Coaching search and the AD, Logic need not apply.

[Killean]

Some of the arguments people are making here are beyond stupid.


Long fired Petrino because it would personally benefit him how?  Some folks are arguing that it will help him get another job in the future because of integrity?  No, it won't.  People hire ADs to find coaches that win games and represent the University.  Nobody in the world is going to hire Long if he screws up the next hire because most do value winning over integrity.  Hell, the ADs only make real money at the big sports colleges and now no place like Alabama or Auburn would touch him because they'd hire a serial killer if it won games.



If Jeff Long is acting in his own best interests then he's trying to find Arkansas the best coach possible.  Any other argument is just you being an asshat and hating the guy for zero reason.




Also, the money that the athletic department makes is SMALL compared to the University as a whole.  Reality check, athletic donations run about 1/7th of the total donations to the University annually.


The next point is this.. just because the University is willing to do whatever to get another great coach here it doesn't automatically follow that one is available.  Think about the NBA or the NFL and free agent money.  You can have all the money in the world but sometimes that player just isn't there.  Long can either find the guy we want if there's one out there, hire somebody inferior, or go interim and try again in January when more coaches are available.  Given the timing, college coaches just aren't available right now.  NO great coach is going to bail on their team for this year in order to take the job here without their assistants or their plan in place.

NFL guys are a possibility because of the differences in the game.


So, we either get an NFL guy, an out of work guy or an interim if we hire now.  Then you have to cut that list down to how many NFL guys actually want the grind of recruiting in college and there are very very few viable candidates for our job.  Hell, Ohio State had an interim coach last season and they have at least the same amount of resources and standing that our University does in the coaching market.