The more we learn about the guy, the more we're gonna love him. . .

[Feralhog]

I've not done too much research, I've been away from my puter most of the day.  Two things I immediately like.  1) He's all about line play on both sides of the ball.  2) He doesn't mind keeping the foot on the gas.

If there's one thing that Arkansas seems to produce on a yearly basis, it's top flight Running Backs.  Give me a South Central kid and put him behind a kick butt line, I'll take my chances. 

[moses_007]

I agree that we'll love him.  I don't care how he gets it done as long as he wins football games.

Les Miles and Nick Saban don't run flashy offenses, but they both win and win and win.

Saban and Miles both know the importance of winning both lines of scrimmage.

That's the starting point for any program to be successful.  You won't win with flashy passing offenses and lousy defenses.  Ask Baylor and Oklahoma State.

[Feralhog]

I agree that we'll love him.  I don't care how he gets it done as long as he wins football games.

Les Miles and Nick Saban don't run flashy offenses, but they both win and win and win.

Saban and Miles both know the importance of winning both lines of scrimmage.

That's the starting point for any program to be successful.  You won't win with flashy passing offenses and lousy defenses.  Ask Baylor and Oklahoma State.

Don't look now but since he's been at Wisky, they've put points on the board.

[basshog]

Agreed.  I was shocked by the hire at first.  But now that I have read a little I think his numbers look great.  CBP's wide open offense will be missed, but BB will make up for it with offensive balance and a top flight defense. 

We will just have to see how he competes in the recruiting department.  That's my biggest concern after read up a bit.

[CallThemHawgs!]

I've not done too much research, I've been away from my puter most of the day.  Two things I immediately like.  1) He's all about line play on both sides of the ball.  2) He doesn't mind keeping the foot on the gas.

If there's one thing that Arkansas seems to produce on a yearly basis, it's top flight Running Backs.  Give me a South Central kid and put him behind a kick butt line, I'll take my chances. 

Agreed... a few of those Wisconsin offenses he has had up there have been amazing.

PJ Hill, John Clay, and Montee Ball were all amazing.

I honestly cannot wait to see the direction he takes this team...

[Nipsey Mussle]

Don't look now but since he's been at Wisky, they've put points on the board.

Yes he has but apparently most from our fanbase weren't paying attention. I just roll my eyes when I see someone mention that Bielema has no offense. I'd like to know how many teams have scored 70 in their conf title game.

[Ironhawg]

I was at work and out of touch most of the day when the news about this hire broke.  A co-worker told me and I accused him of lying.  I was completely shocked by this hire, not because I think he is a bad coach, but because I never, ever, ever thought he would leave Wisconsin.  He was hand-picked to succeed Alvarez there.  He has been very successful there.  He could have stayed there forever.  I was extremely surprised to come on the board when I got home and read the amount of negativity toward the hire.  Do I have questions?  Absolutely.  He believes in a strong defense and in strong line play on both sides of the ball.  Can he recruit the linemen to Arkansas to run his system? 
I think the Hogs are going to struggle on the field for the next couple of years as the team makes a transition.  I am willing to see what the new coach can do.  I hope all Hogs fans are willing to have a little patience.

[Smokehouse]

We honestly shouldn't need to learn that much to love him. His record stands for itself.

I figured there'd be a few people so attached to a certain coach that they'd moan about any other hire, no matter how good, but I'm baffled by how large the negative reaction is for BB.

[alohawg]

I was at work and out of touch most of the day when the news about this hire broke.  A co-worker told me and I accused him of lying.  I was completely shocked by this hire, not because I think he is a bad coach, but because I never, ever, ever thought he would leave Wisconsin.  He was hand-picked to succeed Alvarez there.  He has been very successful there.  He could have stayed there forever.  I was extremely surprised to come on the board when I got home and read the amount of negativity toward the hire.  Do I have questions?  Absolutely.  He believes in a strong defense and in strong line play on both sides of the ball.  Can he recruit the linemen to Arkansas to run his system? 
I think the Hogs are going to struggle on the field for the next couple of years as the team makes a transition.  I am willing to see what the new coach can do.  I hope all Hogs fans are willing to have a little patience.

Excellent post.

[Feralhog]

I was at work and out of touch most of the day when the news about this hire broke.  A co-worker told me and I accused him of lying.  I was completely shocked by this hire, not because I think he is a bad coach, but because I never, ever, ever thought he would leave Wisconsin.  He was hand-picked to succeed Alvarez there.  He has been very successful there.  He could have stayed there forever.  I was extremely surprised to come on the board when I got home and read the amount of negativity toward the hire.  Do I have questions?  Absolutely.  He believes in a strong defense and in strong line play on both sides of the ball.  Can he recruit the linemen to Arkansas to run his system? 
I think the Hogs are going to struggle on the field for the next couple of years as the team makes a transition.  I am willing to see what the new coach can do.  I hope all Hogs fans are willing to have a little patience.

Your Old School, I knew you'd love the hire.  I am hoping the transition to run blocking will come quicker.  We have a lot of size and athleticism there.

[jamie72921]

Yipee!

We are going to out Bama, Bama with 3 star recruits!

Coach BB won't lose enough to merit firing him either. Our greatest hope is for Bama, LSU, Fla, and GA to all suck at the same time.

When they do, we will "rise" up just like Wisconsin has as Michigan, Penn St, and OSU faded.

Here's to 9-4 and 10-3....................forever.

[Hog Addict]

Yipee!

We are going to out Bama, Bama with 3 star recruits!

Coach BB won't lose enough to merit firing him either. Our greatest hope is for Bama, LSU, Fla, and GA to all suck at the same time.

When they do, we will "rise" up just like Wisconsin has as Michigan, Penn St, and OSU faded.

Here's to 9-4 and 10-3....................forever.

Such a misinformed post.

Is the Big 10 down? Absolutely. But all you can do is win...right? Wrong. He was MURDERING people.

In 2010, he lost ONE conference game, to a very good Mich St. team, by only 10 points. In his other games, he scored over 70 THREE times. And hung 83 on Indiana. That is not merely being the least bad of the bad.

In 2011, he scored 40+ NINE times, with 4 of those games going for 50+.

He wasn't just scraping by.

[Fayettechill14]

Yes he has but apparently most from our fanbase weren't paying attention. I just roll my eyes when I see someone mention that Bielema has no offense. I'd like to know how many teams have scored 70 in their conf title game.

They were the second ever to do it. I believe Texas did it to someone in the Big XII.

[Fayettechill14]

Yipee!

We are going to out Bama, Bama with 3 star recruits!

Coach BB won't lose enough to merit firing him either. Our greatest hope is for Bama, LSU, Fla, and GA to all suck at the same time.

When they do, we will "rise" up just like Wisconsin has as Michigan, Penn St, and OSU faded.

Here's to 9-4 and 10-3....................forever.

Not really. His offense is a little bit different. More complex than Bama's.

[Hog Addict]

Another fantastic stat about this coach is that he wins the games he should win. Doesn't get shaken by ULM's, etc.

Since he was hired at UW, he only last 1 game to a team that ended the season with a losing record. And that was in 2008 against Michigan, in Ann Arbor, by 2 points.

He also never lost a regular season non-conference game.

He also only lost 4 home games in those 7 years. And those 4 losses were by a combined total of 23 points. And 2 of those losses were this year, both of them coming in overtime. So 4 home losses in 7 years, and 2/4 were overtime games.

[Ironhawg]

Your Old School, I knew you'd love the hire.  I am hoping the transition to run blocking will come quicker.  We have a lot of size and athleticism there.

I just am floored that he left Wisconsin.  I do have serious concerns that we will have the athletes to see much success next year, particularly on the defensive side of the ball. 
One area that has not been mentioned is APR.  Arkansas football has been solid in APR.  Wisconsin has been very good.  I like the idea of a coach who will emphasize the student part of student-athlete and still put a good product on the field.

Wisconsin APR 2004-2011
04-05  914
05-06  935
06-07  944
07-08  953
08-09  968
09-10  967
10-11  975

Ark APR
04-05  940
05-06  934
06-07  936
07-08  927
08-09  930
09-10  937
10-11  936

[ImHogginIt]

I was at work and out of touch most of the day when the news about this hire broke.  A co-worker told me and I accused him of lying.  I was completely shocked by this hire, not because I think he is a bad coach, but because I never, ever, ever thought he would leave Wisconsin.  He was hand-picked to succeed Alvarez there.  He has been very successful there.  He could have stayed there forever.  I was extremely surprised to come on the board when I got home and read the amount of negativity toward the hire.  Do I have questions?  Absolutely.  He believes in a strong defense and in strong line play on both sides of the ball.  Can he recruit the linemen to Arkansas to run his system? 
I think the Hogs are going to struggle on the field for the next couple of years as the team makes a transition.  I am willing to see what the new coach can do.  I hope all Hogs fans are willing to have a little patience.

I think guys like Brey Cooke, Smothers, Bailey, Ect... are more suited for his style of play than Petrino's. Offense may not have that much of a transition afterall.

[Fayettechill14]

I think guys like Brey Cooke, Smothers, Bailey, Ect... are more suited for his style of play than Petrino's. Offense may not have that much of a transition afterall.

Yeah, Cook and Smothers were traditional Arkansas-bred run-blockers, but they vanished in Petrino's offense. I bet we will see sudden improvement on the defense and o-line.

Question marks will be QB play, depth at running back (can J-Will take a beating if there's no Knile?), and linebacker development (might need to stay in the 4-2-5 unless we can recruit some more AJ Turners by Feb 1st)

[Feralhog]

I'm anxious to see what happens to recruiting between now and signing day, and what kind of staff he assembles

[SamBuckhart]

I agree that we'll love him.  I don't care how he gets it done as long as he wins football games.

Les Miles and Nick Saban don't run flashy offenses, but they both win and win and win.

Saban and Miles both know the importance of winning both lines of scrimmage.

That's the starting point for any program to be successful.  You won't win with flashy passing offenses and lousy defenses.  Ask Baylor and Oklahoma State.

Who better to know how to call the HOGS than a guy raised on a hog farm.

[tphigh2001]

I have some friends who are big Wisconsin fans so I watch W play and they watch the hogs.  when they announced this yesterday I was stunned then it was HELL YEA.  I don't know how Long pulled this off but I am way more excited than I would of been with a Briles or Gundy hire, but then again I like defense

[Redhogs]

Who better to know how to call the HOGS than a guy raised on a hog farm.

Thought the same thing when I heard that his family were pig farmers from Il.

[DeltaBoy]

His teams are flaged the least I have ever seen.  Cut the Hogs flags in half the last 2 years and we win 3+ more games.

[BigE_23]

Not really. His offense is a little bit different. More complex than Bama's.

THIS

I was at the B1G Champ game and I was shocked at all of the misdirection stuff that Wisconsin did. Pelini didn't know what hit him.

[azhog10]

I've not done too much research, I've been away from my puter most of the day.  Two things I immediately like.  1) He's all about line play on both sides of the ball.  2) He doesn't mind keeping the foot on the gas.

If there's one thing that Arkansas seems to produce on a yearly basis, it's top flight Running Backs.  Give me a South Central kid and put him behind a kick butt line, I'll take my chances.

Just curious if this was who you were being told it was all along? Seems like no one saw this coming.

[PennHOG]

Yeah, Cook and Smothers were traditional Arkansas-bred run-blockers, but they vanished in Petrino's offense. I bet we will see sudden improvement on the defense and o-line.

Question marks will be QB play, depth at running back (can J-Will take a beating if there's no Knile?), and linebacker development (might need to stay in the 4-2-5 unless we can recruit some more AJ Turners by Feb 1st)

Let's not discount the fact that our current OL man handled LSU for most of that game this year.  We have some beef on the line that just need to be coached up.  The OL was consistently a disappointment under BP.

With the right offensive coordinator we should be able to still be good.  It's the lack of talent on defense that is going to be a problem.  He's going to have to recruit his butt off.

[pigfeet]

Such a misinformed post.

Is the Big 10 down? Absolutely. But all you can do is win...right? Wrong. He was MURDERING people.

In 2010, he lost ONE conference game, to a very good Mich St. team, by only 10 points. In his other games, he scored over 70 THREE times. And hung 83 on Indiana. That is not merely being the least bad of the bad.

In 2011, he scored 40+ NINE times, with 4 of those games going for 50+.

He wasn't just scraping by.

And he also scored 21 or less in 4 losses, sound like .............wait for it............

HDN Part II

[Hawg Balling]

I've not done too much research, I've been away from my puter most of the day.  Two things I immediately like.  1) He's all about line play on both sides of the ball.  2) He doesn't mind keeping the foot on the gas.

If there's one thing that Arkansas seems to produce on a yearly basis, it's top flight Running Backs.  Give me a South Central kid and put him behind a kick butt line, I'll take my chances.

I was thrilled from the time it was announced and have had that excitement confirmed when doing some research. 

Even Stoerner had a story about him on TSWNN this morning. Apparently when Bielema was a senior nose guard at Iowa, he walked up to the Iowa State coach after their game that year and said "I enjoyed kicking your azz for the last 5 years." 

Nick Saban doesn't scare this guy. 

[whosiskid]

Living in Chicago I was aware of how highly Bielema was regarded, even if I didn't take the trouble to watch many games. The negativity here just shocked me, especially those who asked if he was as good as Gus Malzahn. Fact: Bielema is better than Gary Patterson, Mike Gundy, and even Bobby Petrino. Of the names mentioned for the job, Chris Petersen is the only one I would have taken over Bielema.

I think Bielema wasn't the #1 target all along for a simple reason: he does not have roots in our key recruiting areas. That can be remedied by hiring assistant coaches deeply familiar with the area. But if he does that, we might actually have an expanded recruiting base. Bielema's name might not WOW! Arkansas fans (though it should), but it does kids in the Midwest. And I understand that one of the few assistants he is bringing with him specialized in recruiting in Florida, the state that turns out more Division One football players than any other.

Short term, I wonder how successful Bielema can be. His system depends on dominating the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. While we have plenty of good players, we don't have linemen who can completely control the line of scrimmage. So it might be a couple of years before we get the kind of players needed to make his offense and defense work.

However, I do think that he is willing to pass more than he did at Wisconsin. We talk about Russell Wilson, and he threw quite a bit. But he didn't have the stable of QBs to work with that he will have at Arkansas. We will have Brandon Mitchell, Brandon Allen, and Taylor Reed competing for playing time next fall, while both Austin Allen and Tyler Cogswell will arrive as freshmen (and both have indicated that they are excited about Bielema's hiring). The interesting thing to me is that Wisconsin tried to recruit Cogswell. Tyler will have the strongest arm of any of the QBs on campus, but he will also be the slowest. He is a pure drop back QB. That says to me that Bielema is not adverse to passing. I anticipate that he might want to combine pure drop back passing with a varied running game. BTW, I haven't seen any comments yet by Rafe Peavey, our only 2014 commit, who is either a high four or even five star QB. He would thrive in just about any kind of offense, since he is both a great passer and a very good runner, with 4.5 speed. There are also two QBs in the state of Arkansas for 2014 who will be 4 star QBs. And in 2015 the #1 player in America will be Charleston QB Ty Storey (who was named Sophomore of the Year by a couple of recruiting sites). My point is, Bieleva is going to have an amazing group of QBs to work with, so we could see a lot more passing than we saw at Wisconsin. Our personnel is more right now geared to the pass setting up the run, rather than the run setting up the pass.

[TexArkHogFan]

Don't know if this has been posted, but here is a video up close and personal.  The more I learn, the more I like this hire.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAht8HG7-1s

[Huckleberry Pig]

I've not done too much research, I've been away from my puter most of the day.  Two things I immediately like.  1) He's all about line play on both sides of the ball.  2) He doesn't mind keeping the foot on the gas.

If there's one thing that Arkansas seems to produce on a yearly basis, it's top flight Running Backs.  Give me a South Central kid and put him behind a kick butt line, I'll take my chances.

THIS.  Our O-line the last couple years has been sub-par to average.  I am really excited to see if he can establish the type of lines he had at Wisky here at Arkansas.  Very easy to make a 3* RB look like a 5* RB when you have a quality O-line blocking for him.  Same can be said for a 3* QB.

He is a former D-lineman in college so those are his roots.  I'm pumped to see escalated play in both trenches.  That is where this game is won.  It's grown-man football.  It may take 3 years for his system to truly be established but I'm very optimistic that he will do well here.

[Feralhog]

Just curious if this was who you were being told it was all along? Seems like no one saw this coming.

Completely out of left field.  Keep in mind though, and I stated this multiple times, the info I was getting from the people I trust were acknowledging that they were doing a lot of speculating.  Most of the info was coming from the other end of the search.  Here's what I was told, again, speculation.  Peteresen will probably never leave Boise.  Gundy probably would have accepted the job if we had offered.  Patterson, will probably never leave TCU.  Let me add one more thing.  If Bielema was the target all along (it's my understanding he contacted us), I can understand some of the stuff we were getting from the other end of these searches.  I heard Gundy felt like Long was just going through the motions during their 1st meeting.

But that's past history.  I'm growing more and more excited about this guy.  It will be interesting to see what he can do, recruiting wise.  I had someone tell me that recruiting is like selling.  In the last few years, Bielema convinced 15 kids from Sunny Florida to come play for him in Cold Snowy Wisconsin.  Should be interesting.

[Huckleberry Pig]

Completely out of left field.  Keep in mind though, and I stated this multiple times, the info I was getting from the people I trust were acknowledging that they were doing a lot of speculating.  Most of the info was coming from the other end of the search.  Here's what I was told, again, speculation.  Peteresen will probably never leave Boise.  Gundy probably would have accepted the job if we had offered.  Patterson, will probably never leave TCU.

But that's past history.  I'm growing more and more excited about this guy.  It will be interesting to see what he can do, recruiting wise.  I had someone tell me that recruiting is like selling.  In the last few years, Bielema convinced 15 kids from Sunny Florida to come play for him in Cold Snowy Wisconsin.  Should be interesting.

you're on a roll today Feral.  We seem to be on the same page.  It's very tough to get kids from down south to come play at Wisconsin.  Complete culture/climate change (normally not one people from the south enjoy either).  With our new facilities and him as Head Hog, I am hopeful we will see a bump in recruiting. 

Also really impressed with how this guy treats his staff.  If rumors are true that he wanted more money for his staff and Wisky wouldnt budge so he came here, that is great for us.  Him realizing how important it is to have a good staff is a great sign.  The more I look into this hire the more fired up I am about it. 

[HotlantaHog]

I think this is a very good hire and have stated that elsewhere.

Three things I'd like to learn at his press conference or in the days to come are:

1. What are his plans for building a staff at Arkansas?

2. What is his strategy in terms of recruiting in a state that doesn't produce a huge amount of talent.

3. What his his assessment of the current talent at Arkansas and how it fits with his system?

[Huckleberry Pig]

I think this is a very good hire and have stated that elsewhere.

Three things I'd like to learn at his press conference or in the days to come are:

1. What are his plans for building a staff at Arkansas?

2. What is his strategy in terms of recruiting in a state that doesn't produce a huge amount of talent.

3. What his his assessment of the current talent at Arkansas and how it fits with his system?

All great questions and will be interested to hear the answer to these as well.  Recruiting is my biggest concern with Bielema (think this can be said for most people).  It will be extremely important for him to hire a staff with plenty of experience in the areas we recruit the most.

[Hogdomer]

Yeah, Cook and Smothers were traditional Arkansas-bred run-blockers, but they vanished in Petrino's offense. I bet we will see sudden improvement on the defense and o-line.

Question marks will be QB play, depth at running back (can J-Will take a beating if there's no Knile?), and linebacker development (might need to stay in the 4-2-5 unless we can recruit some more AJ Turners by Feb 1st)

Don't forget Jeremy Ward and Cordale Boyd on the OL, who both redshirted.  Ward had an offer from LSU so can probably play.  Also, Kody Walker (and hopefully Tenpenny) can provide good running back depth behind Kiero Small.

[RunDMC901]

1) His wife is somking hot
2) He likes to drink
3) He plays smash mouth run the ball down your throat football

[Hog10S]

Yipee!

We are going to out Bama, Bama with 3 star recruits!

Coach BB won't lose enough to merit firing him either. Our greatest hope is for Bama, LSU, Fla, and GA to all suck at the same time.

When they do, we will "rise" up just like Wisconsin has as Michigan, Penn St, and OSU faded.

Here's to 9-4 and 10-3....................forever.

Yes, OSU and the other schools had allegedly "faded" in 2010 when we got beat by OSU in the Sugar Bowl, while Wisconsin, who beat OSU that year, went on to the BCS Rose Bowl.  Don't act like Wisconsin was only good because a couple of schools faded.  They won when those schools had fallen a little, but also when they were at their prime.  Plus, Wisconsin also beat us in the last bowl game we had against them, the first year of BB head coaching career at the school.

[rowmed]

The problem with BB is that he likes to drink, party, chase girls, he's a players coach, not a brilliant tactician or play caller, depends on his assistants, and has bad clock management.

Is he a better hire than Petrino? No. Will he win 34 games in 4 years? That remains to be seen. However, I do believe in 4 year, BB will have a better conf record than 17-15 

[Hawgon]

The problem with BB is that he likes to drink, party, chase girls ...

Hopefully, he won't do that as much now that he is married.  But that sort of stuff was exactly what I was talking about when I was worried about cultural fit.  Arkansas fans have always been confused as to whether they want a Sunday school teacher or a coach and photographs of him shirtless and drunk won't be laughed at in exactly the same way in Arkansas as they were in Wisconsin.

[RunDMC901]

The problem with BB is that he likes to drink, party, chase girls,

You see this as a problem, yet I see this as an asset.

[Ironhawg]

Yeah, Cook and Smothers were traditional Arkansas-bred run-blockers, but they vanished in Petrino's offense. I bet we will see sudden improvement on the defense and o-line.

Question marks will be QB play, depth at running back (can J-Will take a beating if there's no Knile?), and linebacker development (might need to stay in the 4-2-5 unless we can recruit some more AJ Turners by Feb 1st)

I am hoping the change in style will take some pressure off the QB.  I wonder what is going to happen with Brandon Mitchell.  Does he stay at WR or go back to QB?  Will this hire give Arkansas a chance to flip Tenpenny and would he provide instant help at RB?  Defense is my biggest concern.  The numbers aren't there right now.  I do like the fact that Bielema and staff should have time to have an impact on this recruiting class.  I saw in another thread someone questioning the ability of the new HC to recruit Texas.  His current Wisconsin team only has five players from Texas on the roster, where Arkansas has twenty-one.  He is definitely going to need to have assistants who can recruit Texas and Oklahoma.  One thing I noticed about Wisconsin is that, while they only have five players on their roster from Texas, they have eleven from Florida.  How in the world did they convince players from Florida to go to Wisconsin?!  If he can maintain our recruiting in Texas and Oklahoma and expand our recruiting in Florida that would be a very good thing.

[rowmed]

You see this as a problem, yet I see this as an asset.

Sunday alcohol sales in springdale and Benton county becoming wet :/
seems legit

[rowmed]

BB is horrible and HDN like when it comes to QB development. All most all Wisky fans have said that QB's regressed under him. He depends on trasfers similar to Nutt and Jeremiah Masoli. His best years were when Paul Chryst (now Pitt HC than Wisky OC) called the plays. After he left the offense fell apart. Similar to Phil Fulmer and David Cutcliffe at Tenner. BB is horrible at developing WR's whom all end up as blockers. He also cannot develop more than a No.1 receiver. Wisky under BB never had a solid No.2 receiver ever.

[WayneHawg]

I was at work and out of touch most of the day when the news about this hire broke.  A co-worker told me and I accused him of lying.  I was completely shocked by this hire, not because I think he is a bad coach, but because I never, ever, ever thought he would leave Wisconsin.  He was hand-picked to succeed Alvarez there.  He has been very successful there.  He could have stayed there forever.  I was extremely surprised to come on the board when I got home and read the amount of negativity toward the hire.  Do I have questions?  Absolutely.  He believes in a strong defense and in strong line play on both sides of the ball.  Can he recruit the linemen to Arkansas to run his system? 
I think the Hogs are going to struggle on the field for the next couple of years as the team makes a transition.  I am willing to see what the new coach can do.  I hope all Hogs fans are willing to have a little patience.

Don't you know that hog fans are the most patient group of fans their are,lol

[razorsharptusk]

Looking at the roster of Wisconsin, he looks to have some Texas and Florida recruits.  He must have at least some presence in those states.

[wildturkey8]

He played for Hayden Fry, Fry liked to throw the ball.  He was an assistant for Bill Snyder, while Snyder is more ground oriented his offense is more open than Whisky. K-State runs a lot more option.  His first task is to pull a demoralized team together and re-instill some toughness.