By design, not a quick turnaround

[Inhogswetrust]

I've never lost an argument in my life, and I never will.

Obviously you're single.....................................and always will be.

[PonderinHog]

I've never lost an argument in my life, and I never will.

Here's my secret.

I sometimes cede facts and those facts change my OPINION, which means I won because I learned something new and adjusted my opinion accordingly

I have never and will never understand why so many message board posters confuse facts with opinions.

More rope...

[WilsonHog]

Sometimes you just cannot help folks.

[Inhogswetrust]

Au contraire I'm married , and learned a long time ago not to even get involved in an argument I can't possibly come out of with anything good from.

Then you did lose an argument........................you got married.

[DeltaBoy]

It is getting Old that other programs can and do have fast turnarounds and we keep trying to build a Bama with clay bricks and no straw. The win some lose a ton since Frank retired after the 76 Cotton Bowl win is sucking the life out of this life long Hog fan.

[HawgTide]

You seem to view this whole message board experience as a venture to be "won."

I predict that will ultimately be your undoing here, and that you'll be exploring other Razorback message boards in short order.

Yes please

[DeltaBoy]

Oh come on, cheer up it's not all that. We haven't exactly won some, lost a bunch since Frank retired. Obviously , we've dropped off, but not completely off the Earth.

It gotten really Old with our up and down cycles since 1976.  It is shameful and a waste of time and money.

[hogcard1964]

It is getting Old that other programs can and do have fast turnarounds and we keep trying to build a Bama with clay bricks and no straw. The win some lose a ton since Frank retired after the 76 Cotton Bowl win is sucking the life out of this life long Hog fan.

Yep

We are the Chicago Cubs of college football.

[Inhogswetrust]

Yep

We are the Chicago Cubs of college football.

That beats being a NY Yankee fan any day of the week..........................

[Inhogswetrust]

It is getting Old that other programs can and do have fast turnarounds and we keep trying to build a Bama with clay bricks and no straw. The win some lose a ton since Frank retired after the 76 Cotton Bowl win is sucking the life out of this life long Hog fan.

Hey if you can't stomach some bad times to get some good in the future I'm sure some other team will be glad to let you root for them. Always putting focus on the bad is the wrong view. Don't let any bad times no matter how long or often get you down. Let the joys of the good times be big enough to carry you through the bad without wavering. You should fight for and believe in your Hogs all the way till the last breath. If not then it wasn't ever worth fighting or believing in them to begin with.   

[hogcard1964]

That beats being a NY Yankee fan any day of the week..........................

Really?

[hogcard1964]

I'd rather lose every game than be a darned Yankee fan.

So we lose games. It isn't the worst thing in the world. How boring being a Tide fan must be, you pretty much know you're going to win 10 every year.........................

Ok... I guess.

[bphi11ips]

It is getting Old that other programs can and do have fast turnarounds and we keep trying to build a Bama with clay bricks and no straw. The win some lose a ton since Frank retired after the 76 Cotton Bowl win is sucking the life out of this life long Hog fan.

Look on the bright side.  You remember the '76 beat down of Georgia.  Hopefully you remember the '69 beat down of Georgia.  In other words, you remember a lot of great Razorbacks moments.  I was in WMS with my then 11-year-old son for the 2010 victory over LSU.

Football is a game.  Over a lifetime, Arkansas fans are likely to have some awesome moments.  You and I have had more than our share to date. 

[hellwonthaveme]

You seem to view this whole message board experience as a venture to be "won."

I predict that will ultimately be your undoing here, and that you'll be exploring other Razorback message boards in short order.

Thank you for that Wilson.

PRJ

[bigbadhog]

It is getting Old that other programs can and do have fast turnarounds and we keep trying to build a Bama with clay bricks and no straw. The win some lose a ton since Frank retired after the 76 Cotton Bowl win is sucking the life out of this life long Hog fan.

Thanks for the great thought DB.  I am right there with you...

[Chief Mac]

It is getting Old that other programs can and do have fast turnarounds and we keep trying to build a Bama with clay bricks and no straw. The win some lose a ton since Frank retired after the 76 Cotton Bowl win is sucking the life out of this life long Hog fan.

perhaps you should consider not following the Hogs if they cause you so much pain

[Inhogswetrust]

Really?

Absolutely, Guaranteed, Unequivocal, Bona Fide, Torture me till Death do I part this earth really.

[Biggus Piggus]

Anyone who posts more than 50 times a day on Hogville is not going to last long.

[Chief Mac]

I tell my kids this when they are playing video games and get so pissed off.

If the game pisses you off that much, stop playing it.

I get what he is saying, as I'm emotionally invested in the Hogs too.  If there is ever a time that that my misery from a loss spills over into past Wednesday before the next game or I feel absolutely abysmal when I think of the Hogs, its time to get my Hog tattoo removed and find a new hobby.  Seems that time has come and gone for Delta and BBH as well as a few others.

[sportster365]

Look, John L suckered Long. I don't blame Long. He didn't have a lot of options. He did not want an interim HC that had any illusions of keeping the job. I think Long knew the Petrino thing was his fault and he knew that it was his job to fix it.

You don't fix it with an interim head coach. You take your time and hire a permanent replacement in December.

Was there a better choice? In hindsight sure. Long himself could have done a better job.

Some have said that Smith was given no responsibilities, that each coordinator was supposed to run his side of the ball.

I don't agree with that at all. I think Long expected JLS to take the job seriously. Make sure that players went to class and showed up for all football related activities.
He did none of that. He sat on his butt and cracked jokes.

You can't tell me that in the La Monroe game when Paul Petrino went nuts trying to throw the ball with a dwindling lead that JLS didn't have the authority to step in and say, coach, run it to keep the clock running. Yet he sat there like he was brain dead and did nothing.

The one time I know that he put his foot down was his decision late in the LSU game to kick a FG from what, the one yard line? What a meatball. What did they have to lose? Go for the TD. Try to win the game.

Long expected JLS to run the team. The coaches said he would be great. The players said they liked him.


I hope Long learned a lesson from that. Don't let the inmates run the jail. Make your own decision. That's why you're the AD.

Come on Mike, you're the first person I recall hearing that JLS would not be in control of playcalling. You mentioned it during your segment on the Shawn and Wally show.

[brian.griffin.hogfan]

Obviously you're single.....................................and always will be.

nothing wrong with being single! Praise God  im divorced! Slavery just wasnt my thing.

[Mike Irwin]

Come on Mike, you're the first person I recall hearing that JLS would not be in control of playcalling. You mentioned it during your segment on the Shawn and Wally show.

Where in that post did I say that JLS should have been in charge of calling the plays?

JLS was the head coach. He certainly had, like any head coach, the authority to overrule a call. But yes, Paul Petrino was the playcaller as the offensive coordinator.

MY issue with some of you is you act like Long hired JLS to do nothing. He was still supposed to do most of the things a head coach does.

Toward the end of the '92 season the parent of a starting player on the team told me that by mid summer it had been apparent that nobody was running the team. Players were late or even skipped the summer 7 on 7 sessions. They were doing the same with conditioning and weight lifting sessions.

That was on JLS.

[Biggus Piggus]

Come on Mike, you're the first person I recall hearing that JLS would not be in control of playcalling. You mentioned it during your segment on the Shawn and Wally show.

That is an irrelevant observation. Most head football coaches do not call plays. All of them overrule play calls when they deem it necessary.

[wachhog]

How many of these "very productive" defensive players Petrino's do you think there are?   The truth is only 1-2 very productive players which is the sad reality that you won't face....

He was mistaken to believe that JLS would have been a better choice than simply promoting someone on the existing staff. Smith already had taken another job. He was months into it. Only reason why Smith took the offer: He needed the money. When he was on the job, he punched the timeclock, but he didn't outwork anybody. A younger coach would have been motivated to prove himself. Smith had nothing to prove, just took the dollars.

Would not a capable athletic director have been expected to figure this out...pre hiring?

[Deep Shoat]

Would not a capable athletic director have been expected to figure this out...pre hiring?

You realize he didn't actually have any good options?

[wachhog]

Mike:  My issue has never really been the decision to fire him.  My issue is if you put on your big boy pants and fire what I would consider a top 5 / innovative coach (for any reason), you better be able to back it up.  In my opinion, we didn't even come close to doing that.  I feel we traded in an S Class Mercedes for a Toyota Corolla that won't go very fast but has an engine that makes A LOT of noise...

Love it.  Best analogy i have seen as it relates to this situation.

[MuskogeeHogFan]

Love it.  Best analogy i have seen as it relates to this situation.

If that's the case, I recommend that you read more from above.

[Biggus Piggus]

Would not a capable athletic director have been expected to figure this out...pre hiring?

Who could have anticipated the situation that developed? Nobody. But it is Long's fault. He hired Smith as a fill-in head coach. I contrast this with 1992, when Jack Crowe got fired and was replaced by Joe Kines for the rest of the season. That Arkansas team played outstanding defense and actually beat Tennessee on the road. It did not roll up and die. Something better might have happened, had Long promoted an assistant for the rest of 2012.

[Oklahawg]

Would not a capable athletic director have been expected to figure this out...pre hiring?

You realize he didn't actually have any good options?

Someone help me out - it is my recollection that there was some posturing for the gig behind the scenes. Part of the JLS solution was that it was an "impartial" option that would keep the other options (those who were assistants) from being pissed a peer got the chance and they didn't.

The thought process around here was, "well, you couldn't give it to Paul Petrino because he was a Petrino."

And, "the defensive staff is new, who do you give the job to?"

Well, "Taver Johnson was interim, should he get the first shot?"

Sorry to ramble...just seems that we shot down an interim from within the staff back when it was going on. Maybe I am remembering poorly.

[Joe Davis (USS Razorback)]

No. You are getting confused. You mashed together two separate issues.

The developmental system takes players who need time to develop and develops them. Super-talented players are ahead of the curve. They do not need as much physical development to be ready to play. The advantage of this system is it takes players who are easy to recruit - but after several years have a physical edge over most of the competition. And you get depth.

The offense needs experienced players at certain positions, and it asks quite a bit of the tight ends and wide receivers. It was not going to be very flexible in year one, no matter what. This season, if we can keep our best on the field, the offense should work OK especially in the first half of the season. Second half, our Oline should be more consistent, but the opposition gets tougher.

Year three, we'll have a pretty large group of juniors and seniors + our first set of third-year sophomores raised entirely in this system. That will be the first time that the Razorback roster will have a majority of players who have been in the developmental system multiple years. Then the system begins to show the advantages of consistency.

The separate subject of the offense -- We'll have plenty of experience at every position. Main question I have is whether the talent level at QB will be good enough. But the running game should be good enough to carry the team in most games.

I admit I was a bit confused too when I read the initial post.  When I finished, I thought to myself, "Well if you're limited to 3-4 years per player we will NEVER get a system implemented to satisfaction!"  This one gave me a much needed moment of clarity. It is appreciated.

[MuskogeeHogFan]

Who could have anticipated the situation that developed? Nobody. But it is Long's fault. He hired Smith as a fill-in head coach. I contrast this with 1992, when Jack Crowe got fired and was replaced by Joe Kines for the rest of the season. That Arkansas team played outstanding defense and actually beat Tennessee on the road. It did not roll up and die. Something better might have happened, had Long promoted an assistant for the rest of 2012.

I can understand how this mistake of hiring JLS was made, but I agree that Long should have probably known better.

I'm sure he figured JLS would come in and just oversee the process and expected the Coordinators, who knew how to run a system having worked for BP, to replicate the system on cruise control for a year.

What Long apparently didn't realize and should have (in retrospect), was just how much of an active hand that BP had in devising game plans for both sides of the ball. And I'm not talking about a little input, I'm talking about a whole lot of input.

Long needed someone to just be the figurehead for a year because he sure wasn't going to be able to hire a quality and permanent HC in April when most teams are in the middle or towards the end of spring ball. Every AD keeps a list of potential next HC's in their desk drawer, but I am sure he didn't expect to have to check it out in April of that year.

I wasn't thrilled with the hire, but I understood the reasoning. Who knew that the staff wouldn't be able to run things in the absence of BP's structure? I didn't think that we were going to repeat the success of 2011, but I did think we might be capable of winning 8 games. It makes you wonder what this staff did during the off season and all season long? Apparently, not nearly as much as had been demanded of them in the past.

[Biggus Piggus]

I underestimated how hard it would be for the interim coaching staff to keep the players working. Or, rather, how uninterested the interim coaching staff would be in keeping the players working. It was obvious early on that some players weren't ready, like Knile Davis. He was the first domino. He was ineffective, which pushed the Hogs into passing more and more, which got Tyler Wilson hurt.

[MuskogeeHogFan]

I underestimated how hard it would be for the interim coaching staff to keep the players working. Or, rather, how uninterested the interim coaching staff would be in keeping the players working. It was obvious early on that some players weren't ready, like Knile Davis. He was the first domino. He was ineffective, which pushed the Hogs into passing more and more, which got Tyler Wilson hurt.

Apparently the staff didn't effectively convey the message of needing to rise above disappointment and adversity and playing with a chip on their shoulders. Instead it seems that what they received was, "let's not be too hard on them, they have been through alot", a grandfatherly approach. They didn't need a pat on their collective heads, they needed leadership and apparently, that isn't what they were given.

[razorbackkid]

[Pork Twain]

Love it.  Best analogy i have seen as it relates to this situation.

Here is one for you.  If you are a woman and your husband is beating you, do you not call the cops just because you do not have another husband of equal or higher caliber lined up?  Sometimes circumstances and the actions of others dictate the response.  BP forced the issue and it was about the worst timing it could have been.

[bigbadhog]

I can understand how this mistake of hiring JLS was made, but I agree that Long should have probably known better.

I'm sure he figured JLS would come in and just oversee the process and expected the Coordinators, who knew how to run a system having worked for BP, to replicate the system on cruise control for a year.

What Long apparently didn't realize and should have (in retrospect), was just how much of an active hand that BP had in devising game plans for both sides of the ball. And I'm not talking about a little input, I'm talking about a whole lot of input.

Long needed someone to just be the figurehead for a year because he sure wasn't going to be able to hire a quality and permanent HC in April when most teams are in the middle or towards the end of spring ball. Every AD keeps a list of potential next HC's in their desk drawer, but I am sure he didn't expect to have to check it out in April of that year.

I wasn't thrilled with the hire, but I understood the reasoning. Who knew that the staff wouldn't be able to run things in the absence of BP's structure? I didn't think that we were going to repeat the success of 2011, but I did think we might be capable of winning 8 games. It makes you wonder what this staff did during the off season and all season long? Apparently, not nearly as much as had been demanded of them in the past.

Excellent Post...

[bigbadhog]

That is one CRAZY Man.  Talk about letting the patients run the asylum...

[HF#1]

Apparently the staff didn't effectively convey the message of needing to rise above disappointment and adversity and playing with a chip on their shoulders. Instead it seems that what they received was, "let's not be too hard on them, they have been through alot", a grandfatherly approach. They didn't need a pat on their collective heads, they needed leadership and apparently, that isn't what they were given.

I'm not sure they conveyed anything to the players. 

[Inhogswetrust]

Someone help me out - it is my recollection that there was some posturing for the gig behind the scenes. Part of the JLS solution was that it was an "impartial" option that would keep the other options (those who were assistants) from being pissed a peer got the chance and they didn't.

The thought process around here was, "well, you couldn't give it to Paul Petrino because he was a Petrino."

And, "the defensive staff is new, who do you give the job to?"

Well, "Taver Johnson was interim, should he get the first shot?"

Sorry to ramble...just seems that we shot down an interim from within the staff back when it was going on. Maybe I am remembering poorly.

There was some talk of that on here and publicly but not from those inside the administration or athletic department that could be proven if I recall as well.