, here's your contract money, and keep prying eyes and uncomfortable questions as far from the actual functions of the Athletic Department as possible.

[wachhog]

I get it that there are a bunch of you who wanted both JL and BB gone and now, you've gotten 1/2 of that wish.

But, it's the wrong half.  Besides the football program, everything else seems to be in great shape.  So, why fire the AD who has everything in the athletic program cruising along except for the football program - fire the football coach - yeah, I know that there are those who think that JL was fired because he wouldn't fire BB and, if BB is fired before the end of the week, I'll backtrack and agree with you.  But, if BB continues to be the football coach through the end of the season, that reason won't fly. Why fire JL now if you're willing to let BB stay here through the end of the season?  Wait until the end of the season and, then, if JL won't fire BB, fire him then.  Unless BB gets fired by the end of this week, that reason doesn't make sense.

Do you really believe that Long would sacrifice himself for the sake of BB when he knows that the BT/Chancellor can fire him and get rid of the FB coach anyway? Doesn't make any sense that JL would "fall on his sword" when he knows, as any rational person would know, that he can't avoid the ultimate result anyway.

So, what happened today?  The AD got fired but to what end? It has to be that he either did something or refused to do something that no one knows about and something other than firing or not firing BB.  Maybe it will come out down the road and maybe it won't.  It just doesn't make sense that it happened today unless there's some immediate reason to change course.  The people on the BT are astute business people - the fact that this happened today tells me that there's some reason that they needed to get rid of JL today in order to protect the university from something or in order to take advantage of some option that has presented itself that JL wasn't on board with.  Otherwise, it makes no sense for it to happen before the season is over.

We will get crucified nationally because of JL's stature in the national scheme of things.  Something had to have gone on that made the BT willing to suffer that criticism other than whether or not he would fire BB.  Hopefully, we will find out what it is/was, but I doubt it.

The customers were no longer buying what he was selling. It's that simple.

[DoubleReedHawgCaller]

Did they ever have the audit that was being talked about here a month or so ago?

[Hoggish1]

Just stop.

[Rudy Baylor]

Okay, this here's the real skinny. Jeff Long is a shape-shifting reptilian alien from Orion's Belt. These other aliens, sometimes called greys, or little green men, but we know them more locally as the GOBN, they're in a rivalry with the shape-shifters that goes back thousands, perhaps billions, of years. Well, these GOBN's, if you will, they're wimpy little things to look at, but in reality they have very powerful brains. They're like the Joe Montana's of the alien kingdom. So anyhow the BoT was supposed to meet to discuss the ancient question of Pepsi vs Coke. Now here's what may have happened. The mercenary, free-agent alien we sometimes know as BP, or he-who-can't-be-trusted-but-he-can-really-coach-football, he sent one of his fem-bots from the athletic department (yes, if you ask someone like Alex Jones who really knows the inside scoop, BP still maintains a network of them in Fayetteville and elsewhere) into the conference room ahead of the meeting. She, it seems, changed out all the tin-foil hats of the BoT's, made with real Reynolds aluminum, for tin-foil hats made of gum wrappers. We all know those don't work as well. So when the BoT's came in and dutifully put on their headgear, the GOBN's were easily able to commandeer their minds. Within a few minutes they had fired Jeff Long. Wait a sec! I'm getting information regarding the Beilema conundrum through my Verizon Cantenna that I've reprogrammed. I'll get back...

Thanks Ponderin

[Hoggish1]

Or he was fired so that we could get a new AD in place that would then fire BB and hire a new coach... Most coaches won't want to go somewhere if they don't know who their boss is going to be.

Ding, ding DING!

[snoblind]

He was probably fired last week. They likely just gave him a week to notify appropriate channels, talk to CFP, etc.

Could be.

[KlubhouseKonnected]

Again......yep, he was fired and, yep maybe he needed to be fired and, yep, maybe he made every power that be mad but.........why today?  Why before then end of the FB season?  What was it that necessitated it happening before not only the end of the FB season but before the firing of the FB coach?

This is not about whether or not he needed to be fired...it is about, why now?  Why today?

There is a valid reason. So that they can have a new AD before everyone else is done playing ball. The any HC candidate with other P5 options will probably want to know who his boss will be prior to taking a job.

[checkraiser88]

This thread has turned into an episode of Info Wars..

[ricepig]

As Chancellor, would you want "FIRED FOR MISAPPROPRIATION OF FUNDS" running on every ESPN channel? Don't think the NCAA wouldn't love to come sniffing around Integrity U... better to say farewell, job well done, here's your contract money, and keep prying eyes and uncomfortable questions as far from the actual functions of the Athletic Department as possible.

Umm, I don't think it would pass an internal UofA system audit, much less one by the state, so I don't see any reason not to use it. The UofA has already had a black eye by not showing everything in the University of Arkansas Foundation's books, I doubt that the Chancellor wants to be in front of a committee like Gearhart was.

[Freebrd]

The timing has to relate to the BOT meeting.  IMHO, the Chancellor knew the BOT wanted BB fired and brought Long there to explain Long's reasons for not wanting to fire BB.  The BOT did not want to hear Long's reason and told the Chancellor to have Long fire BB since Long was BB's boss.  The BOT is over the Chancellor, the Chancellor is over Long and Long is over BB.  Long would not fire BB for whatever reason, even from as small a reason as Long having to hire HIS 4th football coach in 10 years.  The Chancellor fired Long for not implementing procedures (BB firing) as handed down from the Chancellor's bosses (BOT).
IMHO, the premise that another coach will not come to Arkansas without an AD being in place is hawgwash.
WPS

[sadhogfan]

  J Long cared nothing about Arkansas, hired the wrong coach 5 years back. Had construction over run of millions of dollars. Didn't pressure BB enough not building FB programs fast enough to compete in sec. Deserved to be fired if for no other reason, the BP fiasco and embarrassing JL Smith debacle. We being shaking our heads ever since.

Indeed this take is indicative of the average "hawgIQ".

[lasthog]

The owner is the one making the change, correct??

Of course. Poorly stated.

I'll just say that more often than not a change order favors a contractor. A project may have originated via sealed bid, but change orders, well, change the dynamics of the deal.

If you see a boat named "Change Order," it doesn't belong to an owner.

[HawgPound]

As Chancellor, would you want "FIRED FOR MISAPPROPRIATION OF FUNDS" running on every ESPN channel? Don't think the NCAA wouldn't love to come sniffing around Integrity U... better to say farewell, job well done, here's your contract money, and keep prying eyes and uncomfortable questions as far from the actual functions of the Athletic Department as possible.

Would the NCAA get involved in that since it is about stadium expansion? Besides, if the rumors are true it is going to come out anyway. If you are upfront about it you fired the guy and are staying in front of it. If you try to hide it and it comes out you're now seen as covering it up.

[SooieGeneris]

Yep - but why did it have to happen today? Why did it have to happen before the end of the FB season?

To get a new AD in place by the Mizzou game so as to expedite the firing of Bert. What coach would come here not knowing who his boss would be?

So many on here wanted him gone before the end of the season or now. The chaos that would ensue could be even worse.

Or what if BB was fired with two games to go with Rhoades or Enos as Interim HC and we won both games? Then, there would be pressure from some factions to give him the job permanently.. That sort of thing usually doesn't work long term.

Grease the skids for Bert's departure on the 25th NOW by firing Long with enough time before the end of the season to have a replacement to show to the new coach.

I don't believe the AD was necessarily going to actually make the hire. For sure, Long wasn't. Likely a committee, maybe a search firm.

That would give enough time to vet HC candidates and have an agreement in place with an AD, who of course, would know who the HC is going to be and sign off on it. And the new HC would know who his boss would be.

Also, Long is still on the playoff committee which was meeting in Dallas over the weekend. The rankings were announced yesterday.

By waiting until today, UA avoided embarrassing JL before the new rankings came out and they would have wanted to tell him in person anyhow.

That's my take anyway.

[BroyledNutts]

Umm, I don't think it would pass an internal UofA system audit, much less one by the state, so I don't see any reason not to use it. The UofA has already had a black eye by not showing everything in the University of Arkansas Foundation's books, I doubt that the Chancellor wants to be in front of a committee like Gearhart was.

I didn't remember the Foundation books thing ...

[BoynamedWooPigSooie]

When the head of an organization states that they are not committed to succeeding in the goals of the organization change is the only option.  Jeff fired himself.

[Pig in the Pokey]

Yep - but why did it have to happen today? Why did it have to happen before the end of the FB season?

very obviously he pissed off the wrong person (people) and they wanted him humiliated. Have you seen the pictures from last week while he sat in the lobby on display for 4 hours?

[HUNGRYHAWG]

Is it cheaper to get rid of the AD or an entire coaching staff?  This should be a no brainer for anyone that's not tracking planes, ties, or the newest Harley's. Could it be to save Mr. integrity, or is it we got off cheaper for giving hush money for him not to spill the beans on how we are going to get the staffs buyout dropped way, way below where it sits?

Btw, I know nothing and don't claim to, I just felt like making up my own conspiracy theory. Smile!!

[cjack]

Of course. Poorly stated.

I'll just say that more often than not a change order favors a contractor. A project may have originated via sealed bid, but change orders, well, change the dynamics of the deal.

If you see a boat named "Change Order," it doesn't belong to an owner.

He knew that already, of course.

[Oklahawg]

very obviously he pissed off the wrong person (people) and they wanted him humiliated. Have you seen the pictures from last week while he sat in the lobby on display for 4 hours?

Bingo.

There are more than a few folks with personal "burrs under their saddles" for Long. If this was happening at a school we didn't care about we'd be laughing at them.

Long was not above reproach but the "convenience" clause for termination is specifically the reason why there is nothing dark and sordid going on - if there was they'd fire "with cause" and challenge Long to have his record publicized vs. a $4M payoff.

This was personal, subjective, and petulant. The folks who respect the direction Long was taking things were caught unaware and unarmed. It moved quickly, quietly, and with malice.

Long was punished.

I look for CBB to be fired prior to Missouri so he is denied the chance to shake hands and hug players on senior day.

[Seebs]

I would imagine those that are wielding this power have  plan and have some names and will act quickly after CBB is gone.  Please tell me this is so Okla.

[Oklahawg]

I would imagine those that are wielding this power have  plan and have some names and will act quickly after CBB is gone.  Please tell me this is so Okla.

Disturbingly fast.

Banana Republic fast.

[Pig in the Pokey]

they do.

[Pig in the Pokey]

Disturbingly fast.

Banana Republic fast.

crazy day. been hearing the rumors, but, still a bit shocking. All in, tho!

[carolinahogger]

What nonsense! Few fans even know who the ADs of other colleges are. With little else happening,  the firing Jeff Long is national news today and will soon be forgotten. Tomorrow there will another story and the Jeff Long firing will be old news.

Agreed.  Nobody gives a damn who our AD is.

[Kneph13]

Exactly.  It always gives me a good chuckle to hear the chicken littles run amok, shrieking & squealing in terror, over we might get bashed by the national media.

Screw them and the media and the horse they rode in on.  What a bunch of wimps & sissies.

^^^This.  On an aside, I agree with another poster who posted a little before this one, there is a woman involved somewhere in this mess.

[jimmur74]

The helll it doesnt.  Jeff Long REFUSED to OWN the Bielema debacle! Thats it plain and simple. He had to go!! He was completely disconnected with reality and the importance of WINNING on the field.

I get it that there are a bunch of you who wanted both JL and BB gone and now, you've gotten 1/2 of that wish.

But, it's the wrong half.  Besides the football program, everything else seems to be in great shape.  So, why fire the AD who has everything in the athletic program cruising along except for the football program - fire the football coach - yeah, I know that there are those who think that JL was fired because he wouldn't fire BB and, if BB is fired before the end of the week, I'll backtrack and agree with you.  But, if BB continues to be the football coach through the end of the season, that reason won't fly. Why fire JL now if you're willing to let BB stay here through the end of the season?  Wait until the end of the season and, then, if JL won't fire BB, fire him then.  Unless BB gets fired by the end of this week, that reason doesn't make sense.

Do you really believe that Long would sacrifice himself for the sake of BB when he knows that the BT/Chancellor can fire him and get rid of the FB coach anyway? Doesn't make any sense that JL would "fall on his sword" when he knows, as any rational person would know, that he can't avoid the ultimate result anyway.

So, what happened today?  The AD got fired but to what end? It has to be that he either did something or refused to do something that no one knows about and something other than firing or not firing BB.  Maybe it will come out down the road and maybe it won't.  It just doesn't make sense that it happened today unless there's some immediate reason to change course.  The people on the BT are astute business people - the fact that this happened today tells me that there's some reason that they needed to get rid of JL today in order to protect the university from something or in order to take advantage of some option that has presented itself that JL wasn't on board with.  Otherwise, it makes no sense for it to happen before the season is over.

We will get crucified nationally because of JL's stature in the national scheme of things.  Something had to have gone on that made the BT willing to suffer that criticism other than whether or not he would fire BB.  Hopefully, we will find out what it is/was, but I doubt it.

[Pigdiana Jones]

I could care less what others think of the Hogs. I could care less if we get "crucified." This firing needed to happen years ago.

[LZH]

The owner is the one making the change, correct??

Rarely, he just has to approve it. A change order is usually made after construction begins when one or more subcontractors realize the original design does not match up as planned. So they ask for more money for a re-design of their particular part of the project. That is why some architects/engineers are better than others. Change orders (or red-line specs as most are called) are also a damn fine way for a general contractor/subcontractor to make plenty of extra scratch because they have already secured their contract.

[TulsaHawg]

Maybe. UA doesn't want that PR battle right now. Hey, I'd settle for less to shut up and retire! He should be able to do that, in spades, with even a $2M buyout.

Doesn't his contract require him to make a good-faith effort to find employment, which would help mitigate what the UA would owe him? 

[southarkhog06]

The helll it doesnt.  Jeff Long REFUSED to OWN the Bielema debacle! Thats it plain and simple. He had to go!! He was completely disconnected with reality and the importance of WINNING on the field.

Ok I am not really a JL fan, but someone on here calling anyone disconnected from reality is laughable.

[ronmahony]

It happened a week ago.  It became public today.  Long was out of the loop from that point if not before. He had been bleeding BOT support but it reached critical mass recently and the rumors are it was nearly unanaimous.

As Muskogee said they had to dump Long to clear the deck for the hiring on the next coach.  The common sense assumption is that they've already done a deal in principle with Sexton on one of his clients, probably Norvell.

Bielema will have until Saturday Nov 25th to resign quietly.  It will be announced on Sunday Nov. 26th.

Assuming it is Norvell he will be announced the Sunday after the AAC championship game on Dec 2nd.

That is what I feel like is happening. Wouldn't be a. It surprised to learn they already have someone lined up for AD too. I find it hard to believe they did it spur of the moment because he stepped on someone's toes. The Coastal Carolina game should have been enough to pull the plug if it hadn't already been pulled.

[Hawgphat]

^^^This.  On an aside, I agree with another poster who posted a little before this one, there is a woman involved somewhere in this mess.

Oh, I DO hope that she isn't riding behind a burly fellow on a motorcycle.


                                                           

[Torqued pork]

You better care about national media if you want winning football. Not only is recruiting a national business now but so is perception which tie into rankings.

Really? Within a year after the national media placed the halo over Long's head they were chuckling over how far and fast Hog football had fallen after Petrino. Hooray for Jeff Long for firing Petrino and putting Arkansas football back in its rightfull place.

[GuvHog]

Bingo.

There are more than a few folks with personal "burrs under their saddles" for Long. If this was happening at a school we didn't care about we'd be laughing at them.

Long was not above reproach but the "convenience" clause for termination is specifically the reason why there is nothing dark and sordid going on - if there was they'd fire "with cause" and challenge Long to have his record publicized vs. a $4M payoff.

This was personal, subjective, and petulant. The folks who respect the direction Long was taking things were caught unaware and unarmed. It moved quickly, quietly, and with malice.

Long was punished.

I look for CBB to be fired prior to Missouri so he is denied the chance to shake hands and hug players on senior day.

Most likely they took the convenience route in firing Long because they didn't want to fire him for cause and have to publically release dirty laundry that would embarrass the U of A.

[Inhogswetrust]

They are being very tight lipped on why Jeff Long was fired today.

And they should be. It will eventually come out though. The problem is some people will say stuff that isn't correct and be believed. My guess though is simply not enough football winning and some boosters not happy.

[Inhogswetrust]

Most likely they took the convenience route in firing Long because they didn't want to fire him for cause and have to publically release dirty laundry that would embarrass the U of A.

You mean like hiring a squeeze and lying to his boss? That will do it.

[Mellon Collie]

This thread has turned into an episode of Info Wars..

The Deep State is real.....

[Mellon Collie]

Bingo.

There are more than a few folks with personal "burrs under their saddles" for Long. If this was happening at a school we didn't care about we'd be laughing at them.

Long was not above reproach but the "convenience" clause for termination is specifically the reason why there is nothing dark and sordid going on - if there was they'd fire "with cause" and challenge Long to have his record publicized vs. a $4M payoff.

This was personal, subjective, and petulant. The folks who respect the direction Long was taking things were caught unaware and unarmed. It moved quickly, quietly, and with malice.

Long was punished.

I look for CBB to be fired prior to Missouri so he is denied the chance to shake hands and hug players on senior day.

'They shoulda armed themselves..'

The dirtiness of this mess excites me.

[Porkchop#1]

Really? Within a year after the national media placed the halo over Long's head they were chuckling over how far and fast Hog football had fallen after Petrino. Hooray for Jeff Long for firing Petrino and putting Arkansas football back in its rightfull place.

Yeah, for sure, let's all yuck it up and have a good laugh.


Wise AD Long fired himself that day too.


Still strikes me as strange how so many could not grasp that.

[GuvHog]

You mean like hiring a squeeze and lying to his boss? That will do it.

No, I mean they don't want it publically known if the AD was misappropriating funds or something of that nature.

Now that you mention it though, I wouldn't be at all surprised if Long's investigation of Bobby Petrino was called into question by some of the BOT members.

[Inhogswetrust]

No, I mean they don't want it publically known if the AD was misappropriating funds or something of that nature.

Now that you mention it though, I wouldn't be at all surprised if Long's investigation of Bobby Petrino was called into question by some of the BOT members.

So I guess you think it was appropriate for them to also "cover up" Bobby's misdeeds as well. I see you've back to Guv world.

[HardCore]

The helll it doesnt.  Jeff Long REFUSED to OWN the Bielema debacle! Thats it plain and simple. He had to go!! He was completely disconnected with reality and the importance of WINNING on the field.

This!  People dropping $1,800+ annually on tickets don't want to hear "winning isn't everything" coming off the lips of their AD.  The program buck starts/stops at the department leadership position.  Plus, he basically alienated half the state and most of the big doners from the program.  The one thing Jeff never got is this:  the Razorbacks is and always will be the State of Arkansas's Team, NOT just the University of Arkansas's team.

[GuvHog]

So I guess you think it was appropriate for them to also "cover up" Bobby's misdeeds as well. I see you've back to Guv world.

I don't think there was ever any attempt to "cover up" anything. Even if they had simply docked Bobby's pay, suspended him for a few games, and put him on probation, the reasons why would have been made public.

[OneTuskOverTheLine™]

I heard he ticked off the Tyson's over their suite(s)

Not True. Our suite location was guaranteed.

[Wild Bill Hog]

Firing JL now as opposed to the end of the season gives us a jump on getting a new AD, which would allow our coaching search to start sooner. Any potential HC's want to know who their boss is going to be before they take the job.

This makes good sense.

[RexMentor]

What we've seen in the last week is a textbook exercise in power and the power to humiliate. It's all about power. Jeff Long was shown to have little. The GOB and the BOT were shown to have much. I suspect that CBB will suffer the same fate within days of the MSU game. I also suspect they know exactly who they're going to hire for both jobs.
I may be wrong, but that's my take.

[Freebrd]

I find it impossible to believe that BP hired 'the woman in question' without ANYONE else signing off on it.  No place I have worked allows one person autonomy on hiring, or firing for that matter.

[dpetty121263]

Either:

1) Jeff refused to fire BB and was let go. (call this the most straightforward option)
2) A certain someone (cough, Gus, cough) really did call and demand a firing before he would come. (call this the "conspiracy theory" option)
3) Jeff clashed with power-brokers that you shouldn't clash with. (call this the Game of Thrones option)
4) Something else unmentioned.

Or could be they were just tired of him as his personality is kind of quirky...and rubs people the wrong way many times...Never thought he was good fit.