The Willie Taggert model is the new normal. Losing to Portland State, San Jose State, Colorado State and Western Kentucky is something no one can survive at a Power 5 program. Hogs are 2-8 with Mizzou and LSU to go and have lost 16 straight SEC games.
When I heard the hawgs had lost to Western KY, my head said "he gone" ... Not a complete surprise except, perhaps the timing... but, Arky? Who ya' gonna call?
I cannot believe we have people that actually believe having Chad Morris on Charlie Strong's staff would have somehow saved it.
Morris was a pretty good OC at Clemson, but has a horrible HC record. He was 14–22 for 3 seasons at SMU (1 winning season) 8–16 in conference play. At Arkansas in 2 seasons (only one complete) he was 4–18 overall and posted a 0–14 conference record in 1 full and 1 partial seasons. That 45 -19 total beatdown loss yesterday to Western Kentucky was obviously the last straw. I wonder if the arky pig folks would like to have Petrino or Bielema back after seeing their program nose dive, crash and burn to ashes in less than 2 seasons.
To add insult to injury, the QB for WKU was on scholarship in Washington County, and Morris ran him off. So the Hogs paid WKU $1.5 million to come humiliate them with their castoff QB. I think they would gladly take Petrino, but most would rather keep Morris than take back fat boy.
Morris is a good guy and a decent coach, but I always saw him as more of a lover instead of a fighter. He's built for being a HS coach or a college position coach. He's not cut out for the SEC, and Arkansas was going to have problems no matter who their HC is.
Chad was Jerry's pick. That plus his grandson was starting QB yesterday might lessen the amount of say so Jerry has this time around.
Heard the Pirate was on the list to take over. I would love to see Leach in the SEC, especially in the same division as aggy.
Clawson at Wake should get a hard look. The pigs would be an interesting cultural change for Clawson. Not only is he at Wake, but he’s a Williams College alum, and a former Fordham (Bronx NYC) coach. Think Hillary when she first moved to Arkansas. The best thing for us is anyone without many contacts among Texas HS coaches.
Why would any up and comer take this job? They haven’t been relevant since they left the SWC. They have rolled through coaches and dumped the last guy after less than two seasons. I guess they could offer $75 million guaranteed?
Norvell at Memphis makes some sense. He’s been good at recruiting, identifying, and developing players in the same recruiting turf as the swine trod. They should also take a look at Ruhle, although he may not want to leave Baylor. The $$$ would need to be a lot better. If they can’t get any good power five coaches, the mid majors are the next logical place to look. (Which would include Memphis). Else maybe a hot shot coordinator from a top level program.
They should secretly beg the Big 12 to admit them, although we may not want them around. They’d be a potential recruiting rival without many TV sets to bring to the table... What they would bring is a very heated rivalry.
Art is Baptist, which is a prerequisite for that job. That said, Gus and Kristi are already members of the appropriate church.
Interesting. And I had always thought of the swinish hordes of Arkansas fans as mostly Anglican/Episcopal or Reform Jewish... Nah, Arkansas will take anyone as long as they win. Holtz was a Catholic, for instance. Not sure about Petrino.
I think Leach is great for college athletics, and would love to see him get a more visable gig. That said, he is a Mormon, albeit not sure I would say "practicing", and he has read through The Bible six times at last count, but I don't think the powers that be in Washington County will allow the hiring of a coach who is not a Born Again Christian. Again, I'd love to see Leach at FSU or Arkansas, maybe even Auburn
I would like to cheer for Leach though, which would not happen at Arkansas. Granted, the fool who was there before him didn't leave him much. They weren't much more talented than the top FCS teams by then and were completely disorganized and undisciplined.
He would ***** and moan about it (but he pisses and moans about wherever he is), BUT he would be back in a real football conference.
Arkansas has shown a pretty high tolerance for the off field antics of coaches. If the Pirate ends up at Arkansas, he will be a thorn in the aggies’ side for as long as he’s there. Remember the aggies really, really hate this guy. Don’t look for the swine to start winning conference championships, but he may also at least get on the nerves of the likes of Saban and Big Ed. Think comments that really get under their skin, plus the occasional upset win. For better or for worse, the media and SEC network will love having the Pirate around for ratings and hype.
The pigs have not been relevant in Texas recruiting since they left the SWC. Do not miss them or the aggys.